Saturday, June 9, 2012
One Year Later
The Manhattan Project HD1080P from Cameron Michael on Vimeo.
I still ♥ NY
PS: This is a great video but you might enjoy it more with the sound down or off.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Epilogue
We left New York City a month ago. I am not sure if that is enough time to pass to properly assess our year long stay there but I will give it a whirl. This was not planned but you may notice this is our 100th post.
In many ways it is like the end of a vacation. Every vacation leaves one changed somewhat. As you would expect a year long vacation makes a huge mark. We certainly picked up a lot of free training for urban living. Every time I think that I am losing some of my “New York-ness” I find that it is still there when needed, a bit like riding a bike. It is a determination and it is an efficiency. It is getting from here to there without wasting a step. New York requires this because of its density.
We will always miss the things that brought us to New York to begin with and specifically to Midtown Manhattan and all the neighborhood attractions: Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Museum of Modern Art, Bryant Park. We took advantage of our location and visited those icons regularly. Some of the other things we miss were unknown to us until we lived there. All the great affordable restaurants in Hell’s Kitchen, some of the hidden gems of Greenwich Village, but most of all and the most surprising was just how convenient everything was in New York City. All the free and cheap delivery, the inexpensive buses and trains, all the great street food. If it wasn’t for the rent prices one could really save money in Manhattan believe it or not.
We were torn about leaving the City. We could have settled in there but we knew each subsequent year would be less interesting. Not that we saw and did everything there was to do but we knew that we would adopt a routine and start repeating things and the sense of excitement and discovery would drop very quickly. One year was good, perhaps perfect. We got to see all the seasons. We would have never traveled to New York for Christmas or New Years but there we were and they were the most exciting times to be there. What a bundle of wonderful memories. And best of all that so many of you made time to see us during that year. Those memories are the most special. Thank you. We couldn’t have done it without you.
We will see you at the Toronto Blog
Bill and Toni
In many ways it is like the end of a vacation. Every vacation leaves one changed somewhat. As you would expect a year long vacation makes a huge mark. We certainly picked up a lot of free training for urban living. Every time I think that I am losing some of my “New York-ness” I find that it is still there when needed, a bit like riding a bike. It is a determination and it is an efficiency. It is getting from here to there without wasting a step. New York requires this because of its density.
We will always miss the things that brought us to New York to begin with and specifically to Midtown Manhattan and all the neighborhood attractions: Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Museum of Modern Art, Bryant Park. We took advantage of our location and visited those icons regularly. Some of the other things we miss were unknown to us until we lived there. All the great affordable restaurants in Hell’s Kitchen, some of the hidden gems of Greenwich Village, but most of all and the most surprising was just how convenient everything was in New York City. All the free and cheap delivery, the inexpensive buses and trains, all the great street food. If it wasn’t for the rent prices one could really save money in Manhattan believe it or not.
We were torn about leaving the City. We could have settled in there but we knew each subsequent year would be less interesting. Not that we saw and did everything there was to do but we knew that we would adopt a routine and start repeating things and the sense of excitement and discovery would drop very quickly. One year was good, perhaps perfect. We got to see all the seasons. We would have never traveled to New York for Christmas or New Years but there we were and they were the most exciting times to be there. What a bundle of wonderful memories. And best of all that so many of you made time to see us during that year. Those memories are the most special. Thank you. We couldn’t have done it without you.
We will see you at the Toronto Blog
Bill and Toni
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Graduation Day
The last days of our stay in NYC were coming up quickly. The apartment had the perimeter lined with boxes to be shipped ahead and luggage to take on the flight to Toronto. We quickly realized that all of this luggage would not fit in a regular Crown Vic cab and it wouldn’t even work with one of the newer SUVs that are now pretty common. In NYC you cannot call ahead for a Yellow Cab. You can only reserve a limo or black cab. We looked into that but found that it was more than four times the cost of a flagged cab. Then I smacked my forehead as the solution came to me. We would simply go in two regular cabs. Duh.
Midday on Wednesday we rounded up our luggage at the apartment door. Jimmy, one of the building’s porters, came right up and put everything on their luggage rack and we headed for the taxi stand queue. This line of cabs extends from the door of the Sheraton Hotel on 7th Avenue, across 53rd Street, and up a quarter block or so. I went on ahead to secure my cab and start loading. When I got to the corner I could not believe my eyes. There was before me a yellow cab van! I have never seen such a thing in New York. If this were a scene from a movie this would be where you would the angelic chorus and a beam of light shining down. I would later find out this was one van of a new roll out, so new it wasn’t even announced until today. What luck.
