This morning I leashed up Dug and headed out for our last morning walk. I was going to turn right, but saw Earl and Bob out front so I wanted to go say a quick goodbye and thank them. Oops. I couldn’t find my voice. Or I didn’t trust my voice. I paused and managed to get it together to tell them that we are leaving tomorrow and that we SO appreciated their support and kindness during our stay. They responded by saying that they were sorry to see us go. AND they told me that we are part of the Halsey Street family. I was touched, but true to my usual avoidance of a final goodbye, I pivoted to humor, found my voice and said, “Great! We’re coming to your house for Thanksgiving”! We all got a chuckle out of that and then Dug and I walked into the sunset. Not really. We just moseyed on down the street with misty eyes and took a good long look around. This neighborhood would never get boring. I always see something new and something familiar.

Halsey and neighboring streets…one last time…

I’m not ready for goodbye.

Yesterday took me to Midtown. My friend, Julie told me about an historical fiction novel about the JP Morgan’s librarian. It’s based on a real woman whose brilliance not only got her the position, but also enabled her to socialize with the NY elite (think Carnegies and Vanderbilts) hiding the fact that she was African American. So, of course I had to go visit the library. The best part of it is the actual building and rooms that are essentially in their original form. Quite a stunning building and the antiquities!

From there I wandered into Grand Central Station, NYC Main Library, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and on to Central Park and Columbus Circle.

We ended our day picking Tim up at Penn Station, eating dinner and then enjoying a Rangers game. The game was great and oh boy…I forgot what it’s like to be surrounded by a bunch of really drunk guys at a sporting event (NOT Glen and Tim!).

Soaking up every last drop of NYC.

I grew up (from the age of 6, so at least mostly) in rural Nevada County. Actually in the small town of Rough & Ready, CA. It was a town of less than 200 when we moved there in the early 60s. The big town (5,000 – Grass Valley) was ten miles away. So, walking the streets or crossing the streets really didn’t happen in R&R. It was crossing the road, AND there is a difference. As a young boy with two older brothers, we walked everywhere. Our house was in the middle of eleven acres and the “driveway” was 1/4 of a mile long and a pretty steep incline. So, riding bikes was something we did, just not that much. Plus, much of our walking wasn’t on roads or even paths. It was through fields, pastures, woods, etc.

Upon those occasions when we went to “town” you took your habits with you. So, we certainly didn’t cross streets in cross walks, we just did as we did on the roads; waited for cars to pass and crossed the road. These habits are with me to this day.

Have any of you noticed that you can get a bit of a tell on a City’s personality by the way people cross the street? I’ve always felt at home in NYC. HUH? A person mostly raised in rural Nevada County?

JDT and I went to Viet Nam in October 2019. My favorite part of the trip was in Hanoi. Hanoi is in the north and was the capital of the old North Viet Nam which was communist and the American opposition during the Viet Nam war. It retains some of its communist roots, yet is this vibrant, emerging, incredibly entrepreneurial culture. Second HUH? We stayed in the craziness of Hanoi. One of my favorite keepsakes from the trip is a cell phone video I took from the rooftop “bar” of our hotel. It is a bit over a minute and captures one of the essences of Hanoi. The video is during normal early evening of an intersection of six streets. First, you must know that the main form of transportation in Hanoi is the motor scooter. My guess is they outnumber cars 5 or even 10 to 1. It is amazing to see a family of four (third HUH?) making their way through the craziness. So, the video captures all of these motor scooters coming together in a random and orderly (fourth HUH?) fashion and seemingly unfazed. A bit more than half way through the video a family crosses in the middle of this craziness. AGAIN unfazed and unharmed. In my walking, which included many street crossings (few damn crosswalks!), once I figured out the personality, I took instantly to it. You see, once you get started there is no pausing. You pause and a major accident will occur. Trust me, this may have happened had I not so gently goaded JDT to trust the plan and charge forward.

