Some of the things I witnessed 20 years ago during that awful September week in New York are seared in my memory and I’ll never forget. (See 9/11) The disbelief and horror as we watched TV news clips of a plane hitting the south tower of the World Trade Center, then the tower in flames, and then another plane hitting the north tower. And my friend’s brother who worked a few blocks from the towers telling us later that he saw the jumpers with his own eyes. And a man selling...
The house I grew up in had many lovely architectural features – a fireplace, a lovely stairwell, and a beautiful oval stained glass window that was in my mother’s closet. I loved sitting in that closet. It was a cozy and private place for a child to play, and the light coming through the stained glass would bathe the closet floor in lovely colors as I sat between the windowed wall and the wall opposite that held a rod for my mother’s clothing and a shelf below for her...
I’ve told you about my dalliance in a New York coffee shop with Paul McCartney (see My Favorite Beatle) , so now let me tell you about my night at Madison Square Garden with the Rolling Stones. Our friends Mary and Frank own a bakery and deli on Mott Street that supplies food to the concessions at the Garden, and that connection helped us land some great concert seats over the years. So when the Stones announced their 2002 Forty Licks World Tour, and would be at the Garden for...
I live on Manhattan’s upper eastside, across from Gracie Mansion, the beautiful 1799 Federal-style house that overlooks the East River and is the residence of New York’s mayor and his family. On any given day I may see cops, TV cameras, and angry protesters in front of the Mansion, or buses discharging tourists, or dignitaries arriving in limos. And just as often I may see happy crowds, dressed in their finery and leaving the Mansion after a gala event. One evening some...
I’ll never forget the date, almost 20 years ago, that my husband’s college roommate Joel came from Newton, Mass to spend a few days with us in New York – it was September 10, 2001. On that Monday Joel drove down from Newton to JFK. His cousin and her three kids were arriving from Israel and Joel picked them up at the airport and took them to their Times Square hotel. He waited until they had settled in and arranged to come back to meet them the next morning. ...