Home

Although I don't often like to fly.....sometimes the view is amazing....I flew from the center of Long Island....to Baltimore....to home the other day.

Thanks to Jason, a Barnes and Noble friend and artist, I was nudged into putting some photo apps on my IPhone.....so I had something to do during the longer leg of the journey.

I liked this picture because the sky looked like a steamy bowl of soup with dumpling clouds floating in it. As the plane headed further south.....the thunderheads were so thick and the clouds below were so gray and ominous.....I was grateful to be on top of the weather rather than underneath it.

I'm always amazed when I travel....how quickly the vacation....vanishes once you start heading home. For a whole week I looked at rental houses for my daughter's wedding and pretty spots....then spent a part of each day on the beach....Fire Island, Cooper's Beach, Montauk, Ditch Plains....and the "Tip"......and yet....as I sat on the plane and looked out the window....snacking on my Southwest Airlines orange cheese crackers.....it seemed like all the sand and wind and sun I felt happened a thousand years ago.

As the turbulence kicked in closer to home, I realized I had a drink coupon. I have a whole stack of them from Southwest....and because I often fly during the day...never even consider using them. But at 4pm....with the plane bouncing around ....it didn't seem like a bad idea....so I pulled an old coupon out of my wallet and asked the cabin attendant if she had bourbon.

"Of course," she said, in a way that made me feel like I was pretty naive about the drink cart on planes.

Soon my bourbon and soda sparkled in the sunlight streaming in from the window.

And guess what???? Drink a nice stiff drink....and the turbulence doesn't seem so bad after all.

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I drifted relaxed and calm to my home city.....riding the bumps.....without a care in the world.

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Just before I disembarked.....I adjusted my sandal strap.....and a tiny pool of sand spilled out from my shoe from my morning walk on Fire Island.

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I smiled down at the little puddle of sand....grabbed my purse...my little briefcase....and left behind Long Island and my week.....ready and willing to go home.

Headed for the beach.....

Well I'm on Long Island...the sun is shining....and my little patch of beach is calling....Robert Moses....Lot #5.

It's not exactly swimming weather.....I believe its 27 degrees...LOL>>>>but hey the sand is still there.....and I wonder if that sweet section of beach sings the same wonderful song even in the winter.

Guess I'll find out soon.....

The End........

I wondered how to tie up this trip.....should I go back to the beach? should I walk along the Sound?.....should I have a great breakfast at one of those cozy Greek -owned diners early Saturday morning.

But last night....when I saw the rainbow that appeared from a sudden intense thunderstorm which had swept into the North Shore of Long Island .....I smiled and knew nature had provided me the final gift for my great vacation ....where I had a chance to feel the electricity of New York City again...where I experienced the beauty of rocky and sandy shores and perfect waves.... where I played tour guide for my family and showed them the things I loved and discovered in this part of the country.

I felt so through and through soul-deep grateful as I looked at that rainbow....to the dominoes in my life which had first brought me to the City then Long Island.....that I said a prayer of thanks to God, or the gods, or to whatever is the source of that spark.... ..which causes a cascade of events in your life.....and brings you to a certain point...a certain peak.....

and from this peak....you have the extreme privilege of turning around.....and actually seeing how these factors...these people....these events...how they all blended together.....to place you right here.... at this very moment in time.

Sometimes you don't know how you got to a certain point in your life......but sometimes you do......and looking at that process ....being cognizant of it ....can fill you with wonder.

I am not sure I discovered a pot of gold on Long Island....but I discovered something....and that something.... moved me forward....enlightened me....and brought immense joy and texture into my life.......which I have been able to share with the people I love.

Gratitude.. is the perfect ending.

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On to our second casa.....this time on the other side of Long Island

We're at our second casa......the rental house on Montauk....which is at the tip of the ocean side of Long Island. It's quite a cultural jolt....to move from what feels like a quaint town in New England to the"Hampton Scene" on the other side of the island.

I think we were both disoriented by all the bodies and cars.....and the change in attitude......in Orient.....we were the "outsiders".... tolerated guests......but here....this is a tourist culture and although I know there's an "innie" crowd.....the famed Hampton folks.....its much more of a free for all.

Our house is located in "Digger's Ditch"....which is a small cove of beach....known for it's huge waves......and surfers.

Hit the beach yesterday afternoon.....and I could hear Beach Boy music in my head as I watched all those guys and girls in their wet suits on their boogie boards. I actually thought (for just a second) ....hey I bet I can rent a board here.....but then I realized they have to give me ...arm floaties ...those inflatable little tufts they put on the arms of toddlers..........cause I don't think my natural swimming talents are good enough for the tough waves and surf here.