NYC has its own personality. It is not for the faint of heart. I’ve learned how to almost instantly spot a tourist. They are the ones standing at a crossing, with no cars coming and waiting for the walk image to appear. New Yorkers never do this. Life will pass you by if you let it. Some of my favorite experiences have simply been crossing the street (no damn crosswalks!) with a car approaching in the distance. The car will almost always honk (such a New York thing). I used to get offended in a CA kind of way! Not nearly as often now. I mostly just give them a little wave (possibly single finger depending on how long their honk lasts), grin and know how much I miss this when I am gone.

Just reason number 57 of so many reasons to enjoy life’s adventures!!

You all know I love MY Oakland sports teams!

Last night a news flash came up on my phone – Bob Melvin signs 3 year deal to manage San Diego Padres. Almost instantly I group texted JDT, Blair and Niels – “BoMel?? No!!! AND I am very happy for him and will love him forever!!!”

This in 14 words summarizes my relationship (and likely those that have been fans for over 50 years) with the Athletics. It is very complicated. Blair’s reply – “A’s fans never get to have anything good….” AND I understand her feelings as a fan since about the age of 4 (1996 – sorry Blair I just told everyone you are nearing 30!). I always have 1972, 1973, 1974 (the last GREAT baseball dynasty!) and 1989 (a savored sweep over the “dismissed” Giants during which they never led a game for one moment – NEVER!). She and younger fans only have the near misses of the early to mid 2000s and the recent struggles to get over the top.

Being an A’s fan has taught me how to enjoy the process, not just the result. If you were born post 1989 and see life through a results prism, you might write texts similar to Blair’s AND make no mistake, I have suffered with the A’s since 1989. AND I’ve learned to find a way to enjoy all phases of the A’s.

I still remember watching that night in 1975 with the Red Sucks in town and in the dugout on the first base line with Joe Rudy in a Red Sucks uniform. Charlie Finley had begun the “tear down” of the MIGHTY A’s. It broke my heart, especially to see Catfish wearing Yankee pinstripes. The next “rebuild” happened with Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. That still hurt, just not as deeply. AND the one where I finally started gaining some balance in my perspective occurred with Jason Giambi. It was with this “rebuild” in 2001/2002 that I started to appreciate Jason Giambi’s incredible contribution to the A’s and, frankly, his deserved reward he received with his life-changing contract with the Yankees. It took a season or so, AND then most A’s fans cheered heartily upon JG’s regular return visits to Our House.

Thank you BoMel for all you gave to the A’s for a wonderful 10 years. I will never forget your part in being the Rays before the Rays became the Rays. It was masterful how you led my A’s to incredible overachievement. AND now I continue to root for you and your success (at least most of the time and especially against the Giants). I know you will guide some incredible young talent (one of your true unique abilities) on that Pads team. AND finally Happy Birthday to you on your 60th. I’m hoping you’ll get a nice big trophy present later next year!!

As My A’s begin another cycle of “rebuild” there are many things I look forward to. It has happened so many times I just know that most, or all of, Chapman, Olson, Manaea, Bassitt and Montas will be “moved” in order to avoid arbitration (the thing that MLB owners hate the most) awards. I look forward to following each of you with your new teams. I look forward to the influx of talent and making their way to MLB. I look forward to the team being led by either Mark Kotsay or Ryan Christenson (my two co-favorites for the job). AND I look forward to those mid-week day games where I get to rub elbows with old time A’s fans. You are truly the best.

It is amazing to me how sports replicate life!!

Oh my gosh. You might be tired of me sort of whining about our last days here. Ugh. And yeah!

Here’s the yeah! Today Glen and I went to the Tenement Museum. It’s my second time there. I HIGHLY suggest it for anyone at all interested in the human experience of Lower Manhattan in the late 1800s-mid 1900s. It’s literally a tenement building that was purchased in 1988. It had been left pretty much untouched since it was closed down in the 40s. Now they have a variety of tours and each one is organized around real people who actually lived in the building. The first tour I took was the apartment of a German family in the 1880s. Today we took a tour of a Russian family’s home in the early 1900s. It also included a couple sites in the neighborhood. What an awesome way to learn. If you’re interested, they have some virtual tours that you can take from the comfort of your home.

