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Archive for the ‘Smooth or Crunchy’ Category

I’m BACK and Let Me Tell You…..

Posted in BY THE WAY, Finley Ray, Frankie, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , on January 8, 2013| 3 Comments »

PB FL Breakers Hotel01

PB FL Breakers Hotel01 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

YIKES! It’s been crazy around here!  I’m glad to finally be online again, the ATT guy showed up at 1pm and left at about 6pm!  We have one TV hooked up and it’s a 60″ flat screen sitting on the floor leaning up against a bookcase.  Pedro (yes that is his real name) was supposed to come on Friday to hang the flat screens but he cancelled which was sort of okay because Friday was a day in hell. I don’t really care about the TV and am glad the wireless is installed, however it IS TUESDAY and still no Pedro.  

Friday – Not only was it as hot as hell (I’m not kidding) but that was also the delayed move-in date.  Two trucks, 5 movers speaking Spanish and about 900 pieces were moved in. Every box and piece  of furniture had a number on it and a color sticker and guess whose job it was to check off the boxes as they came off the truck to see if the number correlated to the master list? Uh huh, that’s right.  Once the box was in the house I had to direct the movers to the appropriate place which meant that by noon I must have climbed those 15 stairs 15 times!!!  Door wide open so no A/C on – I told you it was hell. 

Certainly we couldn’t sleep in the house that night so it was back to the hotels on Friday night.  If you read the previous blog you know I was the designated cat carrier and since The Breakers in Palm Beach doesn’t allow cats, I was relegated to The Residence Inn in Delray!  REALLY???

Saturday – It rained. Thank the Lord, the stuff was in the house, now the movers were back to unpack.  There were boxes piled from floor to ceiling in both of the girl’s rooms when they set up the beds, anything that didn’t have a clear cut home ended up in the dining room or the guest room (and you know who ultimately would be int the guest room)! We worked and worked and worked some more to get as much done as possible before Chiara and Tom had to leave to go back to Palm Beach to attend the Policeman’s Ball.  I was finally going to get to The Breakers because I was babysitting that night.

Saturday Night –    Finley and Francesca had now spent the entire day with a Breakers’ nanny.  When I got there, they were wired for light and sound and stuffing goldfish in their mouths.   We took a walk to see the turtles who were not to be seen because they were in their house, and with Finley spinning like a top around the basketball court and shrieking at the top of her lungs, we made our way to the Italian Restaurant in the hotel.  “Do you have a reservation”? I look around the restaurant, there is ONE table seated, “Do I need one”? I ask.  “YES”.  “The entire restaurant is empty”, retorts the smartass from NYC. And then I was informed  that all tables were reserved at staggered times. Hummpphhh. I was told we could eat outside.   Midway thru the meal which has up to this point not gone entirely smoothly, Francesca announces she is done and wants down. I try to explain to her that we can’t get down because we’re not done and we have to wait for the lady to come back with the bill. Thwarted only for a moment, Frankie announces she has to pee.  She is in the early stages of potty training so I jump up and grab her out of the chair and tell Finley to stay seated and DON’T MOVE!  Well that’s not happening;  She decides she has to go also so I grab my handbag, Francesca and head to the ladie’s room with Finley leading the way.  15 minutes later, Francesca did NOT have to pee, Finley did and then some and locked me out of the stall AND kept up a running dialogue on what was and was not happening in the stall AND there were other women and girls in the room!!  I was sure the waitress figured we skipped out on the check, so I went directly to the hostess and explained my hurried exit and asked for the check.  “Dessert”? Finley wants to know. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? “You two are going to the room and to bed”.  The crowning glory of the dinner escapade was watching Finley race down the beautiful lobby of The Breakers and sort of plow right into Francesca who went down face first on the marble floor and screamed her head off all the way up to the 5th floor in an elevator with other guests and out the door past other guests who looked shocked as the doors opened to reveal a wailing child, a harried grandmother and a 4 year-old protesting, “It was an accident”!

Residence Inn Logo

Residence Inn Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

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Ho Ho Ho Santa’s On His Way!

Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, BY THE WAY, Ha-P 2 B in OG, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 24, 2012| 3 Comments »

Christmas postcard, 1911

Christmas postcard, 1911

T’was the day before Christmas and all through the morning

No one was talking but I could hear all the groaning.

