The New York Event in our memories

The New York Event - before and after!
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lizzytysh
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Post by lizzytysh »

Thanks for the "Stubborn," Lightning ~ I knew I was leaving something out, but for writing that post between the hours of 2:30 and 5:30 AM [and feeling it now :shock: ], I think I included most of what I wanted to say :wink: . I've corrected our official name.

We did notice that not much [anything?] was Cohen-related, but then we only got 2 of the 4 clue sheets.....so maybe on the 3rd or 4th? I'm guessing/hoping others had fun with it ~ and congratulate whoever won. However, I know that some others dropped out by choice [rather than necessity, as I/we did ~ though had we all stayed together, we'd likely have voted in that direction, anyway].

Ah well. Live and learn.

~ Lizzy
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Post by lizzytysh »

Hi John ~

If the recall you refer to has to do with the clues, it's because I still have the two sheets, including the map :wink: . I wish we had taken the tack you did [well, I wish I had] ~ I believe Margaret and Lightning had a lovely walkabout in the Village, once they realized for sure that I was a goner :lol: .

I believe the energy that you're commenting on, and that Lightning has commented on has to do with a literal infusion of that of the City, as well as that of the Event. If you consider that I'm an 8-hour-minimum-sleep-per-night person ~ and that my sleep at the Event was, Thursday thru Tuesday, respectively, 4hrs, 4hrs, 4hrs, 3hrs, 5hrs, and 7hrs ~ and I awoke with no alarm or phone call, every morning [except at the Chelsea, but it seems like I may have already been up, checking the time on the TV, when the call came], in time to be where I needed to be by 9AM ~ you have to know that the energy came from somewhere outside of myself! When you consider that, as I drove from New York to Michigan, I had to pull over 5 times because I was falling asleep at the wheel, it only reenforces the energy-source issue. However, thank you for the compliment :D .

I wish I had been able to take notes at the Event. Next time.

~ Lizzy
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margaret
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Post by margaret »

sorry to jump back in so late, I've been very busy with household matters!

The other members of our team, The Stubborn Garbage Bags, were Rick from England and Lori from USA. We eventually found our way back to the starting point at CBGB's bar. After a little rest (we had after all been on our feet all morning on the walking tour!) we decided to return to Columbia by bus so we could see more of the city on the way, although it did take a bit longer than the subway!

margaret
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Post by lizzytysh »

Thank you for your high compliments, John. At least you were able to witness the births of your children. Yes? However, as regards your memory; from my understanding, your wedding :shock: and being present during childbirth :shock: may not be the fairest measures. Male-istically speaking, your compromised memories of these events may be rather solidly in the norm :wink: .

Thanks for clarifying the other members of our team, Margaret. As it turned out, I got to know the streets of New York better than I did them :shock: !

The air-conditioned bus, eh? Shows how much of a rush we were in ~ we never even got around to discussing that. Maybe you didn't want me to feel any worse than I already did :wink: ~ I did notice that you and Lightning didn't seem nearly as concerned about it all as I was :lol: .

~ Lizzy
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Central Park Afternoon

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Central Park ~ one place I want to return to, when I have more time. Margaret and I had to rush through it, so there was much we missed, and what we did see, we couldn't really spend much time with. At the entrance where we went in, in the curve of the 'access' loop/road in front of it, there was a horse-drawn carriage, with a white horse. When I saw it, I thought of a romantic, 30s-sounding song from John and Yoko's album, "Double Fantasy," where they seemed to be riding in a carriage. As I approached and briefly petted him, however, I immediately thought of Ferdinand [as I'm recalling the name to be], the famous Kentucky Derby winner that was sold and shipped overseas, and ended up in dog food. His fate was major in the onset of a battle by activists on behalf of horses. Apparently, many horses, who have spent their lives in service to people and their whims and desires, racing, pulling carriages, et al, have ended up that way. Horses who have wanted only to please their masters. Well, I don't need to go through all of that.....however, those were my initial thoughts upon entering Central Park.