After the tour, GAT had to head back to the house to do some work. (Someone has to pay the bills.) So I decided to head to the Lower West side of Manhattan. (I’m told there’s no such place so I’m just showing that I’m not yet a New Yorker!) It’s an area I’ve only skirted around or been to specific locations (e.g. The World Trade Center and the ferry buildings). I plugged in on Google maps a destination on the Hudson River and then just meandered my way in that direction. I have found this to be my favorite way to dig into a neighborhood. I stop for a lot of photos and maybe a cup of coffee and just drink in the vibe. Also, a lot of people watching is involved in this method or wandering.

Today’s walk included a park that was totally meant for little kids (Washington Market Park). There were so many nannies, moms, dads, and kids there! I didn’t take any pics because it felt obtrusive, but trust me…the sounds of all those happy, playful voices was good for my soul. Okay…dose of reality, there might have been a few whining kids as they were being rounded up to head home for lunch and a nap.

As I left the park, I walked up the steps of the NYC Community College. It was kind of architecturally interesting.

I then went over the Tribeca pedestrian bridge. Turns out it ends up in the Stuyvesant High School campus. I got there as the students POURED out for lunch. That was kind of fun. I think there might be a reason I seem to often end up in places where kids abound.

I eventually made it to the river where there’s a great park and esplanade. The first thing I ran into was this small area full of these bronze sculptures. I have seen some of these same sculptures (or versions of them) in a couple subway stops. They are very fanciful though I have to think that the artist (Tom Otterness) has some opinions or statements that he is trying to impart through his work. See the comments below the pictures for my impressions.

Then I stopped along the water and just enjoyed the cold blustery wind. I love a bracing wind. It’s such a fresh and freeing feeling. I gazed across the river to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and of course, New Jersey.

As I turned around there was a serene fountain with ducks and fish and in the near distance, the WTC. But directly behind the pond was an odd building. Or I thought it was a building. Turns out it was a memorial to the “Great Irish Hunger” from 1845-52. The structure is an Irish home that had been abandoned and was donated by an Irish family. The memorial is comprised of rocks and plants from each Irish county. Along the walls of the tunnels are the words of immigrants and presidents and they describe the horrors of hunger. It’s quite a striking memorial.

Leaving the memorial I came upon this antithesis view. There were some yachts in slips that just take your breath away. Quite the juxtaposition from starvation to gluttony.

At the end of the marina was an high end mall. Outdoors there was a ton of seating that I can imagine is mobbed in the warmer months. I didn’t stop in any stores. Not my thing. But this art installation did catch my eye (below). That’s my X-ray! People were enjoying posing.

As I headed up the stairs to leave, I noticed two exits-one to the outdoors and one to a tunnel. The tunnel was light and bright and it drew me in so I headed in that unknown direction. Passing through the tunnel there are cafes and stores until you arrive at the PATH transit terminal. There are 12 subway lines and the train to New Jersey here. But the bigger surprise is that I found myself INSIDE the beautiful white-winged building that I had walked past many times. For some reason, I never went in and WOW am I glad I found myself there. It’s beautiful architecturally speaking and it compliments the 9/11 memorial perfectly. I exited that building to soak in the 9/11 memorial one more time and as always find myself emotional Was it the memorial? The beauty of NYC? The joy of exploration and surprises? Or maybe our adventure coming to an end? Or all of the above?

Squeezing. Breathing. Exploring.

When we think about traveling to new places, what is the draw? Is it the food? The history? The sights? The recreation? The people? Honestly, coming to New York, for me it was probably the “things to do and see”.