Tsk, tsk, tsk, not a good day to be mad,

‘Cause Santa knows who’s good and who’s bad!

No breakfast to eat, no paper to read,

Please go get me the Starbucks, I so desperately need.

Oh my how the years have come and gone by

No turkey to roast, no baking of pies.

The tree is much smaller and actually pink

Because we’re in the cottage, what did you think?

One or two gifts litter the floor

Hardly like Christmases years before.

It’s quiet around here, no sirens or noise

And of course no grandkids and noisy toys.

The cats hung their stockings in hopes that St. Nick

Will show up tonight and bring them  cat nip.

A different Christmas eve’s about to begin

Left-over pastas and martinis with gin.

Not trusting the programmers of commercial TV

We stocked  the house with Christmas DVDs.

First on the list is The Bishop’s Wife and 

Soon to follow, It’s A Wonderful Life.

Only the classics for us old folks you know

We like what like from years ago.

Last year was a gala ugly-sweater event

Tonight  a few friends but there’s no lament.

Although there’s no sitting by the fiery log

Or getting tipsy on killer egg nog,

None-the-less, we’ll enjoy the leftover food

And glasses of wine put all in a good mood.

As we clink our glasses filled with good cheer,

We wish all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I’ll put out the cookies and milk with a wish

That tomorrow morning I’ll find an empty dish.

Then I’ll know that dear Santa Clause stopped by to see

How clean the house was and how pink the tree!

I sent him my letter early on in the season

I wanted him to know I had a good reason.

It would take him some time and certainly some doing

Some planning, some cutting and lots of gluing.

I hope, I hope,  he thinks I’m not  too absurd

For wanting a “55 pink Thunderbird!

Oh YES!!!

Oh YES!!!

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The ITALIAN – GERMAN Thanksgiving Dinners

Posted in BY THE WAY, Friends, Smooth or Crunchy, Tasty Tidbits Tuesday, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 13, 2012| 5 Comments »

Thanksgiving Turkey

Thanksgiving Turkey (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Most people think of Thanksgiving dinner as the ultimate American meal.  After all, wasn’t it first celebrated with Native Americans and the Pilgrims?  Well that’s what I was told in grammar (age-related term) school.

However, this country is a melting pot, a diverse population made up of so many different ethnicities, I wouldn’t begin to try to number them.  I grew up in an Italian family (more about the German side later).  My first husband was also from an Italian family so for the first half of my life, Thanksgiving was tweaked to keep all the paisans happy.  When we celebrated Thanksgiving with my grandparents, the cry at the table was, “When do we eat the turkey”?   I wonder how many of you had to eat your way through several courses BEFORE the turkey made it to the table?  When you walk into most homes on Thanksgiving Day, the savory odor of roasting turkey greets you, or the sweet aroma of an apple pie baking in the oven.  When you entered my grandmother’s apartment, it was the rich simmering smell of tomato sauce that assaulted your nose.  The meal started with Baccala, a dried codfish served with greens.  I think it was served like a salad.  Then we had ravioli; big fat pasta puffs filled with cheese and a bowl of meatballs and sausages on the side.  I guess at some point the turkey came out but I really don’t remember it much.  

Once I was married, the Italian Thanksgiving took on another level of ethnicity.  Now there were side dishes that only would appear on an Italian table.  The stuffing was heavily flavored with grated Parmesan cheese, parsley and garlic.  We had stuffed mushrooms and stuffed artichokes right along with candied sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes and salad with Italian dressing!  

Then came the period in my life where I spent Thanksgiving with my Aunt Marian and my cousins in New Jersey.  Aunt Marian was married to Uncle Henny who was German and so Red Cabbage was always a side dish on Thanksgiving.  The creamed onions, turnips and candied sweets were there and because my cousins and myself were all adults, we made culinary contributions.  Peter insisted on a green vegetable and in those days, the only green vegetable he acknowledged was broccoli so I always steamed or sautéed some.  My cousin Marian liked to bring a lentil salad, cousin Janet baked pies.  I have five girl cousins, all with spouses and some with children.  Thanksgiving dinner was a BIG deal at Aunt Marian’s with about 20 people!