There's another beach down the road....which I call...."the flat beach".....it goes along for miles.....in either direction.....beautiful....fierce waves.....thundering sounds....and all sand.....in fact....you can hardly find a pebble or a shell on this baby...quite a change from the last beach. We walked for miles on this one last night.

A woman on the beach told me yesterday....that it was 100 degrees in New York City....I couldn't believe it....I thought she was joking....as we had temperatures in the 70's on Orient....but sure enough I googled it...and she was right.....this morning....I opened our balcony door.....and whoa....it's feels like its 90 degrees....and its only 9am....

So all I can say is.....it's time to hit the beach!!!

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Surfers......or boys in skin tight rubber suits

No zoom on the iphone....unfortunatately.....

I'll have to see if I can get a better pics of these boys....(although please note....in all fairness....there are girls in skin tight rubber suits.....and I'm sure under his sunglasses my hub's eyes were glued there)

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Sacred Spot along the Sound........

Sometimes in my travels....I come across places that feel sacred.

I'm not sure analytically why a particular spot makes you sense something extraordinary....why it sings to your soul and requests or even demands you consider the bigger picture....but without a doubt these places exist.

In my wanderings up and down this long pebbled beach on "Orient Shoal".....I noticed this outcropping of rocks from a distance. A modest group of gigantic boulders rest on the beach....almost as if someone casually tossed them there to add to the scenery. My scientific husband explains they are the debris left from an ancient glacier with stopped advancing here and created Long Island.

Each rock is different....different markings....different colors. The ice tore them from their original homes in Canada.. Maine....New Hampshire. Some rocks are submerged at high tide...and wear limp brown seaweed during the day....which rejuvenates each night. Other rocks have soft sides of green algae.... some have jagged edges from erosion. Snow white herons and dark black cormorants.....perch on the rocks.

Every day since I have been here....I walk around or sit among them for a while. I feel safe and settled and at peace with them. I smile at their fortitude....no storm....no waves....nothing moves them. They will outlast me and my concerns and my little life by millions of years....it makes everything I am worried about seem very small. I walk away from them each day....and feel like they have realigned something in me during my visit. I like to think they have hidden magnets in them....which straightens out my wayward tendencies. I think I should set up camp and stay with them for a month or two....to gain certainty and fortitude in my thinking.

This evening I walked miles in the opposite direction to visit another grouping of rocks...I thought hey....if there's one sacred spot on this beach....maybe there are others.....it was a tough walk on large wobbly stones.....when I finally reached the rocks....it took me less than a minute to realize......they were duds......they didn't sing.....they had nothing to say....dullards of the boulder and other world....but it did make me appreciate my little spot even more.

Tomorrow is my last day at this house.....and it will be my last day at the sacred spot....I decided to write my wishes and dreams on a little paper tonight and leave it with them in the morning........tuck it in a secret little opening in one of the rocks.....you never know....the weather might be too nice....the sound might be too calm....they may be looking for something to do.....and of course.....it will be nice to know I'll be there too for a little while longer.

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Rain Day...................

It's a big rainy windy day here.....the storm started around 4:30 am....the roof and some of the windows are complaining with extra loud sighs and creaks. I can already feel where the cold drafts are in this hundred year old house....and wish I had some of those long stuffed "draft pillows" to put against some of the doors.

I'm on my second cup of coffee but I am not disappointed by the day.....there's small tasks that need to be done.....dishes ...a bit of laundry....a quick run to the grocery store.....and I'm enjoying the books I brought....I decided today felt like the "right day" to crack opening "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain."

In January I stopped writing....ironically a few weeks afterwards....I received second place in a writing contest judged by African journalists and just before I left....my award arrived....the huge two volume set book called "African Ceremonies." I actually met the authors....two intense women....one from the U.S. ...the other from England...who have spent ten years photographing ceremonies. I didn't meet them at a book signing or in a home...but on a back road in Niger....they had called our guide, Alberto, via satellite phone to let him know they would be in the area.....and we were in the area.....and so the arrangement was to look for each other's caravan. Amazing....our drivers found their drivers .....and we spread a blanket on the sand at our rendezvous point...and talked to these women....listening to how they crept across borders without visas...were chased by government officials.....or members of particular tribes who had qualms about being photographed.... some people believe a part of your spirit is attached to your image.