So it comes as a bit of a surprise that it just might turn out to be the people that bring me back. I think that GAT would agree that we are so pleasantly surprised by the welcome we have received from the people – in the neighborhood, on the subway, in the park – wherever we go. NYC has a reputation for the people being busy, cold, gruff, not helpful or welcoming to tourists. Don’t believe the negative gossip. We have found the opposite to be true. Everywhere we’ve been we’ve felt welcome, no more so than in our Bed-Stuy neighborhood.

We feel that especially strong sense of community here in the neighborhood. Yesterday I stopped in at a tiny little jewelry store that I have passed many times. The older gentleman immediately welcomed me and complimented my “beautiful salt and pepper hair”. We chatted about the changes brought on by COVID (including giving up on the hair dye), his wife the jewelry-maker, his time living in LA, our community in the Bay Area, and the people of Bed-Stuy.

Next door, I chatted with the store owner and her nine year old grandson. We talked about the retail business during the holidays, the value of giving children responsibilities, and their inter-generational family business.

Then Glen and I went to dinner last night around the corner at a restaurant where we have dined several times. We brought Blair here during the warmer weather when there was a street party in front of the restaurant every Sunday. Last night, we sat inside for the first time and had just received our meal when the owner recognized us from earlier visits and came and sat down with us to chat about the restaurant business in Brooklyn. As he left, he ordered another cocktail for us and thanked us for our patronage. We didn’t have the heart to tell him it would likely be our last visit on this trip.

In earlier posts, we’ve shared about the sense of community here on Halsey Street – starting with the Block Party and extending to our ongoing interactions with neighbors. You might remember that Glen received a BBQ t-shirt from Mike on Day One. Violet shared her cooking herbs, dog treats for Dug, and stories about the upstairs neighbor. Earl greets us from his stoop and offers his evening philosophical musings and advice on safety. Landlord Mark remarks that the neighbors “like us better than them” because we take the time to get to know them and engage with them. This is the beauty of “stoop” life.

Neighbors helping neighbors is a theme here. The other day, I found a man’s ring near the basketball courts down the street. Mike agreed to help me find its owner by posting it on his Nextdoor page. When Ida landed here and the neighborhood clean up began, everyone came out of their brownstones to discuss the damage and share resources.

I’ve written about the older gentlemen who sit on the sidewalk throughout the day, chatting with each other, playing cards, playing music, etc. I have enjoyed greeting them when I walk by and as the temperatures have begun to drop, I miss seeing them out as often. I stopped by today and asked if I could take their picture to introduce them to you. They willingly obliged me.

And my favorite story…There’s an older gentleman who comes down the block with his leaf blower several times a week. He blows the leaves off the sidewalk and even enters each gate and clears the front “yards”. I’ve seen him many times as I’m seated in the living room and I give him a “thank you” wave. Yesterday I was using up the frozen bananas I had saved for banana nut bread. I made a loaf for him, hoping that I would run into him. I wasn’t exactly sure where he lived so in the afternoon, I put a loaf of bread in a bag and headed out to meander the neighborhood. As I was going back to our street, I spied him walking toward me in the distance. When our paths met, I told him how much I appreciated his neighborly kindness and offered him the bread as a thank you. He switched his walking direction and after formally introducing ourselves, (his name is Melvin), we headed back toward Halsey together. Melvin was beaming from ear to ear and when I asked if he ate banana nut bread, he said bananas are “all I eat”! As we walked and talked, he said that he finds people to be good and if he’s “nice to people, they are nice back to him”.

Hear, hear, Melvin. Thank you for living as an example of kindness.

And now I’m crying…

This past Friday we went to the Banksy Exhibit in Manhattan at the SE corner of W. 14th Street and 6th Ave (If you get the chance, you MUST go). Just typing the term Banksy Exhibit is a bit of a challenge for me. How do you breach the chasm between all that Banksy represents and a Manhattan exhibit? It was with this challenge I undertook the adventure.

