Reading Poetry (Drunk)

     This afternoon, I sat in the sunshine while reading poems from "Love's Ripening", and it's amazing how many involve being drunk!  Ha ha!  Here are a few lines:

-Do you remember how you came into existence?  Because you arrived a little drunk...

-If you intend to bewilder people, I intend to make you drunk and dazed.

-The eye of intellect is drunk with you.

-Oh, to leave this house, to give up this deep red wine and the sound of this music...

-Little by little, the bands of drunkards are coming!

-You’re happy headed and dead drunk, but I’m a happy headless drunk!

-I am so drunk today; I’ve escaped my bonds today.

-Here we are in this hidden corner, drunk.

-If wheat sprouts out of my grave, the bread you make of it will get you drunk!

Restaurant Review : Café Lalo

     After going under the needle and knife at my gentle and charming Doctor's, to have two moles removed, I am happy to report a "clean bill of health"!  Lewis encouragingly waited at Dr. Howard Scheiner's office (in Hell's Kitchen) during the procedure.  I think that office has the nicest nurses, too!  The two ladies, Karen and Merlin, were singing "Happy Birthday" over the phone to a patient.  When they were done, one got on the phone and after a moment, said, "Well, you can't be angry with us.  We have TWO birthdates for you on file, so we wanted to be sure!"  How cute is that??!!  
     Afterwards, Lewis brought me uptown to Café Lalo, for quick recuperation, where I sat near an open window and had quiche and ginger/lemongrass tea.  I love eateries that afford open windows--especially on quiet shady streets.

     As I sat looking at the passersby, I saw a spikey-haired Latin fellow come up from a basement apartment and head down the street.  Five minutes later, my imagination conjured a cute scenario, as another young Latin fellow came from the opposite direction, holding a small bouquet, and went down into the same basement apartment.  I was waiting for the rotation of a third, but alas, no (or not enough time transpired, lol).

     Lalo is an airy place, with cozy seating, yet it can get quickly crowded on holidays or for weekend brunch… sometimes even for midnight snacks!  It's a great place to pause during midday or pop into before/after the movies.  Part of the allure is the delicious handmade baked goods.  The French tarts, galettes, and croissants are pure flaky buttery perfection!  Their Russian coffee cake, Tiramisu, sweet potato pie, walnut ice box cookies, Spumoni, Papatelle Biscotti, and S'mores are wonderful.  Crepes and omelets that win your palate.  Perfectly-baked bread for sandwiches.  Their extensive menu is free of trans-fats, they offer take-out food, and their refreshments are well-made and flavorful.  They use local and organic ingredients: eggs, veggies, juice, soy milk, meat.  They use organic Fair-trade shade-grown coffee.  Even organic eco-friendly biodegradable teabags (made of unbleached paper)!  Their cheese menu is full of perfectly-ripened small-batch selections from across Europe… and Vermont.  Yet, you can also get "NYC staples" like an Eggcream.

     Naturally, it's a great place for "people watching", and this time there also was a variation on the expression.  An otherwise quiet, mild day with light foot traffic outside was interrupted by a mob of Asian tourists coming down the sidewalk, snapping pictures.  (I thought that stereotype had gone away with the American 1980s movies).  Twelve or more cameras clicked at all of us eating our food in front of the large open hinged windows, and then they came inside and palavered all around, taking more pictures, studying the ceiling, buying a few confections, and then they individually filed out.  They proceeded to a "Screen Scenes" tour bus (Café Lalo has been in several movie scenes, like "You've Got Mail").

     I was very nonchalant at this "New York experience", but I felt bad for the couple seemingly on their Second Date (or sharing lunch after a first sleepover), who had tried for a cozy corner.  But... that's part of the fun at dining at cozy--yet iconic--places!

Save Our History : Preservation

     Here's a quote I got from the Astoria Historical Society in New York City who wanted to save the famous Steinway Mansion: "The office of the Queens Borough President listened to our suggestions and agreed they had great merit before stating that no money was available. Currently, the house is up for sale."  
     It reminded me of the lack of interest in saving the few remaining early-Victorian homes in Astoria, circa 1870s.  Compare the pictures below of the same historic house, which is due for demolition (to make way for another low-rise apartment building in an overcrowding area).

     And yet, when Goldman Sachs and the Wall St. banks failed, they received bailout money--taken from the taxpayers--instantaneously!  Also consider a 2009 NY Times article, stating, "A hot dog vendor was kicked from the curb outside NYC's Metropolitan Museum of Art last week for failure to pay his monthly rent of $53,558.  Pasang Sherpa was under contract to pay the Parks Department $362,201 a year for a stand on the south side of the Met's entrance and $280,500 for another on the north side. The pretzel and cupcake carts pay the city about $100,000 each to operate there." Seems like plenty of money coming in...
     Couple that with 2010 NY Times article quoting, "In an era of generous municipal salaries and union-friendly overtime rules, it may not come as a complete shock that there are thousands of MTA employees—8,074, to be precise—who made $100,000 or more last year.  One of those workers, a LIRR conductor who retired in April, made $239,148, about $4,000 more than the authority’s chief financial officer, according to payroll data." 