I’m actually half Italian and half German so I fit in wherever we went!  As for my own Thanksgiving meals, I often went for something different, whether it be various stuffings or the  year I tried brining the bird.  I’ve made seasonal soups and  lots of sides.  Earlier today I posted one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes and decided that for the count down to turkey day, I’d post a recipe a day.  I hope you enjoy them and would love it if my readers would send in comments about their favorite Thanksgiving side dish or dessert or ethnic accompaniment.  

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“Hail The Conquering Hero” ……..Veteran’s Day 2012

Posted in BY THE WAY, Friends, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , on November 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Book given to U.S. veterans in 1919 to help th...

Book given to U.S. veterans in 1919 to help them readjust to civilian life (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Or for that matter, the hundreds of thousands of U.S. Veterans we hail JUST for returning.  We salute the Veterans of all wars; today the oldest living veterans are from World War II, The Big One, as my parents generation referred to the war that shaped and altered their lives.  That war brought about many changes in life as they knew it.  My father and his friends grew up in an America that was growing industrially and agriculturally and with an ever-expanding middle class. Most were raised by frugal parents (my grandparents) who remembered all too clearly the sufferings of the Great Depression.  However, their lives were not overshadowed by nuclear threat and they were the children of a people who were thrilled and excited to be in the United States and imbued their children with a love of their newly-adopted country.  And so their sons went to war.  Most of those remaining veterans are now in their 80’s.  My dad died a few years ago and I remember vividly how in the last ten to fifteen years, he spent hours reminiscing about his days aboard a destroyer, how scared he was in the Battle of Leyte, how he and his buddies got drunk in Hawaii and all got tattoos.  I never understood this almost-obsession with the war days.  His life was certainly more than the years he spent in the Navy, but as he got older, he just wanted to talk about the 1940’s.

We also honor the Veterans of the Korean War and the Vietnamese War today.  Those veterans are in my age group; I don’t know any in my present circle of friends so not sure if as we age, they’re going to spend hours discussing those days in Asia.  My brother served in Vietnam as a tail gunner on helicopters, a very hairy position.  He returned home in one piece, at least physically.  However, when they came home, there were no ticker tape parades, there was no big fanfare – I think the best they got was a chance for a VA mortgage.  In the end, although serving your country is always a noble deed, the war itself was not popular and many who were honorably discharged, returned home feeling dishonored.  BUT today, you too are celebrated for your service to our country.

Now we are winding down not one but two wars and our veterans are coming home and many not all in one piece. It is important that we support a government that welcomes these servicemen and women home, that we offer them continuing education and the opportunity to find decent jobs.  Hopefully we have elected a President who will honor these moral obligations and a Congress and Senate that will enact the necessary legislation to make it happen!

I always used to call my Dad on Veteran’s Day because I knew that call was as important to him as one on his birthday.  If you know a veteran, call him or her and thank them!

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Hurricane Sandy – DAY 2 – The Aftermath

Posted in BY THE WAY, Ha-P 2 B in OG, Only in New York, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on October 31, 2012| 1 Comment »

After a night of howling wind, slashing rain and rattling windows, I woke up this morning to a new world.  The sidewalks of the Upper East Side were covered with leaves, large branches and in some cases whole trees were on the street.  People were out in huge numbers as the result of yet another day with no public transportation and most non-essential businesses closed!  Going out for breakfast in New York on the weekend or in this case a day off is practically a national pastime.  This morning we joined our friend, Gail for a late breakfast/lunch at Gracie’s, a coffee shop across the street.  The line to get in was out the door and to the end of the block!  Luckily Gail had gotten there before us and we were able to go right in and get a table.  I ordered one of my usual breakfast.  I said, “I’ll have scrambled egg whites on a toasted bialy with one slice of turkey bacon”.  The waiter said, “Just white or rye”.  I said, “Ok, I’ll have two poached eggs in a cup and…” at which point he interrupted me and said, “we only have scrambled eggs”.  So I laughed and said perhaps he ought to just write out the order himself!!!  So scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, rye toast and home fries was breakfast du jour.

Walked over to 87th St to watch the trees being fed into an automated garbage truck, not something you see around town.

Once back home an online, the horrors wrought by Sandy the night before began to reveal themselves.  Between fielding phone calls from friends around the country who were checking in on our safety and well-being and trying to access the internet to see what was written on Blogfinger, I watched the news.  Switching from NBC to ABC to CNN I was horrified by what I saw.  Massive destruction of the Jersey Shore!  Subway tunnels flooded and our own Eastside #6 line under water.  The crane still dangling over West 57th St.  My cousin Marian called me and asked if they could stay at our apartment on Wednesday as she is still banned from her building due to the threatening crane.

