So what REALLY happened on Tuesday, the day the Desperate Mothers of Manhattan set their collective jaws and bear down on the Nursery School system with the same intensity as giving birth is this:
Chiara strong arms a couple of her closest friends in Boston and those who she is sure love Finny and her enough to commit to this craziness. Who knows, maybe she bribed them or worse yet blackmailed them! At any rate, three good souls said “yes, I’ll help you, even though I think the whole thing is dumb”. Clearly you can tell they weren’t New Yorkers! Dumb? Why this is practically a rite of passage to become a denizen of the Capital of the World.
There was Jocelyn, a dear friend who happens to love Finley even more than she does Chiara! Jocelyn has babysat more times than I can count just for the joy of being with Finley and it was Jocelyn who formed the now world- famous and exclusive Finley Ray Fan Club. Jocelyn had to be at work on Tuesday morning and therefore she would have to go to her office extremely early so she could man the phone there before her own work began. Jo-Jo went willingly into battle.
Vanessa, affectionately known a V, had lived in New York for awhile and knew the frenetic pace and intensity with which things got done in Manhattan. So not-with-any-stars-in-her-eyes, V went off to her office at BC at the crack of dawn and prepared to attack upon command. Mmmmm, I wonder what her boss thought when she was at her desk so early in the morning AND the day after Labor Day!!!
Manno whose real name is Brandon was a reluctant recruit from the beginning. He’s known as Manno, a nickname that has lovingly stuck because Cash, Finley’s cousin could not say Brandon clearly the first time he met him and subsequently, Finley latched onto that easy to pronounce moniker. Now Brandon had strong feelings about the potential move which would not only take his fun-loving neighbors away but also put Finley, who is one of his greatest fans out of sight. AND on top of that, we have the elitist issue; the sheer audacity of this politically wracked, social-climbing, money talks and everyone else walks system which was distasteful to Manno from the get go. See Extreme Sports: Portable Cribs and New York Nursery Schools
The rest of us were family and really had no choice – we were all committed to the cause; Finley Ray MUST get into a good Nursery School!! Tom, the doting father was at ready by the phone at his desk at his very new job, prepared to call for as long as it took on company time because everyone in New York City knows this has to be done on this day; the Tuesday after Labor Day when a segment of the population goes crazy and resorts to pulling out all the stoppers to achieve success.
Chiara was in a command post in the City, housed in a corporate apartment and Finley, the object of this madness had been scooted off with a babysitter so there could be no distractions during the execution of the battle plan. Surprisingly cool and level-headed, Chiara issued directives through-out the morning and maintained control of her troops, redirecting when necessary. With the skills of an experienced battalion commander she led us all to victory in at least 8 of the 10 battles for the coveted application.
The morning started off jolly enough; we were part of a great adventure and in it together! So for the first thirty minutes or so, everyone happily dialed and re-dialed, assuming success was with the next ring. NOT SO! Pretty soon it began apparent that some equipment was better for this frontal attack than others; a land-line was an advantage, a fast internet connection a plus. How quickly what started out as fun rapidly turned into a repetitive task. And why didn’t the phone line at the 92nd St. Y ring? And what was going on with Garden House? Ring, ring, and then dead!! I’m pretty sure the circuits and lines across Manhattan were beginning to shrivel and die from overheating as masses of moms burned up the lines trying to reach their chosen schools.
An hour or so into this madness, some of the troops did have legitimate gripes. After all, it was no fun to be the one calling the school where the phone was constantly busy when others were achieving success and Chiara was issuing email exultations in their behalf. AND then of course there were work considerations; Brandon had a meeting, V had to do some work for BC, Jocelyn couldn’t keep blatantly calling from her desk. The breakdown in morale was contagious; Manno created new names for some of the schools, V wanted to switch assignments, Tom began suggesting even more schools (clearly undermining Chiara’s authority) and for a while it seems as if chaos had taken over our well-organized battle plan. Chiara calmed everyone down and by 11:30 the results were in. We had been successful for the most part and there was still Plan B to be put into effect. See
It Was Like D-DAY All Over Again
Bill Ding and his band of clowns are the security patrol for this blog site. He is a favorite toy from the 50*s. By the way sometimes a blog is just an ego-maniacal stream of conscience.
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