     The money in the city's coffers should be re-appropriated via public outcry.

     I'm reminded of a movie quote, "When I hear the "privileged" talking, I hear words oozing from a moth-eaten sofa.  They're back in 1746.  They believe that the 40 million people in the country exist to make them comfortable.  They grumble about inconveniences like being deprived of imported bath salts.  They fear "the people" because those "common folk"--who do all the work--may suddenly wonder why they're wasting their lives and risking their futures to keep the "privileged" afloat."

An impromptu day!

     What a day! This morning, I went for a stroll through the neighborhood.  It was quiet--everyone else having gotten to work by then--and I enjoyed the cool breeze blowing under the now-leaf laden tree branches, still hanging low after last night's heavy rain.  While exploring, I came across "Sorriso's Italian Salumeria" and just had to check it out.  Inside was such a neat/orderly assortment of mouth-watering sausage, cheeses, fresh breads and all kinds of olives.  The butcher section was huge, stretching the whole length of the store.  I scooped up a container of delicious Cerignola olives.  I also bought some small-batch, hand-churned butter from Italy (and one from Maine).  FYI: the store sells all kind and variety of ale, pilsner and lager.  Finishing with a wedge of bittersweet chocolate into the bag, I headed home.

     In the afternoon, I went to meet Lewis (for moral support) at this dentist's office for his root canal.  As I was crossing lower midtown, I was waylaid by the "Anti Wall Street" Protest march that was careening down 6th Ave.

    It had been on the morning news, as they assembled in Bryant Park, that they intended to get attention by upsetting traffic and commerce randomly across town.  However, even though I saw only the end of the March, it was hugely well-attended.  It filled the whole avenue, from sidewalk to sidewalk--stopping busses and cars at intersections.  Everyone was marching--and brandishing all kinds of instruments at random intervals: saxophones, violins, accordions, lots of whistles, drums, boom boxes.  I saw priests, people in random job uniforms, truant students, men in hardhats.  It reminded me of the "I'm so angry, I'm not gonna take it anymore" line from the movie "The Network" (great movie, btw).  It took 10 min to cross the street, and as I did, I could see a wall of police cars--sirens wailing--trying to get downtown, but they couldn't.  And the meter maids, traffic cops and patrolmen on foot who were already there didn't know what to do.
     I left them to sort it out, and finally arrived at the dentist's spiffy office.  The receptionist was apparently expecting me, "You're her for Lewis, hon?"  The hygienist offered me a chair if I wanted to wait in the room with Lewis.  I chatted with him a bit, gave him a quick kiss (Lewis, that is) and graciously excused myself to the waiting room, telling the dentist that I didn't want to be a distraction.  In under an hour, Lewis appeared, a little swollen but still bright-eyed that it was over.  The little puffiness gave his lop-sided grin a cute quality.  I escorted him to his UWS apartment to change, as he wanted to spend the night at my place--which is closer to our jobs, in the morning.

     I zipped over to Citarella's and Fairway to stock up extra orange juice and surprise him with some of his favorite delicacies.  I got soft foods that were easy to eat: goose pâté, baked codfish, parsnip puree, gazpacho soup, vichyssoise (great during such warm weather), and a soft assortment of cow's milk cheeses: Bra Duro Doc, Cantal Dore, Emmental, and Sage Cheddar.  The baker, hearing my mission, was eager to help me find the softest loaf of bread.  To my surprise, he gently squeezed the Pullman, the French loaf and Eli's Pullman (not Eli) and picked the softest!  I also picked up a Red Velvet cupcake from both bakeries (to couple with one from my local bakery, Bakeway) so we could do a side-by-side taste test!  (The young woman at Bakeway thought it was hilarious, "After a root canal, you're going to have cake?  That's hysterically funny.  Have a great night, boys!")
     Awaiting Lewis, I sat on a park bench on Broadway and 73rd under a wisteria trellis, watching the early-rush hour traffic whoosh by.  As Lewis neared me and saw all the bags at my feet, he seemed gleeful.  Only Lewis--and after having root canal--could make such a beautiful smile of appreciation.  On our way to the subway, this did not deter him from stopping in two stores to look at bow ties and linen pants.  Back in Astoria, I also got him a freshly-puréed fruit juice to sip and offer nutrients to his healing mouth.  As I type this, he's napping from the pain medicine, and when he wakes, we will have quite a feast!  I suspect that he may not do a full day at work tomorrow, so if he comes back to my place early, there will be enough easy-to-eat food for tomorrow's lunch and our dinner.  

     All in all, a very productive, impromptu and beautiful day!