Yesterday I made it to the gym and then went to meet Dave. It was a clear, sunny morning, so we walked across Central Park, stopping by Bethesda Fountain and Strawberry Fields. We marveled at the variety of musicians busking in the park, from jazz trios with full drum kits to a solo sax player and guys with didgeridoos.
Eventually we made our way to the west side to meet Randall and David, a couple I know through work, to go to a movie, “Angels and Demons.” It was a really fun movie, though utterly absurd.
We also stopped at the Magnolia Bakery, where I was thrilled to find banana pudding with vanilla wafers! Woo hoo! Mrs. Kirkland, the woman who took care of me and my brother during the day when we were kids -- and who was something of a surrogate grandmother -- made amazing banana pudding. This took me right back!
Walking back through the park from the movie, Dave and I stumbled onto a concert by the U.S. Marines at the bandshell. It’s Fleet Week, so the streets of New York are filled with strolling sailors and Marines, and I guess this concert must have been a related event. We stayed for the whole thing -- at first I felt a little like I was in the belly of the beast, a committed leftie wearing my U.S. Peace Corps cap, surrounded by military folks -- but eventually I set that feeling aside and enjoyed our inherent commonality. It was a good performance, right down to “America the Beautiful.”
(I'm so rusty on patriotic protocol. The band played “The Star Spangled Banner” and I sang right along with everyone else, and even remembered to take off my cap. But I realized about halfway through that I put the wrong hand over my heart. And then I wondered whether the hand-over-the-heart thing even applies when we sing the national anthem -- or is that just the Pledge of Allegiance? I’m such an idiot.)
We walked back home via Fifth Avenue, just talking, and spent a quiet evening here, making soup and watching some stuff on YouTube. A great day!
(Photo: Spelling mishap in Bushwick, Brooklyn, May 2009)
I didn't notice the "S", just the "fork lift", which would have been quite enough to deter me!
ReplyDeleteYour day with Dave sounds excellent! As for the hand thing, I think it's acceptable to put your hand over your heart for anything patriotic. The crowd probably commended you for your gesture, despite the fact that it may have been the wrong hand (maybe the guy's dyslexic?) :)
What kind of soup did you make? Could it stand up to my stinging nettles soup?
I'm pretty sure that a guy who menaces you with a forklift, doesn't worry about spelling.
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