Extel, Billionaires building, Manhattan, W. 57th sT

How ONE Crane Ate A Neighborhood

Another telling photo, this one from Hoboken, NJ

Hoboken, NJ, fleet of taxis, Hurricane Sandy

The Yellow Submarines

Every borough was severely affected by Sandy. Below is a freak incident brought about by high winds and a stupendous storm surge.

Sandy took a wrong turn on Staten Island

Photo courtesy of (AP Photo/Sean Sweeney)

Late in the afternoon, I was able to go online at a friend’s house and view Blogfinger – THE DAY AFTER: Assessing the Damage

The following photos are from Blogfinger, a great source of community information.  If you read the comments, you will see how many home-owners such as myself rely heavily on the blog to find out what is happening in the town when we’re not there.  The bad news was right there in black and white. No power, more trees down, the board walk a twisted and buckled wreck, a former restaurant ripped open by the sea.

Ocean Grove NJ, boardwalk, Hurricane Sandy

Ocean Grove boardwalk covered in sand, benches strewn around like toys,

Photo by Paul Goldfinger

And then I called Jane at the Lillagaard to find out what damage had been done.  The news was NOT GOOD.  The storm surge broke the entry door to the Tea Room, not only pushing the door open but also bending the door frame.  Can you imagine the forces of nature at play with this ferocious Frankenstorm?  As of tonight the kitchen was still flooded and the Tea Room is closed till further notice 😦

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Hurricane Sandy – Heartless and Relentless! A FRANKENSTORM

Posted in BY THE WAY, Ha-P 2 B in OG, Only in New York, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , on October 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Where to begin? What can you say? So much destruction, so much pain, so much loss, so much mess.  We were warned…. we took precautions…we put away the outside furniture, we took what we could out of the freezer and we dutifully left as we were told to do.  It was a teary good-bye on Sunday afternoon as we pulled away from the cottage not knowing when we would return and what would we find when we got there.  

New York City seemed to be the much safer place for us and then again we didn’t really have the choice that we had a year ago, when we decided to ride out the storm with Hurricane Irene.  This time, mandatory evacuation was insistent and I reluctantly went along with the plan.  I had plans for Monday and Tuesday in the City anyway.  So back in our apartment we unpacked, ate dinner and went to bed listening to some light wind but not much more.

This morning it was raining lightly and since the Mayor closed the subways and stopped the busses, most of Manhattan’s residents woke up with a day off!  We went to  The Mansion for breakfast with my daughter Chiara, her husband, my sister-in-law, her son and of course Finley and Francesca.  The place was MOBBED! There was a festive mood throughout the diner, really like having an unexpected snow day when you’re in school. The City was virtually closed, Broadway was dark, schools were closed, Wall Street was closed, the airports were open but 95% of  the flights were cancelled. 

By 1pm the winds were really whipping around.  It kept swirling around creating waves of whooshing sound.  By 4pm it was raining and the wind was extremely strong and by the time I walked home 6 blocks I was drenched and winded.  Things started to go downhill rapidly from that point on.  

Soon the windows were rattling and rain and wind pounded against the panes.  By now every television in the apartment was on tuned to either CNN or ABC.  Reports started coming in as the menacing storm raced to our coast line.  We were stressed to the max dividing our anxiety between Ocean Grove and Manhattan.  We felt fairly secure in our home 14 floors up but so uncertain as to what was happening to our little cottage La Vie en Rose as it sat squarely in the path of Hurricane Sandy.  And I was concerned for about the tea room at The Lillagaard.  The hotel sat only 2 properties in from the boardwalk and was extremely vulnerable – it also had been locked up, sand-bagged and left to fend off the storm by itself. 

It’s now 11:30pm and the following is a partial list of the highlights, well actually the horrors of the Hurricane:

NEW YORK CITY

A construction crane 90 stories high in what has been called the Billionaire’s Building partially collapses and is presently dangling over the very busy, highly-trafficked West 57th St.  Buildings all around the building were evacuated.  My cousin had to leave her home on the corner of W. 57th and 6th Avenue.  Con-Ed shut down the power in the building and the gas.