I made a beeline for him and approached the driver to explain our needs and situation. I told him how many bags we had and detailed the sizes and two passengers going to Laguardia. He responded in a thick Russian accent that he was already reserved and motioned toward the hotel. Now, you are not supposed to approach a car in the queue. I think it is some unwritten code that they wait their turn in line. Okay, so figured I needed to convince him and perhaps he didn’t quite understand. I repeated our needs and our ‘inventory’ and our destination. He seemed a bit agitated now and told me he just couldn’t take us. By this time Toni had caught up with the bags in tow. The driver and I were still going around and around when he suddenly flipped on his “off duty” lights. Okay, now I was agitated. I asked “What’s going on? You had your lights off a second ago!” He just shrugged his shoulders. Toni was of course puzzled and asking tons of questions. I simply waved my hand at the driver in disgust and said, “Ah, forget it, he just doesn’t want to take us to the airport!” I started to turn away and regroup for the original plan. Suddenly, the driver’s demeanor changed totally. “Okay, I’ll take you to the airport”, he said as he jumped out and started loading us up. I was completely puzzled but said nothing.
Finally, we got underway and as we did we instantly became fast friends, talking about each other’s lives past and present and all manner of happy talk. As I talked I was still pondering what had just transpired. Did I suddenly learn to talk Jedi? Had I become a pushy New Yorker? I can’t confirm this and the driver would have never admitted this but I think I had simply stumbled on a key phrase. You see it is illegal for a driver to refuse any fare to any of the boroughs, ever. They can be subject to substantial fines and repeat offenses can lead to losing their medallion. Many drivers will refuse an airport fare because once they drop you off they have to either wait in a very long queue or come back empty. Usually the queue is so long that they prefer to come back empty. I believe he might have started thinking he was in a sting situation when he suddenly agreed to take us.
If I think of the past year as a crash course in urban living then I felt as I left the city for the last time that I had just passed the final exam.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Roll Call/Role Call
Luis Rodriguez, our concierge, always with a smile and a witty comment.
Demba, the corner vendor who came from Somalia twenty years ago. He greeted me by name everyday.We are down to the wire here in Manhattan with less than 24 hours left before we head to the airport. This seems like a good time to do a little call out to all of you who had a role in making this such a great year for us...in small and large ways and from here and from there.
Bob W., Jeff P., Norm D., Liz D., Mary Lee K., Eric A., Randy M., Jeff P., Frank G., Howard F., Luis R., Corky C., Don C., SS Johnny L. ,Isaac, Brent B., John P., Yelp, Buddy, Jonathan, Isaac, Dennis, Max, Ricardo, Champ, Julie D., CeCe, Susan S., Barb R., Gerry M., Kent R., Terry, Mike, Geeta, The Halal Guys, Demba, Brent S., Jennifer B., Jorma K., Mike W., Eva F., Lauren F., Rita R., Tim R., Kyra S., Bliss C., Susan C., Russ B., Raul M., Ray Wylie H., Judy H., Tim J., Janet J., Barack O., Cheryl B., Jamie G., Jurg B., Hanny B., Rod P., Amanda S., Betsy V., Roger V., Jeff M., Daniel L., Dave A., Kristi R., Fats K., Kathryn B., Mark P., Pat C., Jason B., Cynthia H., Cidney R., Kay B., Thom P., Fred P., Mahvash P., Elliott M., Brian L., Paul L., Matt L., Doug L., Deborah B., Meile R., Willie N., Elana J., Franco the Great, Jim L., Alan D., Connie D., Jerry S., Larry D., Woody A., Lucinda W., Kellie D., Sam D., Dawna W., Brent N., David G., Cheryl G., Richard T., Jimmy F., and Kathy B.
...and to all the blog readers around the world.
We want to tell all of you thanks for everything and we hope to continue crossing paths whether real or virtual.
We want to tell all of you thanks for everything and we hope to continue crossing paths whether real or virtual.