Such a respit from the streets of New York it turned out to be, however. Just like the photos and the stories, winding pavement through hilly terrain, joggers passing by, people with dogs, birds fluttering about, rollerbladers, people with babies in strollers, and other walkers. Green. So green. The trees, bushes, grass, and foliage. I was amazed at the difference in land forms. We passed by ponds, and lamented at the fate of animals in zoos, when we came upon one of them. I asked Margaret to take a photo of me beneath a statue of a wildcat that was placed in the side of a chopped-off hill. Then, a thirty-something, blonde pony-tailed woman passing by [roller-blading?] agreed to take a picture of us together. Or, did she offer? It seems like she did; if not, she was just so agreeable to it, that she might as well have :D .

We had differing opinions on whether I should have my picture taken by the side of the metal statue of a man on a horse ~ where the statue was 'engraved' with "POLAND" ~ or the front of it, where the smaller print gave his name and additional information. For me, however, the name of the country of one of my origins held more significance, and since the photo related to me, I 'won' :wink: . Margaret took a photo of families picnic'ing, with children playing, in the open, grassy area that looked like 'a park.'

I wanted to come out near where The Dakota was, my original, end-goal for trekking through the Park. We found out what street we needed to end up at, and the most expedient way to it. However, after several curves, and having taken a slightly wrong turn, that took us beyond where we should've gone, we began hearing opera'tic orchestration. There across a grassy field was a bandshell, and people doing sound testing. One of the things we'd wondered about was 'Opera in the Park' ~ and serendipitously, there it was! Making wrong turns can certainly have its advantages 8) ! I asked a man passing by if that's really what it was and he confirmed it. He couldn't recall whether it was going to be Madame Butterfly or one by Verdi [whose name I can't recall, as I'd never heard of it ~ my former husband later named it for me and when I asked, "How did you know that!?!" he said, "It's always the one that no one's ever heard of :wink: ."]. I struck out ahead of Margaret [so, what else is new :wink: , cuz it was getting to be late afternoon, early evening] and we wanted to find out the details on seeing the next day, how early did we need to come, where would we come in at, etc. The man had told us we could come see it at 8:00 PM, or we could watch the rehearsal from 11:30 till 2:00, or 11 till 2:30. That sounded fine to us. Turned out we could come any time of the day for either, so the entry spot wouldn't be a big deal. Yep, that's what we'd do. Come to the rehearsal, and still have our night free. The man had also told us about free plays in a theatre that he pointed out, but that wouldn't be happening during our time in New York.

We continued, and passed a sign noting "Strawberry Fields" ~ which set Margaret on talking about the Beatles' popularity vs. other, "just as talented" groups in the area, and how they had gotten heavily promoted, in front of the rest. She had a friend who had dated [once] one of them; Paul, as I recall. Of course, I 'defended' them to the 'nth' degree ~ their songs are well on their way to being classics, and just 'any' group wouldn't have that kind of songwriting ability. Perhaps, in Britain, they weren't embraced quite as wholly as they were in the U.S. At any rate, my loyalty lies with John, and with his last home being where we were walking to, considering other groups as being just as talented wasn't something I was likely to embrace. We came out on the other side of the Park, past huge boulders, and very exotic-looking, dark-green-foliaged ravines. Back to the streets of New York.

We had to walk back to where The Dakota would be. Other buildings along the way had their names engraved in them. When we got to it, however, the name was nowhere that could be seen. However, there was a doorman, dressed in slate blue, standing by a double, black, wrought-iron gate. I approached him and he had "The Dakota" embroidered on his uniform. I'd intended to ask if Yoko still lives there, which I have no reason to believe she doesn't, but for whatever reason, still wanted to confirm it. Instead, I asked if this was 'the' gate where John was entering, and he confirmed it was. I asked if we could take a picture, with him in it, and he said yes, but that he couldn't pose for it, that he'd "just stand right here" and he turned slightly, looking away, as he said it. I went and stood near a small, free-standing, metal sign, intended for keeping the public out. It was, quite likely, the one photo of me taken with my knowledge, in which I did not smile. It felt more like a grimace. I'd forgotten about Yoko and, afterward, I approached the doorman again and asked, "How close to the gate did he get?" He said, "Right there," and pointed to the exact spot where I'd just been standing. For that, I wasn't at all prepared and broke down. Tears filled my eyes, all the way back from 1980, and I walked away toward Margaret. I tried to explain to her how it was for me at the time, and as I did, I was struck by how I was feeling the same on the inside, now, as I had then. Twenty-four years had just disappeared. I couldn't describe exactly how I had felt at the time; the intensity, or the exact reasons for, the grief I felt; or why the loss was so deep. I only knew it was the same kind as with John F. Kennedy and his brother, Bobby, and slightly less, Martin Luther King, Jr. I described exactly what I was doing, when I heard [up all night because of some college class; hearing it coming faintly from my bedroom radio upstairs ~ yet straight to my ears ~ and me getting up and following the broadcaster's voice up the stairs in disbelief and denial]. I related how the grief I felt was intense, but I wasn't one of those who sought counseling for it; but how I still have distinct memories of riding on a bus, and seeing some youngish guys acting idiotic and thinking, "Why couldn't it have been you!?! Why him!?!" Yes, absolutely, I know those weren't 'cool' or righteous thoughts, but I was just being honest. It's how I was feeling and what I thought. Maybe ten minutes later, I was able to talk normally, and the tears subsided. My visceral response to the doorman's words shocked me in its immediacy and intensity. New York was still fresh, as I drove from Michigan, enroute back to Florida, and from 70 miles north of Atlanta, listened for a hundred miles, to two hours out of a regular, four-hour, Sunday morning program of all Beatles music. It was when "Imagine" came on that the tears returned. Some of the things we experience can be just as powerful years later as the day they happened. Driven even deeper by the damages of time, the tears fall for many things.

