Journal

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="002285a1erlcgo.gif"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Arial" ><B>www.chapmansfriend.com</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="default.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.chapmansfriend.com"><U><B>home</B></U></A></div> <div>                                                   </div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Music"><U><B>Music</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Television"><U><B>Television</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Movies"><U><B>Movies</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Traveling Man"><U><B>Traveling Man</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id7.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Game"><U><B>"Our Game"</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id8.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Books"><U><B>Books</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="id9.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFCC66" TEXT="#080000" background="001d2c00dkelyh.gif"> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Traveling Man"><U>Traveling Man</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id12.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="New York Groove"><U>New York Groove</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Top Ten List"><U>Top Ten List</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id17.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Pictures"><U>Pictures</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Journal</B></div> <div> <B>JULY 17</B> </div> <div> <B>10:58 PM</B> </div> <div> <B>New York</B></div> <bR> <div> Back in New York for the first time since 1983... some things have changed and some haven't. Eighteen years ago, the hit songs included <I>Every Breath You Take</I>, <I>Sweet Dreams</I>, and the immortal <I>Safety Dance</I>. This summer, the hits are... okay, you've got me. The remake of <I>Lady Marmalade</I>, maybe? </div> <div> Because of a late worknight on Monday and an early flight on Tuesday morning, I decided to pull an all-nighter and go without sleep, so I had been up for over 24 hours when I got here. It was my version of jet lag for this trip. LaGuardia isn't connected to the subway system so I had the idea to take a water shuttle which would get me into Manhattan. Unfortunately they really should update the airport website since the shuttle hasn't operated since November, and the confusion caused me to waste about an hour trying to get to where I could get a bus into Grand Central. From there, a quick walk to the hotel on 57th Street and a brief nap. Incidentally, this hotel used to be an all-women's, and now seems to cater to mostly European guests. In my mind, I'm combining the two and imagining that it's mainly full of <I>European women</I>. </div> <div> In mid-afternoon, it was off to the top of the Empire State Building, seeing if Meg Ryan was still there waiting, although thinking back on the movie I guess it was Tom Hanks waiting, so never mind. Then a quick stroll up Broadway through Disney's Times Square and through a little of Central Park. When Apollo XI landed on the moon Neil Armstrong's first action was to take an immediate soil sample so that if anything went wrong and they had to lift off immediately there would at least be something to bring back. That's what I thought of today's swing through Midtown. Tomorrow we start in more detail. </div> <div> It's thundering outside and probably going to rain tonight. <I>"Someday a real rain will come and wash these streets clean."</I>-- Travis Bickle.</div> <div> Tabloid headline of the day: <I>Secret Mafia Love Tapes</I>, the Post. </div> <div> Songs of the day: <I>New York Groove</I>, Ace Frehley; <I>Theme from "New York, New York"</I>, the Chairman of the Board; <I>Another Rainy Day In New York City</I>, Chicago; <I>Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out On Broadway)</I>, Billy Joel</div> <bR> <div> <B>JULY 19</B> </div> <div> <B>12:55 AM</B> </div> <div> <B>New York</B></div> <bR> <div> My day yesterday (officially, since it's after midnight) was mostly taken up with trips to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It took longer than usual because of the time with the ferry trips, waits in line, ect. The park service doesn't let anyone up to the top of the statue except in the early morning, which was fine with me since I've been up there before, and I didn't want to be tempted to climb all of the 300 or so stairs. Where I hadn't been before was Ellis Island, and it was extra special knowing that two sets of great-grandparents had probably come through the center. Then in the few hours I took after getting off the ferry, the Lower Manhattan sites like the place where Washington was sworn in and City Hall before winding up the day with a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Tempted to attempt a recreation of the scene from <I>Sophie's Choice</I> where Kevin Kline climbs the railing and throws a glass of champagne into the river, but... </div> <div> After eating somewhere on the upper east side I ended up making another marathon tour going downtown along 5th Avenue, through Rockefeller Center. I should put a pedometer on during trips like this, it must total around 10 miles or so a day. </div> <div> How do you tell out-of-towners in Manhattan? We jaywalk just like natives, but we <I>hurry</I> across the street instead of strolling.</div> <div> Tabloid headline of the day: a close call since they were similar, but the edge goes to the Daily News: <I>Dirty Smear; Condit: Chandra Slept Around</I> </div> <div> Songs of the day: <I>American Tune</I>, Paul Simon; <I>Ellis Island</I>, Marc Cohn; <I>Junk Bond Trader</I>, Elliott Smith; <I>Brooklyn</I>, Steely Dan. And, in a tenuous connection, <I>Worst That Could Happen</I>, Jimmy Webb (the song was a hit for the group Brooklyn Bridge).