Is Banksy one single person? Is it a group or cooperative? Is it an essence? I choose to view Banksy as a spiritual essence. This spiritual essence provides me a prospective to do my favorite thing – ask questions. AND the questions I am suggesting are not just personal (I have my own very personal perspective and bias), but are very much societal or even humanistic. Nationalism? Globalism? Consumerism? Do Gooderism (my made up term)? Geopoliticism? Privilidgism? AND so many other ISMs that Banksy questions! The title of the exhibit Banksy: Genius or Vandal? – the inclusion even provides a context for the questioning.

If you are in any way like me, born (1958) in the post WWII glory days of the US, a child in that “magical” decade of the 60s and coming of age in the oh so WEIRD 70s, YOU want to have these questions asked. You NEED to have these questions asked. I have a sense us Baby Boomers are going to be looked back on and discovered to have contributed SO MUCH to the history of the world. AND those contributions will swing WILDLY from numerous good or even great to OH SO MANY bad or even horrible.

Maybe that is always the way it is?

We’ve been coming to NYC for years. Many moons ago, our dear friend, Nancee, the great connector, made arrangements for us to go to dinner at Balthazar – a French brasserie in Soho. We were staying in midtown and decided to walk down to the restaurant on Spring Street. I can’t remember what time of year it was, but it was a nice evening for a walk. As we neared Union Square, the sidewalk started to get crowded with lots of people coming up the subway stairs. And there was chanting. And there were signs. And the streets were packed. And there were lots of police. It was one of the first Black Lives Matter marches and we were swept up into it without knowing it. As the crowds gathered, the police and the crowds started to block the streets. We couldn’t get through in the direction we needed to go and honestly, we didn’t really know what was going on. Everything was at a standstill so we decided to forego the reservation and head back toward midtown. (Believe me…now I’d be right there with the marchers.)

Luckily, on our next trip to NYC, we made sure to go to Balthazar and ever since then…it’s been a staple on our schedule. There’s just something about the ambience, the service, the food – the vibe that brings us back again and again. I think I’ve been there 6 times on this trip alone. We’ve been for breakfast and lunch, but today I asked Glen if we’d ever made it for dinner. We don’t think so which is kinda weird except if you know us…we turn into pumpkins when it gets dark.

Anyway, I digress…On this trip we’ve taken all of our guests to Balthazar. We met Ahmad, our Chico connection for lunch, we brought our Texas friends for lunch and Blair for breakfast. We’re never disappointed. On one of Glen’s trips, I went for lunch by myself (which I think I wrote about in an earlier post). I was wowed when the maitre’d brought a glass of champagne which they offer to all of their “solo” guests.

Today after we went to the Banksy exhibit (Glen’s writing about that, I think), we went for lunch. It’s the first time we’ve been without a reservation because I couldn’t get one. I wasn’t worried though because I follow Keith McNally on Instagram. He’s the owner of Balthazar and he sometimes posts the daily review from the maitre’d which notes the number of reservations, walk ins, cancellations and no shows. There are always plenty of walk ins so I figured…no problem. Well, when we got there, there was a line at the outdoor maitre’d station. I sort of snuck my way up and asked for a table for two and was told to just hang on a minute. More people came up and were told it would be an hour. Hmmm…The maitre’d returned, asked us inside or out? and took us to the table right by the entrance which was an awesome seat for people watching!

As he seated us he said something about the table being at the “center of everything” and I said that it was fine, but he had to let us know if someone famous came in. He laughed and said he would. AND as soon as we were settled in, a waiter brought us two glasses of champagne from the maitre’d. I think just because we were patient and polite (unlike a few people outside).