Anyways......I started doodling last month....( stick figure doodling)....and I brought the drawing book along to advance my doodling. I can't figure out if I'm going to write again or when.....I have brought projects along....but I feel like a wine bottle....corked and capped....and I just don't know if I can open up or even if I want to anymore....it is something I hope to figure out while I'm here.

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A Small Adventure........

There's a ferry service from Orient to Connecticut....so hub and I decided to go to New London, Ct and look around. Gorgeous warm day....but a few minutes on the upper deck of the ferry ...and brrrrr.....I had to duck inside for the rest of the 1.5 hour trip.

Beach Life.......

This morning, for the second morning in a row.....the sweet chirps of meadowlarks have been my alarm clock at dawn. The house if full of sunlight .....and I slip out of bed to try and make coffee ....quietly.....which is task....since this house is a hundred years old....and many floor boards has something to say when you put your weight on them.

I love this place....the hamlet of Orient....the old houses.....the small scattered farms.....and the ability to see both the Long Island Sound.....and the Bay which is part of the Atlantic Ocean.

I already collected a few real estate magazines for the area.....but owning a home here....would be in the "something to dream" about category....since many of the small historic homes run at least 1 million dollars.

But that didn't stop me from walking around the hamlet....and deciding which one or two I could live in....which garden would be perfect with only a few more flowers or a nip and tuck on an overgrown shrub. One of the historic homes even had an open house on Sunday....priced to sell....at 800K.....it was an odd ..quirky....beautiful old house.....but even I knew that a few of the floorboards felt way too soft (possible joist rot?) and the kitchen was left behind in the 60's......and one bathroom looked like it needed lots of work. Sometimes I watch those stage your home to sell shows on the Home and Garden Channel....and I'm able to pick out suspicious decorating touches. In this house.... a bright new luxurious shower curtain hanging in an out of date bathroom made me suspicious. Pull it aside and uh huh....yes.....the bathtub from hell.

There's lots of wind on this point of land....strong wind....not the kiss of a gentle breeze....so it's interesting to be out and about....walking down the narrow old streets or on the beach. You don't have the pleasure of introspection or getting caught up in your own internal thoughts.....because the wind bats at you....as if to say....think of me think of me....and you do....it's almost like a child tugging on your sleeve for attention. And it's not necessarily a bad thing.....since you feel the sun. ....the smell of water....the constant russle of leaves in thick old trees...and of course the wind....tossing your hair around....making your windbreaker or t-shirt into a sail.

Today we will go into the bigger town of Greenport about 6 miles south of here....to buy groceries....and walk around. I'd like to pop into the library and look at a history book of the area....and there are numerous art galleries along the main drag....which my hub hopes are closed on Mondays...to help me avoid temptation.

I finished one book....from my pile....a book I brought along because it was so small....The Story of My Life....Helen Keller. It's only 75 pages....but I was astonished.

I could not phantom....and still can't.....how a woman who was deaf and blind....and unable to speak well....could acquire the education, sophistication, and communication skills (in writing) which she did. For example...she attended Radcliffe.....and graduated. She studied through people spelling each word into her hand....or reading embossed text books.

Okay...can you imagine someone spelling an entire book into your hands? or touching someone's lips to read what they are saying....at a college level? The woman also mastered French and German....and was fond of German literature. I have all my senses and I can speak "pig" rough French and read enough words to get me down the street and into a coffee shop. Fini. That's it.

Possibilities......we simply limit ourselves and sell ourselves short some times.
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Our Sweet Rental Home...on Orient, Long Island

We arrived at our sweet rental home late in the afternoon ....after a day of shopping and browsing the middle of Long Island. Although we visited this house and its owners on my fall trip out here....I was surprised how pretty and serene the place felt as soon as we opened the door.

In a few hours of residence we already made a simple dinner....downed a bottle of wonderful Merlot from South Africa while listening to Klezmer music....traditional Eastern European Jewish folk music. We decided to bring only world music to our house to listen to this week....so I brought Salsa and African music....hub brought Klezmer, Australian and Celtic music. I tell you with a bottle of wine in me....I was ready to stomp around on these hundred year old wooden floors and dance!!!

But instead we hit the beach.....which was hard work since the beach is composed of zillions of smooth pebbles. The waves sound lazy and slow here...almost sloppy..and after they hit the beach...thousands of small pebbles roll back with the waves creating a high pitched tinkling after sound. Because your feet sink into the pebbles....it takes a lot of work to walk on the beach and halfway back home we cheated and hit the road....so we could return before midnight...lol

I can't wait for the morning....I'm planning to get up at sunrise.....and walk into town and around the ponds which are scattered about and occupied by snow white egrets.
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A Place to Read......

