One of those ways is to take the Chinatown bus. Another is to have close relations living in New York. And yet another is to ride the free ferry to Staten Island and back on a gorgeous Manhattan day.
New York was hot, hot, hot. Fan-freaking-tastic. Perhaps the best time I've had there. Good company, conversation, cuisine - the three c's that, when done well, make anything worthwhile. Ben attempted escargots and discovered that snails leave much meat to be desired after they're boiled. The homemade chips and salsa and the pastries from Jean and Pierro's Italian bakery and the Eastern European beer from New York's last biergarten more than made up for that disappointment. And to top it off, Max gave me a free copy of On Writing Well by William Zinsser. I told him I was forever indebted, and he replied by saying, "Laura, all I ask is that you pay it back to the literary world." The compound's back patio laid the scene for most of these events - perfectly warm, lantern-lit, floral, and inhabited by the sounds of bouncing basketballs, courtesy of the swarm of compound kids.
Howe Gelb also was amazing, though the preliminary drinks make the details a bit hazy. However, they did encore with "Oh, Happy Day" while Anna, Lauri and I danced wildly and sang along, and someone behind me shouted, "Praise the Lord!" I wish I could walk with as much coordination and syncopation as the gospel choir could dance. Their patterns escaped me.
I want to record a strange conversation I had with a strange man on the strange Boston subway (background: I was wearing my St. Louis Cardinals hat):
M: Are you a Cahd'nals fan?
L: Yes.
M: You know, they didn't do so well in the World Series.
L: I know. They didn't show up.
M: When was that, 2003?
L: Actually, it was 2004.
M: Oh. [Long pause.] You know, the Red Sox won a World Series for the first time in a long time.
L: Yeah, it was a long time. [He didn't seem to make the connection that this was the same World Series, or that, unless you've been living under Plymouth rock, you needn't be reminded of this well-publicized fact.]
M: When was the last time the Cardinals won the World Series?
L: 1982
M: And didn't they make it again in '83, '84?
L: Yes, I believe so. They lost on a bad call.
M: Does Mark McGwire still play for them?
L: No, he retired 5 or 6 years ago.
M: Oh, right. They've got some Spanish player that's really good right now, don't they?
L: Actually, he's Dominican. Albert Pujols, you mean?
M: Pujols?
L: Yeah, Pujols.
M: Pujols. Yeah, that's right. Well, they have a good team.
L: Yeah, well, they should win.
And that's that.
Just wondering if that "living under Plymouth Rock" idiom is original with you, or is a common Bostonite saying.
It's original with me. I'm pretty sure of it.