We didn't make it back the next day for the opera rehearsal. Getting out of Carman and over to the Chelsea turned out to be problematic when I, by habit, locked my car after I'd put some things in it, and had to go for more. I thought my keys were locked in, and after finally getting hold of the 'real' AAA ~ are a lot of the companies listed in the phone book ever deceptive in their business names :shock: ! ~ when I called the one listed as AAA Towing and Service and asked, "Are you AAA?" the man replied, "Yes." I explained that I needed someone to come unlock my car, and he said, "That'll be $80." I, of course, reacted to that, and he said, "I can do it for you for $65." When I said, "Well, what's the point of having AAA!?!" he hung up on me. Using the computer, we finally found the real AAA, and got them on their way. With her things already in my car, and prior to my calling anyone on the phone, Margaret had begun thinking in terms of missing her flight back to England the following day :shock: , so having AAA enroute was a relief for her, too. While waiting, I started going through the bags I still had, figuring I might as well 'just in case' and ~ Bingo ~ there were my keys :D ! I cancelled 'the real AAA' call, and by the time we got loaded, and my car back to the parking garage; caught the subway with the things we'd need [and not need :wink: ] for one night; and checked in at the Chelsea, with the Leonard-room snafu and my fall and all; the rehearsal was at least half over! So much for "Opera in the Park" ~ at least on this trip!

~ Lizzy
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Variety

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Thursday night, on the cruise ~ Margaret and I, with Ron the journalist from Holland, ended up in 'the kids section' :shock: ~ whoa! couldn't hear a thing the tour guide on the speaker was saying, youths being as they are! We finally decided to move, and ended up behind a slightly-older kid, who was still talking loudly and messing around with popcorn. We finally made our last move when I spotted some seats directly behind Eija and Jarkko. I couldn't believe it. It seemed so 'odd' in its way, that after three years of Internet communication, I could actually reach out and touch Jarkko, in front of me! I didn't, of course :wink: ; but that's how I was formulating my thoughts of the 'surreal' nature of finally meeting people in 'real life.' Margaret and I were already making our "I can't believe it's really you :shock: !" adjustments :lol: .

After the cruise, we all crowded off the boat [the Captain, who had seen me running down the dock and toward the plank, assuring me the boat wasn't going to leave, asked afterward if it had been worth the running ~ most definitely, it had :D !] ~ anyway, we all tried to stay in a group, as we were in a crush of people working our way toward crossing the street, and then down the sidewalk toward the restaurant section in the area. We weren't sure how many could end up being sat at one restaurant for getting some dinner. However, Lizzie Madder talked a couple people into a Mexican, all-you-can-eat place. Margaret and I just weren't 'that' hungry, at I think $12.95 per person. So, a bunch of us ended up at an Italian place [though Kim's camera missed :wink: our table of four [Scott Harney, me, Sinikka, and Margaret], in the middle aisle, but next to Geoff's brother [ 8) :D :wink: ], Eija, Jarkko, Linda and Dick Straub, and Barbara Mayer [from Germany]'s table ~ was "Da Rosina" the name of the place, or just the name on the wall, behind their table? Not to 'worry' though ~ before we all left, it was Jarkko 8) on the spot, surprizing us with his own camera ~ enabling us to also switch off with ours, to get a complete photo of our table and dinner companions. Now, check out the odds on this! We're talking to Sinikka, the woman from Finland, who had spontaneously joined us at our table. Our conversation led to the discovery of our being on the same floor of Carman ~ and then [out of over 200 people], her being our suitemate :shock: ! We're in 604A and she's in 604B! Very nice woman ~ and one I'm looking forward to seeing come out from behind the curtain here :wink: !