But that’s not even the best part! As we were sitting down, I looked over my shoulder and said to Glen, “That might be Keith McNally, the owner.” I opened up IG and showed Glen some photos of him. Glen thought it might be him and asked our waitress if it was him and she confirmed it. She said he’d been there all day and she’d had to be ON her game! Glen encouraged me to go talk with him, but me being me…I asked a different maitre d’ if Mr. McNally liked people to go up to him and he said no, that he is shy. So I didn’t. He did say that Mr. McNally likes to get postcards that diners receive with their check. I remembered that in an article I read about him mentioned that he has had a stroke and he doesn’t like to do interviews because his speech is impaired which may be why he doesn’t like to talk with random strangers! Shortly after that Mr. McNally left and there was a visible relaxation by the wait staff. Everything that I’ve read about the restaurant says that the pay is good, staff is treated well and they are loyal – some have been there since the beginning. And apparently, Balthazar got PPP money and the staff was all paid through the pandemic and Balthazar survived – actually it looks like it THRIVED!

So before we left, I wrote a note to Mr. McNally letting him know that we always enjoy our meals, that the staff is awesome and that I’ll “see” him on IG. So here’s my picture “with” the famous Keith McNally! Should I post it and tag him?

I try to call my 95 year old mom pretty regularly. It’s getting harder and harder as 1. She has difficulty hearing 2. She has difficulty understanding 3. It’s getting more difficult to have a conversation at all as there is a lot of repeating. Each call makes me wonder how many more times will I have to hear her voice or visit her?

Mom knows that Glen and I are not home and when I remind her that we are in Brooklyn she says, “I don’t understand why anyone would want to go there.” Then she asks why we are here. I go through a very simple explanation…”We are just trying to experience new and different places.” And she responds. “I don’t know why anyone would want to go there.” Mind you, she’s never been here. Mom and Dad did a country-wide tour in their motorhome 25+ years ago and they skipped every big city except Washington D.C. So I try to describe one small experience that I think she will be able to fathom and then move on. Last night I described my walk along the East River.

Yesterday Glen was working so I headed out on my own to one of my favorite places – The Brooklyn Promenade. It’s a long walk along the river. I posted pictures of that walk in an earlier post. It had been a bit of a cool and blustery day. Today was an absolutely glorious day – perhaps the best weather we’ve had yet. I jumped on the subway (and when my exit station was closed I figured out how to reroute myself!) and headed to the water. I had enough time to meander, pausing for photos and sitting to enjoy the view in various places and to reflect on…things.

Just below the Brooklyn Bridge, I grabbed a chair to sit in and another to put my feet up on and I gazed out upon the river and the Manhattan skyline. Since we’re getting close to our departure date, I couldn’t help but wonder if this would be the last time I sat here and enjoyed this view. That got me to thinking about my calls with my mom and the “circle of life” as a metaphor for our time here in New York. (“The Lion King” – BEST movie ever!) I wonder when my parents started thinking…Will this be the last time we…see DC? enjoy a stay in our RV in the desert? hike with friends? When does one start thinking about “lasts”?

There are myriad little “lasts” and plenty of big ones in life. The big ones include visiting places far from home, holiday celebrations, family visits… The little ones include rituals and routines like Sunday family dinners, walks with friends and Dug, making morning coffee, baking lemon bread, watching a favorite sports team together…I think that for me, the melancholy I feel when thinking about “lasts” is the worry of not knowing it is the “last” and therefore not having the opportunity to hold it and enjoy it fully. Perhaps that concern provides a framework for thinking about all our days. Each day is an opportunity for “firsts” and may also hold a “last”. What a joy to have that opportunity every day – the excitement of a new experience and the appreciation and savoring of a final experience.

As far as our time in NYC and the “circle of life” metaphor… maybe I’ll just accept that every moment of this last week may be a “last” and I’ll just hold each experience for a moment, savor it, and know that it has been such a privilege and joy to be here with so many “firsts and lasts” and it’s an important part of life.

Hakuna matata!

Turns out…Siri is a better navigator than me. She got us to all of our destinations yesterday without one missed turn. Okay. There was one…but it all worked out, as it always does.

Here are some photos (I was going to say a few, but I had trouble narrowing it down to a few!) from our two day foray into life in The Hamptons. We agree that it’s a place we’d love to return to for…maybe two months. We think September and October would be nice because it’s clear that during high season the traffic and crowds would be a NIGHTMARE!