</div> <bR> <div> <B>JULY 19</B> </div> <div> <B>11:59 PM</B> </div> <div> <B>New York</B></div> <bR> <div> My head hurts. No, really, and it has nothing to do with the city driving me crazy. One thing I forget about having less hair on top of my head is that being out in the sun for an entire day without a cap means sunburn <I>on my scalp</I>. Hurts just to comb what's left. </div> <div> Today was a day filled with visits to addresses connected with fictional characters, mostly on the upper West Side. There's the site of the last scene of <I>Annie Hall</I> near Lincoln Center (I also hit the site of the famous scene overlooking the 59th St. Bridge from <I>Manhattan</I>), Seinfeld's neighborhood, the location of the Palantine for President headquarters in <I>Taxi Driver</I>, the restaurant used as the exterior for Monk's in <I>Seinfeld</I>, and maybe most sentimentally for me, the street where Molly Dodd lived. A very non-fictional Ashleigh Banfield also lives near Central Park West, and I kept hoping for her to come walking up the street walking her dog. No luck. </div> <div> Oh, and some musician guy used to live around there too. </div> <div> The <I>Seinfeld</I> restaurant was close to Columbia and Grant's Tomb, after which I doubled back to Midtown, going through Times Square, the Public Library, St. Patrick's, Rockefeller Center and the area around the Ed Sullivan Theatre. The Hello Deli was closed up, but I did see the trumpet player from Letterman's band outside the theatre. </div> <div> Only one more full day to go...</div> <div> Tabloid headline of the day: <I>From Caviar to Cat Food</I>, the Post </div> <div> Songs of the day: Well, there was an entire suite of songs connected with John Lennon-- <I>Starting Over</I>, <I>Strawberry Fields Forever</I>, <I>Watching the Wheels</I>, <I>God</I>, <I>Happiness is a Warm Gun</I>. And <I>Walking on Thin Ice</I>, Yoko Ono; <I>Here Today</I>, Paul McCartney; <I>Basing Street</I>, Nick Lowe; and <I>The Late Great Johnny Ace</I>, Paul Simon. </div> <div> In addition: <I>Voices Carry</I>, 'Til Tuesday (going past Carnegie Hall-- from the video); <I>Central Park n' West</I>, Ian Hunter; and <I>Tom's Diner</I>, Suzanne Vega (also about what later became "Monk's")</div> <bR> <div> <B>JULY 20</B> </div> <div> <B>11:18 PM</B> </div> <div> <B>New York</B></div> <bR> <div> Today was "leftover day"-- what didn't I get to the first few days? Chinatown, Little Italy, Greenwich Village, and then uptown to a few places on the Upper East Side and then through the Park. I still have bits and pieces of my plans left, but with a late afternoon flight I still have time to get to other things. </div> <div> Particularly interesting was seeing the site of the Weathermen explosion in the Village, the victims including Dwight's own radical Diana Oughton. Was disappointed to find that the cab company that was the inspiration for <I>Taxi</I> isn't there anymore. On the Upper East Side there was Nixon's old place, which me and Tom hunted down back in 1980 (as I remember, the Nixons were throwing a big party that night), and a location for people like me fascinated with "what if" history. In the early 30's, Winston Churchill was nearly run down by a car while crossing 5th Avenue between 77th and 76th streets. Two thoughts: 1, imagine what would have happened if Churchill hadn't been there to become Prime Minister in WWII, and 2, knowing Churchill, I'm guessing that liquor was involved somehow.</div> <div> Tabloid headine of the day: <I>$1M Bill</I>, the Post, about how much will be spent on Clinton. Not a great one, but it clinches the title for the Post over the Daily News. </div> <div> Songs of the day: <I>Chinatown</I>, Joe Jackson; <I>China Girl</I>, David Bowie; <I>Big Man on Mulberry Street</I>, Billy Joel; <I>Positively 4th Street</I>, Bob Dylan; <I>6th Avenue Heartache</I>, The Wallflowers. Ironically, 4th Street and 6th Avenue intersect in the Village.</div> <bR> <div> <B>JULY 21</B></div> <div> <B>Written later...</B> </div> <div> <I><B>Not </B></I><B>in New York</B></div> <div> Well, I never updated for my last day, so let's just complete it now a month later. My last day was the day to take my ride on the Staten Island Ferry, and to see a few odds and ends. Unfortunately, one of these last sights, Teddy Roosevelt's birthplace, was no longer open on Saturdays, as I had been assured by my guidebook. That left time for a walk past the Morgan Library (a crucial site from <I>Ragtime</I>), up to Grand Central Station, and, after checking out of the hotel, a trip back to the Upper East Side to eat and seek out a diner reputed to serve up good egg cremes. My last half hour or so was spent hanging out in Rockefeller Plaza, and then it was off to LaGuardia. Where the flight was delayed for over two hours, but that's another story... </div> <div> It had been a long time since my last visit to the Big Apple, but I was surprised at how well the city seemed to work. You'd think that throwing millions of people onto a small island together would lead to constant chaos, and it's true that I didn't necessarily seek out the rougher parts of town, but it seemed fairly harmonious, and I didn't feel any more anxious walking around midtown at night than I might in Iowa City. </div> <div> I also thought it was funny that on three occasions, out-of-towners came to <I>me</I> asking for directions. Maybe I have perfected the guise of appearing to be a real New Yorker? Whatever, I hope it won't be another 18 years between visits.</div> <div> Tabloid headine of the day: For the last day, it was <I>Hell Under The H-Way</I>, the Daily News. I have no idea what it was about, but that's the beauty of the tabloid headline; you can be entertained without having to actually read the story. </div> <div> Songs of the day: Nothing really fits themally, so here's a few general NYC songs: <I>Rocking Around In NYC</I>, Marshall Crenshaw; <I>First We Take Manhattan</I>, Jennifer Warnes; <I>It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City</I>, Bruce Springsteen; <I>Steppin' Out</I>, Joe Jackson. </div> <div> Oh, and we can't forget the 80's classic from the big much-hyped 2-hour premiere for season two of <I>Miami Vice</I>, where Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas came to New York in search of a drug kingpin; <I>You Belong To The City</I>, Glenn Frey.</div> </td> </tr></table></body>