French Doesn't Count

I AM the current curator of the black trunk 

and the stories it holds within. 

~ Hope Barrett, Discovering Oscar

"Why do you come to the theater?" we were asked when the play was over. Why indeed? But I am getting ahead of myself.

I let DH sleep late on Saturday. We had worn ourselves out the day before and we had nothing scheduled until the matinee. Once he woke, we breakfasted and wandered towards the theater. We had noticed the Morgan Library and Museum the day before and thought we should take a look. It is one (of the many) museums we have never visited.

There are a handful that we haunt - The Met, MOMA, the American Folk Art Museum, the American Museum of Natural History, the Guggenheim, and the Whitney. We skipped them all, because we were tired or had another place that ranked higher on the to do list when we were nearby this trip. I suppose, had I done my research and known what exhibits would be on offer, we might have made different decisions. But I had not. So we took our ease and skipped them (avoiding lines and coat checks and crowds.

I don't know much about J. P. Morgan. I suspect he would have critics and fans. But the museum and library were fascinating. We wandered through the study and library - past the letters written by Alexander and Elizabeth Hamilton and their son (I did not know that Elizabeth lost both a son and a husband to dueling), past the Gutenberg Bible, and other wonders. We admired the cylinder seals* and other artifacts** in cases around the walls.

Then we headed upstairs for a current exhibit: Tennessee Williams: No Refuge but Writing. *** It was wonderful. As I read some of his story and his letters, I so so many parallels in David Sedaris' recent book, Theft by Finding**** - this driving force to create and edit and rewrite. Both drew from their lives and family members in their work. And life is laid out before us in all its sadness and glory...but mostly sadness.

We grabbed a quick bowl of soup. I don't think the restaurant staff was impressed by our layers and layers of clothing. We were not in our Sunday best (as we would usually wear to the theater), but rather more in our "mistaken for homeless" attire. It was cold. [Really. I think I had on 5 layers.]

And then it was time.

We walked to the last few blocks to the American Airlines Theatre where the Roundabout Theatre Company*****  was presenting Stories by Heart, John Lithgow's one man show. We were surrounded by New Yorkers. [One couldn't get his hearing aid adjusted, so he and his wife left. One commented that "this isn't New York fare" after she missed the point of the first story entirely.]

DH and I loved it. Lithgow was everything you would expect and more. He explained why he chose these stories and then acted them out - Ring Lardner's "Haircut" in the first act and "Uncle Fred Flits By," a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, in the second. He was spellbinding.

If you ever get the chance, go.

After the performance, there was a "talk back" session and about 100 members of the audience stayed, probably just to see what it was about. The fellow leading the discussion and answering questions shared that this was Lithgow's "trunk piece," a work one can "pull out" and perform. It is something worked on over time. And Lithgow has performed the work before, ultimately switching the order of the stories as one is very dark and the other comedic. He learned it was best to end on a light note.

We were asked to talk to each other (really, in NY?) about why we go to the theater. DH and I talked to a sign language interpreter who would be interpreting for Lithgow later in the week. People shared their reasons. It was worth the extra time for an experience one does not generally have in NY.

Then, after so many reprises of past visits, we decided to do something completely different. It is not often that I can find a new experience for DH in New York. He has gone into subway tunnels, jumped into the reservoir in Central Park and many other things I probably don't need to know about. But he had never ridden on the Roosevelt Island Tram.****** It wasn't built when he lived there and I suppose none of us have had any reason to go to Roosevelt Island. While I am not a fan of heights,  I figured it was a big car and a short trip. And the fare was included in our subway pass.

It was a nice ride and beautiful - the sun was setting and we had great views of the East River and the city. I wish I could share them with you, however they disappeared when I switched out phones today. I am sharing what I have of the day.

The Queensboro Bridge Crosses the East River here and you get a great view of it.

It wasn't crowded. I suspect most of the folks were like us - just taking a ride.

We headed back to the hotel and rode the elevator up with another couple. Inspired by the experience of the afternoon I commented about it being a "full day" or "good day" or something. They returned an acknowledgement and then, in French, mentioned that they were French. DH proceeded to respond in French and the couple was so pleased. They asked him a question and he explained he had lived in La Rochelle as a child and they replied that they lived in a town near there. Then we reached their floor and we all said goodbye.

"Au revoir" "Au revoir" And the door closed.

Dumbfounded, I stared at DH. My lovely introverted DH had made small talk. "You spoke to strangers on an elevator!" I exclaimed. "It was French," he replied. "French doesn't count."

And that night we found PI New York pizza. The expression is "we got a slice," but we each got two.

Now that's the way you eat a slice!

Then we headed back to pack our bags. We had a late flight on Sunday, but we would need to leave our things with the porter and grab them in time to head out to JFK. And we managed to time everything well.

We gave ourselves a little over an hour to walk in Central Park. We went to see the playground with the granite slide and found it fully under construction. We stopped at familiar statues. We once again admired the chiming of the Delacorte Clock.

One of DH's high school classmates was  a descendant of George Delacorte who donated this amazing clock and would comment when he passed by, "there is my inheritance."

We took some photos of birds in the one spot we found where the water wasn't frozen solid. There were more House Sparrows, a couple of Wood Ducks, many Mallards, and a good number of Canadian Geese. We heard and then saw a few crows in the distance. Squirrels were everywhere - big, fat, and sassy. Some chased each other around and others came almost to where we stood.

On the left is a Wood Duck. The rest of the fowl are Mallards. I was excited to be able to identify them.

Eastern Grey Squirrels were everywhere taking advantage of the best weather in the four days we were there.

Local families were out in the park - many with scooters. There were more than a few tourists about. Runners, dog walkers, bicyclists and more moved along the paths.  And we wandered a bit with them before heading to 5th Avenue for a pretzel and then the ride back to grab our bags.

From our daughters I learned that one should never waste a perfectly good subway pass. As we reached the small station on the hotel block, I glanced around to see if anyone was heading to the ticket machines. The place was empty. I began to follow DH up the stairs to the street when I saw two men heading down. I KNEW they were going to need tickets. Don't ask me how, but I knew. I stood back against the wall and watched them. They headed over to the ticket machine and I walked up to them, arm extended with passes in-hand. "These have 3 or 4 good days left on them. Please take them." They seemed a little confused at first. "Really?" they asked. "Please."

I am reminded more and more these days that while we think we are sharing our world with our children, they are busy sharing their world with us. We see the world with different eyes because of them. And while they are no longer traveling with us physically, we carry them - and the lessons we have learned from them - with us.

And that's the way we ended our trip. The rest was just coming home - plenty of room and a good rest on another half-full plane.

"Au revoir, New York!  Bon chance!"


NOTES:

* Take a look: http://www.themorgan.org/collection/ancient-near-eastern-seals-and-tablets/84234

**There was a particularly lovely pair of garnet earrings and an inspiring four paneled work that spoke to me (something for the retablo project?). http://www.themorgan.org/collection/paintings-and-art-objects/object/158704

***http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/tennessee-williams

****https://www.npr.org/2017/06/04/529749117/theft-by-finding-is-as-mesmerizing-as-a-spinning-chicken-trust-us I read an excerpt on Amazon and now have been listening to the audio book in the car, thanks to DH.

***** https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/Shows-Events.aspx

******https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roosevelt_Island_Tramway

******* https://www.centralpark.com/things-to-do/attractions/delacorte-music-clock/


Miscellaneous stuff:

Heartbreak! My favorite bead store - for many, many years - had become a tourist trap. Do not worry. I found another. It wasn't as good, but I never met a bead shop I didn't like.