Propaganda and New Neighbors

Today I met Liz at Propaganda.  She actually went to a salon for highlights and a trim.  A first for this lover of natural everything.  She saw Georgia who has been a favorite person of mine in Austin.  And this evening we met with neighbors who will be moving into our small complex. Nice, warm young couple.  Creative, related and respectful.  Sweet!

SPACE

I never realized the importance of space for a sense of well being.  Texans are accustomed to wide open spaces.  I think that's why so many people here can save pets..large ones.  Horses, Great Danes, German Shepards, Greyhounds and Burros are some of the pets in rescue sanctuaries that we know of personally.  In New York space is limited.  My last visit to Park Slope and Manhattan was proof of that.  The city is filled with energy, diversity, culture, beats and rhythms,  street and folklore, commerce, multiple languages, heat, trees galore in PS.  But there is no space.   And once you get accustomed to personal space it frees you to be more aware of your own pulse, other people's existence, birds, trees, lizards, crickets, waves of sounds, roosters in the morning, cicadas and more.  It's not perfect here.  Too too many cars and everyone's on a phone while driving.  Each family on our block has multiple multiple cars and that's a problem.  But the space and the beauty of South 4th Street brings an inner calm that I have become accustomed to.  I will never return to a crowded city.  I am happy I began my life and my children's lives in that big salad of a melting pot.  Josh and Liz can go forward and not run to the Big Apple.  They can run anywhere...they can reach for the moon!

Live From New York Day 2/THE STORY OF NIM

After the gym Pam and I headed into the city to the Angelika to see THE STORY OF NIM.    This documentary is the strangest and most upsetting film I've ever seen!!  It portrays a look of life in NYC in the 70's which includes a narcissistic Psych professor from Columbia University who has sex with students and continually picks pretty females to care for Nim, a chimp baby who is cruelly removed from his mom at 6 weeks.  Nim lives in a chaotic household of two blended families where the mother in the family admits to breast feeding Nim and letting him have absolute rule over a West Side brownstone.  An 18y.o. beautiful student is sent into the home and removes him to a lab at Columbia and she ultimately becomes psych professor's latest heart throb.  No valid scientific data is collected, signs are continually taught and noted but no formal research is collected.  The chimp ends up living in a Riverdale estate with a number of long haired gorgeous students who all fall in love.   He's violent, managed at people's whims, seriously hurts people and is used as a photo op by the professor.  He's given booze and pot and one feels they're losing their mind during this film! Nim ends up back at his birthplace which is a jail for chimps, then is sold to a medical lab that uses chimps for drug and vaccine protocols and ultimately is bought by Texans to live on their animal sanctuary.  He's lonely, his advocate Bob maintains contact imploring the owners to bring in other chimps.  His original brownstone crazy Mom visits and of course is treated violently by Nim who bashes her head into the floor (she had me feeling violent as well!)  Ultimately new owners take over the sanctuary and more chimps arrive and Nim ends up a much happier chimp and a papa chimp as well.  Pam and I cried, laughed, held our heads and were so happy we didn't bring the guys!!

After this bizarre film we headed over to DOS CAMINOS for delicious frozen margaritas and Mexican salads.  We gallivanted around So Ho: shopped, laughed, talked about the wedding and were reminded of how close we are even though we're now thousands of miles apart.  I'm home in Austin now.  Life is sweet.  Night y'all.

Live From New York

What a whirlwind it's been in PS.  Last night dinner with Rev Sundaram, my hematologist buddy of 20+ years,  a chance to go back into our 12th St loft when the new owner walked down 12th St just as I walked up.  I walked back into a renovated loft space:still brick walls, 2 windows 20' up; high ceiling and all new high end and high tech appliances.  I was reminded of the life we left behind and reminded of the sprawling space and garden I'll return to with Abe and Liz.

Today I visited 94y.o. Ruth Moskowitz, Abe's Mom.  What a hoot!  For 20 minutes she asked me where I bought my beautiful dress from (of course Lovely) and if I was happy in Texas. We visited her lovely caretaker Lucie on the 7th floor, watched airplanes taking off from LaGuardia from the windows, ate her  lunch with everything dunked in ice cream and I cried when we said good bye.  After all these years I'm still so happy to make her happy. 

Lenny from college took me out to lunch in Queens, I shopped at 34th St Macy's with coupons of course and Pammy and I had a delicious dinner at Il Forno's in PS.  I am so fortunate to have these connections.

I start my day at the Y gym on 9th St and coffee at Naidre's.  The city is overwhelmingly crowded, little eye contact between strangers, no courtesy talk like Austin.  A different world y'all.

LIVE FROM PHILADELPHIA

I came to Philly yesterday to attend Craig and Amanda's wedding.  I met Craig when he was 3y.o.  He was non-stop everything:  words, actions, thoughts just came speeding from him.  Walking down 7th Ave in Park Slope with him and Pam was always filled with surprises.  He seemed to find his way into everyone's space!  And there he was yesterday:  an accomplished attorney marrying his lovely long-time girlfriend Amanda Orliner.  Pam and Samantha looked beautiful, Ira gave a speech as always that was honest, real and from his heart.  These are my closest Park Slope friends whom I have known for 23 years and I could feel their sense of contentment  with a job well done.

Today is my 29th Anniversary.  Abe's in Austin and I'm here.  Doesn't change a thing.  He's in my heart.  He's with me always.  Happy Anniversary Abe.

Manuel's on Congress

We've heard so much about Manuel's and had drinks with Reed at their northern location which is very attractive.  We went with Liz to celebrate our 29th anniversary (can you imagine?).  The anniversary is Monday (7/18) but I'm heading back East tomorrow and won't be here.  First I'll be in Philly for Craig and Amanda's wedding (that's Pam and Ira's son). Monday I'll be in Park Slope to see friends and Ruth, Abe's Mom.  It was a nice evening, photos were taken and all 3 agreed.."Polvo's is better."  It sure is.  But it doesn't matter where I celebrated this important event.  When Liz asked us "so what's the secret to a good marriage?"  My response was "be yourself, find someone who let's you be yourself, don't change for someone."  she said "good advice."  Abe agreed.  Buenas noches.

Shame on Y'all

Last week my Body Pump teacher at Gold's Gym handed me a beautiful birth announcement as I left class a few minutes before everyone left.  I exclaimed my happiness for her, kissed the beautiful baby girl and brought it home to show Abe and Liz.  The teacher is a beauty and she is so fit in light of the fact that she's had 3 babies in 3 years.  She has a good life and I'm happy for her.  Today someone in class told me I'd made a mistake.  I wasn't meant to take the announcement.  She had only brought one.  And when she was asked about it she said "Addie wasn't meant to take it from me...what can you expect from New Yorkers." 

This is what you can expect from this New Yorker.  I called her on the phone...told her my error in thinking the announcement was to be taken and how her comment into her microphone made me feel.  She was mortified, denied the comment and was so apologetic. She is getting back the announcement which I  retrieved..  She's been put on notice.  Don't mess with this New Yorker.  Shame on her!