Bill and Toni
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Easter At Rockefeller Center
It was unusally warm Easter Sunday so we stopped by Rockefeller Plaza to check out the flower display. The Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue had just finished as we arrived and several of the decked out participants were not quite ready to call it a day. With the avenue opened for traffic they were finding other areas to strut. So here are some photos of plants and people showing off their best for Spring.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Twentieth Visitor
Who would have ever thought that we would get to spend so much quality time with so many friends in one year? Our last visitor to New York was Kathy Blackford. Some of you may know her as Kathy Redman. We go back to 1973 and our college days. Her visit couldn’t have worked out better. This was her first time to New York City and we were able to give her a capsulized version of our year in a bit less than a week. We were also able to incorporate many things from our ‘to do list’ that we wouldn’t have gotten to otherwise. Staten Island Ferry, Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, to name a few.
Day One:
After Kathy’s midday arrival we went straight to the Macy’s Annual Flower Show. On the way out of the apartment I asked the doorman about all the barriers I had noticed the night before. I learned that Obama was coming back to the Sheraton for a speech at Al Sharpton’s convention for his National Action Network. So after Macy’s we scrambled back so we get to our apartment before the lock down and watched as the sharpshooters set up again. We knew the drill from last summer. When that finally wound down we had a quiet Thai dinner in Hell’s Kitchen.
Day Two:
We took in three floors at the MoMA and a really nice late lunch at their café. From there we took in some of the sights around Rockefeller Plaza. We had managed to secure passes for the Jimmy Fallon taping that afternoon. You have no idea who the guests will be when you reserve these about six weeks ahead of time. We were excited to learn that the musical guest would be Paul Simon. Great luck. As if that was not enough excitement the three of us wound up being shown in the audience for a couple of minutes of one of their skits. Later that night we felt obliged to stay up and watch ourselves on the broadcast to make sure we weren’t cut or that we hadn’t imagined the whole thing. It was pretty exciting.
If you don't care to see the entire skit you can jump ahead to around the 3:30 mark for the first of our several appearances here. You will see left to right, me, Kathy, Toni, just to the right of the actor.
If the embed video doesn't appear here is the direct link. http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/how-you-like-me-now-4711/1318895/
The video is no longer available at the Fallon website. This LINK will open it in your Windows Media Player though:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.
Day Three:
A quick stroll, if you can call it that, through Time’s Square, then to Bryant Park, the New York Public Library, the lobby of the Chrysler Building. From there we back tracked to Grand Central Station for The Oyster Bar followed by cheesecake at Junior’s. Recharged we went to 34th Street to go to the observation deck of The Empire State Building. It was strictly unintentional but we had inadvertently put together an architectural tour for the day.
Day Four:
We took the long bus ride all the way to the bottom of the island to catch the Staten Island Ferry. This runs every ten or fifteen minutes and provides the only access to the Island from Manhattan. It also includes great views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline…each way. After completing the round trip we caught another bus to Greenwich Village and spent the late afternoon and evening touring many of our favorite haunts.
Day Five:
We spent virtually the whole day touring Central Park. This time we took a bus up to the Upper West Side and started working our way back from 96th Street south towards our place. This put us at the Reservoir. Just about any time you see people jogging Central Park in the movies this is the spot. We circled around the lake to the west side until we got to the lower 80s. We took a time out from the park to grab some lunch over on Amsterdam. Then back to the park and Belvedere Castle. This was especially nice since the trees were not yet blooming and the views were spectacular. From there we wound over to The Loeb Boat House and managed to get our hot drinks served five minutes before the café closed for the day. Then we got into more familiar territory at Bethesda Fountain and The Mall. Finally we went to Strawberry Fields and the Imagine Mosaic. It was getting cooler so we wound up the CP tour and caught the subway back to the apartment. Later I asked Kathy what she would go back and see a second time in a future visit and she said Central Park. So, I am glad we saved that for the last day.
Sadly the fun tour was over and the next morning we grudgingly said goodbye to Kathy. I know that it was a week that we will remember fondly forever. It was a wonderful mix of seeing icons, living as locals, and a couple of extraordinary surprises. Kathy clicked her ruby red sneakers and she was off to Kansas.
Day One:
After Kathy’s midday arrival we went straight to the Macy’s Annual Flower Show. On the way out of the apartment I asked the doorman about all the barriers I had noticed the night before. I learned that Obama was coming back to the Sheraton for a speech at Al Sharpton’s convention for his National Action Network. So after Macy’s we scrambled back so we get to our apartment before the lock down and watched as the sharpshooters set up again. We knew the drill from last summer. When that finally wound down we had a quiet Thai dinner in Hell’s Kitchen.
