Monthly Archives: April 2012

Meredith and Richard were off to work relatively early and we hung back opting for a slower morning. I fixed the clock which had a broken escapement fork. I brought a small torch from home that might have been perfect for the job if I’d have remembered to bring some flux. I was worried about TSA, but by reading pages of regs on the Internet I discovered I could pack the torch in my luggage if I’d carry on the butane in a BIC lighter which has been legal since 2007. The boys and girls of TSA were confiscating 22,000 lighters a day before that and storage was becoming a problem for them!

After lunch we took the PATH train into Manhattan and went first to the International Center for Photography, 1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street (www.icp.org) to see the WeeGee exhibit. WeeGee (real name Arthur Felig) was an amazing photographer, showman, promoter of the 1930’s and 40’s whose business card read “Murder Is My Business”! He was maybe the first photographer to have a police radio in his car, a fold out table with typewriter in his trunk along with nearly a whole darkroom stuffed in there. He would often beat the cops to a murder scene and have all these bloody tabloid images on the way to the newspapers before the on-site investigation even got started. Quite the character. This is a WONDERFUL museum for photographers.

We then hiked over to Grand Central Station primarily to see the new Apple Store. What an inspired idea to feature your product for touching and using around half the second level of this busiest of places! While I was drooling over the new iPad and more, Cathy was down by the clock trying to get herself arrested. She was in the midst of a middle school flash mob of girls in uniform doing the Macarena in full formation to the tune coming from a boom box. Some guy came running up to Cath and told her to “stop this immediately or he was going to call the cops!!” By the time she started to explain she had nothing to do with it, the kids had scattered!

We met Richard first and then Meredith at Tom & Jerry’s, a neighborhood bar on Elizabeth St. in NoHo. We had a couple, rested our feet, and then were off on a search for BBQ.

Just outside of Tom & Jerry’s was the tree pointing at the moon and this  casket, complete with wine…only in NYC. Now, if I just told you about these images you would think I’d had too many “Fred & Gingers”. So, here’s the proof. BTW, when Richard first found this bar the lady bartender persuaded him to try one of her new concoctions with bourbon and fresh ginger. She was trying to come up with a name for it. He said just to call it Fred. No, she said, “it has to be Fred & Ginger”!! A new drink was born.

The barbeque was found at Georgia’s, a narrow-but-deep venue between Houston and Stanton. A bit of a wait, but well worth it!

I love this city.

Breakfast at the Crown Plaza was pleasant, but the weather was not. There was an inch of wet, slushy snow on the car, and it was still coming down.

We slipped and slid to the USA Parking lot, had to wake up the shuttle driver, transferred our bags and made it to the airport.

As I took off my shoes and belt and was emptying my pockets into the tub, I realized I had forgotten to leave my pocket knife at home! The tubs came through the x-ray machine, and Cath thought they hadn’t noticed. Of course, they were waiting to see who would come to pick it up, which I did with a sheepish smile and handed it to the TSA dude who was smiling back at me. I apologized, explained it was a cheap Chinese knife, and no, I didn’t care to go back through security and mail it home. I laughed. He laughed. We got on the train.

As we left our train at DIA, the monitors showed our flight on time. By the time we got to our gate there was a 10-minute delay…then a 30 minute delay…then 2 hours, etc. We later learned that our flight coming with a full load from Salt Lake City couldn’t land because of weather. It circled the airport for an hour and then low on fuel was turned back to SLC.

Finally, 2+ hours later it arrived with a “fuze that had popped out” which took nearly another hour to “pop back in”, and finally we were off to be deiced and flying. Weather everywhere else in the country was beautiful. C’mon. April Fool’s Day has passed.

Anyhow, it was a long, but safe flight to Newark, the A-1 taxi FINALLY arrived, and we were smiling with Richard and Meredith as if this was just another day.

Richard fixed us absolutely delicious chicken burgers at 10 p.m.

It was a gray day, but we were moving too fast to notice.

I burned the CD with the final changes to the last job and delivered it to the printer, stopped by the bank on the way home, deposited a fistful of Wasson High School Reunion checks (did I tell you I caved in and am in charge of that now?), withdrew some traveling cash, packed the bag to bursting (including Swaby’s photo padded with a week’s supply of underwear), checked the house for the fifth time, and got out of the driveway only an hour late on our schedule.

Tonight we had dinner with Chelsea, Neal and the kids at a very nice Italian restaurant on Logan after the first two choices failed the criteria.The kids are growing and great.

Later, we checked into the Crown Plaza… without me emitting too many low growling noises.

Cathy had an idea. A very good idea. Since we are flying from Denver to New Jersey to spend Easter with Meredith and Richard this week, we should get a motel near the airport the night before (tomorrow), see the Gilmours, cut down on the stress and enjoy.

We were both feeling great, anticipating the trip and almost caught up with our ton of commitments. I fired up the iPad, and feeling like a pro with Priceline now, booked us a room at the Crown Plaza, right on the edge of the Denver airport.

“Oops. My fat finger hit the wrong date. I’ll just call them and switch to the right date – it’s only been 3 seconds since I made the mistake.”

Not so bloody fast and easy, bucko. This is April Fool’s Day!

Two+ hours later, my good mood was shattered. I was so mad I couldn’t even explain to Cath what happened. Priceline FINED me $25 and threatened to force me to pay for two night’s lodging. The fine print (24 pages of it?) gives them these rights and MUCH more.

I fumed, I threatened, I pouted…but I paid. This IS April Fool’s Day!