After dinner, a group of us make our way to the subway. Down the stairs at the 42nd Street entrance.....heading toward the ramp to wait on the 'train' ~ exquisite music in the air. "Is that recorded or Live?" "No, that's Live!" ~ I think Joe Way, maybe Dick Straub, answered me. It's a Japanese couple set up in the middle of the subway landing. He has a braid to his waist and is standing at a keyboard. She has long hair, pulled back, and is sitting demurely, playing her lute , with its case, open on the floor in front of her, for tips. Their music is enchanting, and after finally finding a dollar, I couldn't bring myself to just drop it or throw it in her case, so knelt to place it there. When I turned around, the subway doors were just closing. I ran to the car windows, and pounded on them, as if they'd actually "Open Sesame! :roll: " Everyone in the group was on the inside, and I was on the outside :shock: :( . Margaret and Anne had to look every bit as stunned as I did, and then suddenly it was like a Woody Allen movie, with Anne, wide-eyed from the other side of the glass, using her fingers with first one hand, and then with both, as well as mouth'ing it, to signal me to get the "1 or the 9!" the "1 or the 9!" the "1 or the 9!" [the subway numbers that would get me back to Carman] ~ until the car started to move, and we all kind of helplessly waved and smiled to each other, and I just shrugged my shoulders and then laughed. Suddenly, I realized that there I was, with time to listen to more of that incredible music 8) , and time to take some pictures of them :D ! Two-and-a-half songs and three photos later, I was on my way!

Enroute back, the details of which I did get written down somewhere ~ but can't find! ~ I sat on the bench next to a young man from France, living in New York City, working at the French Embassy. I think he'd been there about a month and had at least 6 or more months to go. If I find his details, I'll Edit this posting. However, it was a very pleasant ride back, and was another reminder that one closed door can open many others 8) :D ! I tore off a piece of the newspaper I had, and quickly tried to scrawl the address to this site, in case he ever wanted to 'drop by' ~ but I didn't have time to get it all down; I think maybe I didn't get Leonard's name fully spelled out. You know how that kind of thing goes anyway, but at least I tried :roll: . I "Tah-Dah'd!"my arrival back at Carman, and went in and to bed. A good time was had by all :D !

On Friday night, at the Knitting Factory, Margaret and I ~ our duties finally done ~ are in line for a plate of Leonard's [hearty and scrumptious!] favourite foods, and I turn to find who[?], standing right behind me? You got it [or maybe you didn't :wink: ]! Sinikka :D ! Of course, that meal, too, turned out to be one of the many meals-on-the-run. Got the food; dropped my glasses; met with the Scavenger Hunt people, who were taking over on the selling of the tickets; started to eat; had a sudden concern that meant hunting down Geoff; found him and related it; saw that the show was starting :shock: ; ran back down and told Margaret to bring her plate; grabbed mine; saw no seats available on the main floor; started up to the balcony; told we couldn't take food up there; stood by the woman in the ticket-booth-looking box at the foot of the wooden, winding stairs; prioritized how much of which items were most essential [from The Essential Leonard Cohen Meal] ~ had to have some of everything; dessert least important, had least of that; dumped what was left [not much ~ after years of waitressing, I can eat fast] in the wastebasket already beginning to be overfilled with plates, plastic ware, and napkins; asked the girl for some of the napkins she had; ran up the stairs; and, in the dark, found seats, switched seats, found the 'best' seat on the steps between the seats; and then switched again, at Linda Straub's behest. Ahhhhh ~ the show :D !