I brought the books....tons of them....and here is the perfect place to read.....

Quite an old fashioned New England Bedroom

A good start to the Big Vacation......

I'm sitting here on the couch in my hotel doing the special beach thigh shuffle.....lift...ah ....lift....ah.....

Damn....I sprayed sun tan lotion all over....when I hit the beach yesterday....but forgot the back of my legs....and I am so paying for my omission....thank god I brought all those skirts.....cause these hot babies are not going to slip into pants today.

My flight out here to Laguardia...was decent as far as airline travel goes....I was only 4-5 hours late....and all my luggage found me. I guess nowadays that considered a successful trip.

Both flights were full....even my little regional airlines flight to Chicago. As I snuggled against the window to give my flying partner more room (she was a large woman)....I had the strange feeling I was on Greyhound bus versus an airplane.

Not that I have a lot of experience on Greyhound ...but I did take a trip on the bus once in college (I'm not sure where ) and I do remember the bus was packed and people carried on all kind of bags and food.

When our plane took off...and the air kicked in....a strange yucky smell....a combo of greasy McDonald's breakfast sandwiches and egg and cheese croissants filled the cabin....which somehow reminded me of that long ago bus travel adventure.

Of course carry on luggage is a big thing now with the extra surcharges...and folks were standing in the aisle reshuffling and beating their bags into submission to fit in the bins.

Sometimes strangers worked together to reorganize a bin...with the advice of seated passengers.....acting like back seat drivers..... "No ...no ...no...but the black bag in head first and slip the red bag not the blue bag next to that one."

All the crowds and congestion....certainly made my layover in Chicago zip by....I'm a devoted people watcher in airports....and now with cell phones.....whether you want to hear it or not....you get dialogue. Shipping orders, phone calls to mom and business meetings.....are all booming in the waiting area.

Since I was sitting at the busy Chicago to LaGuardia gate....the people watching was especially juicy....with a mix of businessmen...tony New Yorkers....and what looked like semi-celebrities....all packed in one area.

I sat next to a couple of businessmen....who had such excellent phone skills....such beautiful diction....and intelligent prater.....I made a mental note to myself....to be more conscious of own my speaking pattern in professional calls.

And what a fashion display....bags ...sunglasses...interesting shoes....but the most interesting look... went to a young man...who was in a plaid suit.

Now a brown and blue plaid suit is enough to lift your eyebrows....but his suit....was skin tight....and ended far above his ankles...plus his jacket was very short....the classic Pee Wee Herman look. He even sported short short hair with just a little tuft for a bang. I noticed some of the business guys smile as he passed by....I imagined they were thinking....ah just let him come in for an interview dressed like that at MY company....lol....

The beach was a fun experience....#5 lot at Robert Moses brimming as always with interesting folks. But I'll write about that later....sorry no personal pics...yet....my iPhone seems to get confused in the NY area...so I haven't been able to send a pic yet...
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This ain't gonna work......

These are the books I want to take with me on vacation.....a modest pile consisting of:

an erotic fiction

a regular fiction

two drawing books

one writing book

one nyc book

two self help books

one biography

one humor book

two sketch pads

(no I don't draw but I have this terribly urge to try)

a shell and beach identification book

one architectural/philosophy book

one journal

one slim poetry book.......

I can't imagine going with less...........so now it's come down to...books or things like>>>>>>clothes.

I feel like King Solomon....suggesting the baby might have to be cut in half......will I have to abandon those killer high heels after all?

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Ms. Action-Oriented Admits She's NOT READY

What???....I looked at the calender and freaked.

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In exactly three weeks....May 28 ......(my birthday)....

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I'm leaving for New York and the Big Family Vacation.

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I've been so busy being life's ping pong ball the last couple

months....with my parents' failing health, my daughter's student loan fiasco, pets dying....storms wanting to blow down my house....I am not ready.

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Okay....I'll repeat that....Ms. Action-Oriented....Ms. Organized is not ready.

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The Little Folder that says.....Family Vacation....lacks.

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Car rentals, NYC hotels, and even a plane ticket for the youngest son is not there. ( The strategy of waiting for the summer sales on air fare was a complete failure)

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Since I'm arriving a few days ahead of the troops.....maybe I should plan to buy lots of wine and beer and good food...and hope they won't notice....they're walking the 52 miles from the Long Island airport to the beach house

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Hmmm.......Maybe I should drink all that wine.....and not care.......what they think......lol.....

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Texture.......