Hundreds of trees came down, littering residential side streets and I saw one fall on First Avenue – not exactly what you expect to see in The City.

The subway entrances were cordoned off and sand-bagged, the grates sealed down, the entire system shut down in hope of preventing any salt water from entering the tunnels.

Battery Park City at the bottom of Manhattan was flooded by noon. Eventually there was over 13′ of water running over the walls.  The Hudson River breached the West Side Highway and was running eastward on 23rd St.  The East River breached and flooded FDR Drive.

There were a series of explosions as transformers blew up and one sub-station.  Con-Ed also voluntarily shut down some areas to preserve equipment.   By 10pm most of Manhattan south of 42nd Street and from river to river was dark – NO POWER.

Our lights are flickering every now and then and earlier this evening I lost cable tv and internet access.

No school tomorrow, no subways, no busses, and maybe no power.  At this hour every tunnel and bridge are closed so you can’t get in and you can’t get out!  How long can the few restaurants that were open or the few grocery stores open last without receiving new supplies.

OCEAN GROVE

I agonized most of the day trying to find out what was happening to our seaside community.  Tonight I was able to get online and check out Blogfinger – Ocean Grove Faces Hurricane Sandy’s Destruction

The Garden State Parkway was closed south of exit 129, the New Jersey Turnpike was closed. 

Neptune Township restricted  traffic on municipal streets. Police banned cars from Ocean Avenue and people from walking along the boardwalk.

Mandatory evacuation was extended further west and along streets near the lakes.

Additional man-made sand bermes were made along South Beach.

By mid-afternoon and mid-tide, the ocean had risen to the top of the Fishing Pier.

The high tide breached the dunes and washed over the boardwalk.  Water ran west as far as Beach Ave and a storm surge flooded New York Avenue and Broadway.  Power was out in most if not all of Ocean Grove.

Wind and waves destroyed the fishing shack on the Fishing Pier.  Part of the roof of the Great Auditorium was blown off. 

A tree came down on the corner of Central and Main and also one at the corner of Main and New Jersey Avenue.

Hurricane Sandy, Ocean Grove, Blogfinger, Mary Walton

Hurricane Sandy brings down a tree

Photo taken by Mary Walton for Blogfinger

Ocean Grove, Fishing pier, Monday October 29, Hurricane Sandy

The Fishing Pier 5pm Monday October 29th

Photo taken by Mary Walton for Blogfinger

The news is most disheartening and I think I will be canceling my Wednesday plans are heading back to New Jersey to assess the damage and see what state the Lillagaard and the tea room are in.  In the great scheme of things, the loss of food is minor, even though it creates a disgusting mess.  However, prior to leaving I spent considerable time baking in preparation for some imminent tea services.  Right now the thought of having to bake everything all over again and shop for all the food destroyed is pretty grim – BUT as I said  I know that’s so minor compared to the real devastation and loss wreaked by this vicious act of Mother Nature.  

Well, let’s see what tomorrow brings.  The lights are still flickering here, so I have filled the bathtub with water to flush the toilet, filled water bottles for drinking water and two huge pots for cooking water.  

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I Got Lost In An Electronic Jungle Today

Posted in BY THE WAY, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , on October 3, 2012| 1 Comment »

Wi-Fi Signal logo

Wi-Fi Signal logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I consider myself to be pretty well-versed in computer technology considering my age (which means it’s possible Finley is better at it than me lol).  BUT today, OMG, what a freakin’ nightmare.  Here’s how it went down…

I opened up my new MAC PRO and attempted to log onto the WiFi in the apartment.  I tried at least 15 times to access it and each time I got an error message telling me the password or the WEP whatever that is was incorrect.  What to do?  I  had brought my new MAC PRO to New York so I could look at the screen  on my pc desktop and read the directions on how to install my company’s remote connection.  I did this because I thought it would be easier than trying to read the PDF on my ‘Droid.  I mean every time I try to widen and enlarge the screen on the phone, it either goes bonkers big or expands and contracts at will all the time moving around the page!  Geez, what a pain that is.  But aha, I have my very own personal IT support person!  I contacted him through  Skype on the DELL to see if he could walk me through the dilemma.  I have TeamViewer on my DELL and also had it on my old laptop which meant he could access my computer remotely and fix any problem I had.   Well of course I don’t have that program on the MAC yet and as he reminded me, I needed to be on the internet in order to install TeamViewer, duh!!! Finally, and I have no idea what I did differently on the 16th try, the MAC picked up the WiFi network.  