Day Two:
We took in three floors at the MoMA and a really nice late lunch at their café. From there we took in some of the sights around Rockefeller Plaza. We had managed to secure passes for the Jimmy Fallon taping that afternoon. You have no idea who the guests will be when you reserve these about six weeks ahead of time. We were excited to learn that the musical guest would be Paul Simon. Great luck. As if that was not enough excitement the three of us wound up being shown in the audience for a couple of minutes of one of their skits. Later that night we felt obliged to stay up and watch ourselves on the broadcast to make sure we weren’t cut or that we hadn’t imagined the whole thing. It was pretty exciting.
If you don't care to see the entire skit you can jump ahead to around the 3:30 mark for the first of our several appearances here. You will see left to right, me, Kathy, Toni, just to the right of the actor.
If the embed video doesn't appear here is the direct link. http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/how-you-like-me-now-4711/1318895/
The video is no longer available at the Fallon website. This LINK will open it in your Windows Media Player though:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.
Day Three:
A quick stroll, if you can call it that, through Time’s Square, then to Bryant Park, the New York Public Library, the lobby of the Chrysler Building. From there we back tracked to Grand Central Station for The Oyster Bar followed by cheesecake at Junior’s. Recharged we went to 34th Street to go to the observation deck of The Empire State Building. It was strictly unintentional but we had inadvertently put together an architectural tour for the day.
Day Four:
We took the long bus ride all the way to the bottom of the island to catch the Staten Island Ferry. This runs every ten or fifteen minutes and provides the only access to the Island from Manhattan. It also includes great views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline…each way. After completing the round trip we caught another bus to Greenwich Village and spent the late afternoon and evening touring many of our favorite haunts.
Day Five:
We spent virtually the whole day touring Central Park. This time we took a bus up to the Upper West Side and started working our way back from 96th Street south towards our place. This put us at the Reservoir. Just about any time you see people jogging Central Park in the movies this is the spot. We circled around the lake to the west side until we got to the lower 80s. We took a time out from the park to grab some lunch over on Amsterdam. Then back to the park and Belvedere Castle. This was especially nice since the trees were not yet blooming and the views were spectacular. From there we wound over to The Loeb Boat House and managed to get our hot drinks served five minutes before the café closed for the day. Then we got into more familiar territory at Bethesda Fountain and The Mall. Finally we went to Strawberry Fields and the Imagine Mosaic. It was getting cooler so we wound up the CP tour and caught the subway back to the apartment. Later I asked Kathy what she would go back and see a second time in a future visit and she said Central Park. So, I am glad we saved that for the last day.
Sadly the fun tour was over and the next morning we grudgingly said goodbye to Kathy. I know that it was a week that we will remember fondly forever. It was a wonderful mix of seeing icons, living as locals, and a couple of extraordinary surprises. Kathy clicked her ruby red sneakers and she was off to Kansas.
To see some photos from this visit HERE
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Nineteenth Visitors
When we were in Toronto we spent an evening with one of my cousins on Mom’s side, Dawna Wightman. We had been in touch by email and phone for a few years but this was our first face to face meeting. She is an actor in the bustling film, TV, and commercial fields in Toronto. We found out that she had an audition scheduled in New York City the following week just blocks from our apartment so we offered up our couch for the night. We made plans for a dinner at our place. I also contacted Brent Nosworthy, another cousin who happens to live in Harlem. Brent and I have also been in contact for some time but had not met either. We had a wonderful miniature family reunion, sharing stories of our common heritage, our parents, grandparents, and other cousins. Oh, and of course, our upcoming move to Canada.
Brent’s father, Buddy, was not only Grandpa’s brother but his best friend as well. Dawna’s mother, Patsy, was Grandpa’s youngest sister and also had lived with my grandparents for a while when my mom and uncle were very young. So this particular combination of descendants seemed extra special.
Dawna also had a huge surprise for me. She handed me a small ring box and told me to open it. I did and saw a modest gold colored band. Its significance was lost on me at the moment. Dawna pointed out the inscription inside which showed my Grandfather’s name. It turned out that my Great Grandmother had the ring and gave it to Dawna decades ago without any explanation. Then a couple of months ago Dawna was moving some boxes when one fell to the floor and this ring box fell out.
We will never know the story behind this ring but I am certain that this is the first time it has been outside Canada. It will be returning there with me in just a few days. If I believed in magic I might think this will provide safe passage for me to Toronto.
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