Generous gentleman, Kieron, thank you again for your offers to buy us even more Red Needles [after the first one you bought us], at the end of the evening at The Knitting Factory. We had to leave, to get back in time, to be in place at 9, for the last morning of registration. We'd have loved to, otherwise. As it was, two was fine ~ and enough ~ for the night. Discovery ~ Red Needles really do taste great, when they're made correctly 8) ! It was the kind of night that should have still gone on, and did for some :D . Maybe in Berlin, we can actually converse. After walking swiftly alongside John Bergeron, as he and Geoff, etc. made their way to the corner to catch a cab back, I got John to sign my Event program, and then returned to The Knitting Factory to find Margaret, so we could get home, too. Thank you to Zachary Oberzan, who accompanied us, our direction first 8) on the subway, so we were certain to end up safe and sound, back at the dorm :) .

Sunday night [well, 5:30 AM, Monday morning, actually], right after Kieron and a friend exited a cab, I saw my friend off into another cab. I laughed when I returned to Carman, and Kieron came through the double, glass doors, pronouncing that we needed to get our "official photo together." Geez.....who knows how I must have looked by that time :shock: ! But allow me to say, what a fun, sweet spirit you have, Kieron :D ! And, Tami Byler ~ I only wish I'd had film for that "sport pose" you struck :lol: , standing in the wide of the hall. Sideways and 'running in place,' but facing out, with both arms bent and rear leg raised at the knee, was it Nikes or a jogging suit you were envisioning, with that big grin :lol: ? A Kodak moment 8) !

Enough for now......it's 4:10 [sorry :wink: ] in the morning, and it's off to bed.

~ Lizzy
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The Robin

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I can't recall what it was about, but we were in our dorm room when I 'questioned' Margaret on something she'd just said. She commented that, "When you question me like that, I begin to question myself!" I apologized because, dang, it's not the effect I'd meant to have.

So there we later were, walking through Central Park. She saw a red-breasted bird hopping around in the hilly area of grass and other foliage to our left. She asked, "What kind of bird is that!?!" and I replied, "That's a robin." She corrected me, "No ~ that's not a robin!" Well, okay, I thought I knew what a robin looked like, but she and her husband; Pete; Paula; and those other folks from Britain do, do a lot of bird-watching ~ more than I do ~ so I said, [remembering that bluebirds surprizingly had a red chest], "Maybe it's a bluebird, then." But, she clarified that, no, it couldn't be that because it had no blue on its back! Well, true, so, "Well, hmmm. I don't know, then," I replied. A woman came walking along from the opposite direction, so [pointing to the bird] I asked her, "What kind of bird is that!?!" She said, "It's a robin." :lol: I laughed and said to Margaret, "You seemed so certain, I thought you must be right." She explained, "The robins in England are so small ~ about the size of a sparrow ~ and that's so big!" I commented that, perhaps like fish in an aquarium, they grow proportionate to their surroundings, so U.S. robins are much bigger than England's.

Now, this kind of experience I tend to call "Instant Karma" :lol: ~ particularly since the Official State Bird of Michigan [the state where I was born and raised, and where my large backyard was filled with them] is the robin :wink: ~ the same size as in Central Park :lol: .

~ Lizzy
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margaret
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Post by margaret »

Your robins must all go to McDonalds! :lol:
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Post by lizzytysh »

:lol: Oh drat ~ you gave me an Edit line :lol: . I thought the golden arches had made it to Britain ~ and they weren't even around yet in my childhood :D . Well, take that back, I was a mid-teen when the first one appeared.....and I do recall seeing a few walking the parking lot. Even so, perhaps, we need to look deeper and compare the sizes of our earthworms :wink: .
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Post by Paula »

How big were the Robins Margaret. I don't wanna see the size of their pigeons :lol:
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Post by lizzytysh »

:lol: ~ That's right, obesity may be rampant in the avian community, as well, here. Remember when we fed the pigeons, Margaret? And the sparrow had to be extraordinarily clever, whilst I had to simultaneously distract the pigeons? I don't think we ever really discussed the pigeons' sizes ~ but then we hadn't been to Central Park yet, either. I remember you comparing our robins to something ~ was it your blackbird? Your crow? If it was the latter, ours are even bigger yet! I'm not sure about our blackbird, but I think it's pretty hefty, too.
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Post by margaret »

Paula,

American robins are a similar size to a blackbird or thrush in Britain. I think the pigeons still looked like pigeons rather than turkeys :wink:
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Post by Paula »

Lizzie that is not a robin you have there that is a mutant. :lol:
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