When I opened up the desktop  to look at the PDF,  I knew right away this was going to be a problem.  I had come back to New York last week and discovered that my screen had the shakes!  I had left the computer in sleep mode for several weeks and apparently something happened to it. With the screen blurring due to the wiggling pixels it was impossible to read some of the instructions – most specifically the last 3 characters of the website I needed to access.  How ridiculous!  I even tried using  a magnifying glass to discern the words – all to no avail.

OK, thinking that there is more than one way to skin a cat (What a horrible idea!), I thanked God that I had brought my iPad home also and could connect to the company through it.  I was able to access the company files and proceeded to spend 20 minutes trying to retrieve the email sent to me by our IT support person which had the PDF in it.  For some reason, I couldn’t get the side slide bar to move easily up and down the list of emails while trying to find that one.  Maybe I am so used to using a mouse that I couldn’t finesse the electronic touch pad.  Finally, yes finally I found the email and opened the PDF.  Now at least I had the website where the instruction were supposed to be.  How MANY times do you think I typed in those 25 or more characters, underscores, forward slashes and dots?  I don’t know!!!! I called the company IT support person and left a whiny message about how the web address he gave me didn’t work.  I can’t believe I did that because I KNOW it’s never the computer, it’s always the operator.  Sure enough after re-typing it for umpteenth time, I got it right – apparently the address was auto-filling in a lot of the wrong characters I entered earlier and in the end, I realized it was missing the http:// OMG! I had to make a second phone call asking IT to disregard my previous message 😦 (read embarrassed).

I now had 3 computers open in a triangle of about 2 feet AND a large Starbucks Americano.  Well of course the inevitable happened- I knocked it over, screamed and scared the cat right out of the chair and quickly tossed the red-light-flashing mouse out of danger.  After that fiasco, I was able to download and install the remote connection program.  I had this cute little open box icon on my screen and when I clicked on it, the installation directions came up again. Ai yi yi.   I went back to the iPad and managed to move the cursor down enough to get to page 3 and 4 of the instructions and there it was – a picture of the program’s icon not just the box it arrived in.  I looked down at my task bar and there it was.  Needless to say I had already looked there and in the Finder and Mission Control (oh god, I love these MAC terms lol) and never recognized it!

Finally I was able to open the program to make sure it was working and it was.  Time to close the pc, turn off the iPad, pick up the ‘Droid and shut down the MAC and leave!!!! It felt good to get out of the jungle and see the light again.

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Movies That Make You Cry

Posted in Amuse-bouche du jour, BY THE WAY, From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , on October 2, 2012| 6 Comments »

Cary Grant

Cary Grant (Photo credit: twm1340)

I just walked into my apartment after having dinner with  a dear friend who told me all about her wonderfully romantic vacation.  My husband had left the TV on in the den and of course it was tuned to  ONE OF THE ONLY TWO stations he watches – TCM (Turner Classic Movies).  

And what did I see? OMG I had the good fortune to walk in on the last scene of An Affair to Remember!!!! OMG (again) that scene just rips your heart out and then puts it back in its appropriate place…

Cary Grant was beyond gorgeous in this movie.  Perfectly groomed, hair with a part as straight as I-95, impeccably dressed in his own clothes always sporting French cuffs and there he is pacing nervously around Deborah Kerr‘s living room.  She is posed and poised on the couch dressed in red (after all it is Christmas) and a red coverlet covers her lower body.  Well I’m crying as soon as he starts carrying on about how he never went to the Empire State Building  and she plays it so cool yet conveying through some facial expressions the tumult of emotions at play in her mind and heart.

Tears are dropping down my cheeks and I know that the crescendo of this emotional scene has yet to unfold but it definitely on its way.  The shawl, the confession of waiting and waiting, the deep looks exchanged between the two former lovers….He moves to the door and in true Hollywood pull-at-your-heartstrings style, he stops and turns for one last look.

And then slowly in perfect timing, he explains to Terry why he didn’t take money for the painting…I’m bawling now, sobbing at each passing moment.  The climax is heartfelt and Nickie’s face is a road map of discovery, pain, realization and heartbreak.

What movies make you cry? I have some more, but I think An Affair to Remember is my all-time-guaranteed-to-make-you-cry movie.   Would love to hear from some of my readers which movies cause their eyes to fill up!

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WHERE WERE YOU on 9/11 ???

Posted in BY THE WAY, New York Speaks, Only in New York, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , on September 11, 2012| 1 Comment »

September 11, 2001,the day the world stopped turning, the day life changed as we knew it.  WHERE WERE YOU?   We remember where we were, who we were with and what we were doing on those days during our lives  that mark an unforgettable event.

September 11, 2001

September 11, 2001 (Photo credit: wallyg)

If you are a baby boomer like me, then you remember that infamous day, November 22, 1963.  I was in high school and an announcement came over the PA system informing us  that President Kennedy had been shot and school was dismissed so we could all go home and be with our families.

Our parents could probably tell us just where they were on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7th 1941 and VJ Day!  Life-altering events are etched in our minds and hearts.

July 21, 1969, “The Eagle Has Landed “-Neil Armstrong walks on the lunar surface. The United States has put a man on the moon.   I was at a lake in Connecticut with my   first husband.  We were visiting a friend of the family, it was a beautiful summer day and I remember the thrill of hearing that news!  Oh boy, it was great to be an American that day!

Some of us even remember where we were the day  John Lennon  was shot. December 8, 1980.  It wasn’t life-altering for me but it certainly was meaningful.

And that brings us to September 11, 2001 – This is my generation’s “A date which will live in infamy”.  Where were you that beautiful September Tuesday?  A day with the clearest of clear blue skies, all the better to see the planes as they careened into our Towers.  It was Primary Day in New York City, a day of  political aspirations and apparently also one of sinister aspirations. 

I was with my husband, Peter and we had just voted in the Primary and as we left the polling place, we stopped to greet one of the candidates standing outside.  As we stood with him, a man rushed up to him and asked if he had heard about the plane that crashed into Grand Central Terminal?  We looked at each other in bewilderment and remarked to each other how could a plane crash into the GCT considering it sits in the middle of some very tall buildings – a plane would have to drop out of the sky straight down.

We got as far as the corner of our street and just then a crosstown bus pulled up so I quickly kissed him goodbye and hopped on the bus to go to work.  I normally took the crosstown bus as far as Lexington Avenue where I would board the Number 6 subway train to 59th Street.  The bus hadn’t even gone one block when it was obvious something was wrong.  Many of the passengers were on cell phones and exclamations of “What?” were heard all around.  One woman was on the phone with her mother who was watching a special report on TV.  This woman began to repeat what she was being told. OMG!  I called Peter immediately and said put the TV on.  The bus got to Lexington Avenue and I decided not to get off.  What I had heard and the smoke that I could see as we reached Lexington Avenue, convinced me that going underground was not a good idea.

I got off at Fifth Avenue, chaos and confusion was rampant. Where were the buses?  My cell phone isn’t working – what should I do?  Should I go to the office and if so, how?  Should I go home?  Panic, terror and desperation brings strangers together and so I got in a cab with 2 other women who were heading south.  We were tense, we looked at our cab driver, he wasn’t an American…

The office was in the cold clutches of uncertainty, misinformation and frustration.  What the hell were we doing here?  The TV wouldn’t work, who had a radio? Even the computers were not giving us any much-needed information.  After less than 2 hours I announced I was going home and advised everyone else to do so.

I walked out onto Madison Avenue into a sea of moving humanity.  The streets were filled with people moving northward in around whatever vehicles were on the road clogged in total gridlock.  I found a pay phone and called home to say I was on my way on foot.  I stopped at a bodega with an ATM machine and to this day I don’t know what inspired me to do so but was so glad I did.  I had a premonition that everything was going to be frozen.  I wasn’t far from wrong as shortly thereafter, Manhattan went into virtual lockdown.  You couldn’t get on the island and you couldn’t really get out so easily.  We didn’t want to leave, we ended up glued to the television for the rest of the day and night.  We fielded calls from friends around the country who wanted to make sure we were safe.

My friend Gail didn’t want to be alone, so she came over.  Every television in the apartment was on tuned to different stations.  My cousin Christine wanted to be with us, so she came over. Nobody was leaving, we clung to each other while crying and wailing the same montra over and over again, “Oh my God”.  

Helen called me and suggested we walk to Lenox Hill Hospital and give blood.  So I left with her filed with good intentions only to be turned away – No blood needed – No survivors!

I went back home in shock.  My daughter was living on East 27th Street and she was ensconced safely in her apartment.  Her aunt and cousin joined her to spend the night.  There is such comfort in sharing with those you care about and love, whether it be some joyful news or some tragedy.

That’s how I spent September 11, 2001, I will never forget it.  Where were you?  Let us know.

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NEIL SEDAKA – 60 Years of Love Songs-Telling It Like It Is!

Posted in From My Point of View - Personal commentary on Movies and Books, Ha-P 2 B in OG, Smooth or Crunchy, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 19, 2012| 1 Comment »

American singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka. Taken ...

American singer-songwriter Neil Sedaka. Taken at the 2007 Scream Awards. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When you hear someone say, “Neil Sedaka,”  what do you think of?  I believe most people think of some 50’s simplistic Rock and Roll tune, like  the happy-go-lucky-even-if-slightly-naieve, Next Door To An Angel.  If that’s what you’re thinking, then please read on because  the next time you hear  the name, Neil Sedaka, you’re going to think twice. NO, not twice more like somewhere between 300-500 – that’s how many songs he wrote.  Neil Sedaka is a consummate composer.  I tried to do some quick research and find the answer to this burning question – just how many songs did Neil Sedaka write and/or cowrite?  I found a list of about 270 titles and in Wikipedia, it says he wrote 500.  Either way, it’s one hell of a lot of musical talent.

Neil Sedaka was playing the piano when he was eight years old.  When he was in high school in Brooklyn, NY he formed a Doo Wop group with now-famous classmates, known as The Tokens.  He was accepted into the prestigious Julliard School of Music in Manhattan, where his parents hoped he would become a concert pianist.  He is a concert pianist, he just doesn’t perform as one – believe me he plays beautifully as he demonstrated tonight at the end of his concert.

BUT tonight’s concert inspired this blog, not so much as a review of his performance but rather more as an homage to his enduring creative talent, a God-given gift (his words).  I wanted to use the word, genius, however, genius connotes (to me anyway) a talent at an extraordinary  level.  Maybe he is composing at an extraordinary level and I don’t recognize it because he makes it seem so easy.   As he said; he sits at the piano, comes up with a tempo, then a melody and then lyrics.  Sounds simple, right?  NOT!  

For me, this evening was yet another trip down nostalgia lane.  Oh those songs!  I think I sat there with a lump in my throat for most of the evening and a couple brought tears to my eyes.  The love songs had lyrics that pluck at your heart-strings.  I guess when you’re a woman of a certain age you can’t help but remember where you were, who you were with and when.  I can’t tell you what I had for dinner 4 nights ago, but I knew every word to every song!  Scary isn’t it?  And most of all I think his lyrics tell it like it is. Mr. Sedaka said that he drew inspiration for his songs from his family and friends.  And the he told us he has been married to the lovely Leba, his wife of 50 years.  She must truly be the love of his life – how else could one feel and express such emotion.  From heartbreak to regrets, to wishing and dreaming of true love, and  from longing to loving forever, the music plays on, the romance continues and all in words you can clearly understand and remember!  

The following are just a few of the songs performed this evening:

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

Love Will Keep Us Together

Laughter In The Rain

And also the sad but very real Solitaire, Lonely Night, Should Have Never Let You Go, I Let You Walk Away.   The lyrics are haunting.  Often at a concert, the performer introduces some new song they’ve written or recorded and I have mostly been disappointed.  Not so tonight.  Neil Sedaka is still writing songs and sang one from a few years ago, You.  Now that’s a love song!  It had to appeal to the large majority of middle-age couples and seniors in the audience.  It is a story of the lifetime love between two people, very sweet. I loved it!

Neil Sedaka has been writing and singing songs for over 55 years.  The list is way too long for this blog, for as he said tonight, “I’ve a got a million”.  However, so many of the songs were hits and released many times over by various artists, I think you’ll know every one of them:

Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen

Earth Angel

Carol

Alone At Last

Angel Eyes

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Cathy’s Clown

It’s All In The Game

Climb Up (Stairway to Heaven)

Proud Mary

Stagger Lee

Tears On My Pillow

The Diary

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