I put this photo on my desk.....to remind myself why we're going to Long Island and NYC this June. This is a picture of my kids about 10 years ago in Florida. My littlest one....who is now 6'3" and a senior in high school is the sand Merman.

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I imagine this will be one of our last family vacations for a while.......my daughter is working with autistic children in Ohio and hopes to get into a behavioral psychology grad school program this year. My oldest son now has a job and little by little is becoming more independent. Mr. Merman....is going off to college....to Iowa this fall.

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It's cliche to say you are startled to discover your kids are growing up....but I feel both startled and proud of them....a few years ago I found myself walking on a beach on Long Island....and I was so taken by the crashing waves, the slant of the sun and the wonder of the place.......that I wanted to share this with the kids.....and create an adventure they would remember ....something they would talk about...at future family gatherings ...."Do you remember the time we went to New York and......."

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As I surf the web till my rump is numb..... trying to figure things out....and gasping at the cost of rental cars and hotels.......I remind myself.....that one of the things I do best....(besides being stubborn) ....is planning....and organizing....(you want to get from A to B....call me)....and this is my opportunity to shine.

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I'm a lousy domestic diva....a stern and sometimes pushy Mom.....and a tireless soap box orator on facing fears....getting out there.....and experiencing people and adventures in your life....so you end up textured.

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It would be easy to go back to Florida....easy to arrange this some place else.....but I wanted all my kids to learn that challenges are okay.....that taking a risk with strange hopes and dreams in your heart is an okay habit to get into...

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I stumbled onto Long Island and found wonder.....

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Now let's see if I can stumble and find a way to get #1 son and #2 son and #2 son's girlfriend out of two different airports on the same day......lol

( I know....mega sentimental idealist....bend me over and spank me.)

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Spring and Bad Ideas......

As if by magic, there were new spring leaves outside my windows today.....the birds urgently called to each other announcing their swollen gonads.....and squirrels were barking in the trees outside....males, I assume, telling other males....I've got a woman and a tree and a nest so buzz off.

All this lovely sunshine and blue skies and raw nature totally paralyzed my vacation plans. I should have reserved my flight to Long Island?NY today for my June vacation.....because I'm using my frequent flyer miles and the times and days available are awful already. But instead, I announced to the men folks that I was considering driving to New York in my convertible....so I could have it on the island and drive along the Ocean and Sound roads with the top down and the music blaring.

Let me count the ways they murmured over and over what a bad idea this was.....the small matter of 1200 miles.... at least 2.5 days of driving one way.....the reality of bad weather.....the fact that we would still have to rent a car because my convertible is a two-seater and the family won't fit....plus groceries....plus luggage.....etc etc etc. Bless them they are so logical...but this is a matter of the heart and spirit.....not the cerebrum.

(this is my car riding in the belly of an airplane)

If only American Airlines would allow me take her on board.....stash her in the belly of the plane...she isn't that big....and I would pay all of my precious miles for the chance to feel that ocean wind kissing my cheeks. I know I know....I could rent a convertible but I checked and Lagaurdia doesn't handle them....besides it wouldn't be the same....riding in an imposter Gina car.

So the men folks are encouraging me to come to my senses....be logical now......and I guess....if I want the ocean wind to kiss my cheeks..... I could use my extra days there to go to the nude beach.....but I would be happier in my car....hair flying....cheesy songs blaring....and going zoom zoom.

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Upcoming Family Reunions....or...We're All Gonna Have Fun ...Right

Last night I was up to 2Am...stalking the halls....talking to the dogs.....spinning my wheels. I thought this would be easy.....it sounded good several months ago.....rent a couple of houses on the beaches of Long Island the first couple weeks in June.....get family and friends together.......enjoy wine....enjoy each other.....laugh lots.

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Hmmmm. The easy part was finding the houses.....a couple days ago I started plotting moving bodies to New York with all kinds of new constraints on them....I can only get these days off....I can come here but not there.....and of course....thank you Southwest Airlines for cancelling Laguardia as a destination since flying out of there was central to the plans.

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On top of all these complications....my sister-in-law sends me an email asking me to send the deposit money for the cruise.....the cruise?

I'm an only child with a tiny family but my hub has 4 siblings scattered throughout the Northwest and Arizona. His energetic sisters plan a reunion every couple of years. Bad joss on my part (I was teaching or traveling) kept me out of the reunion twice. A few emails flew by about going on a Carnival Cruise. I thought they were feelers....this weekend I found out they were reality.

I swooned. Independent Gina trapped on a Carnival Cruise!?!?......Yikes..... I read the reviews...tons of mediocre food, Karaoke bars, slot machines....the obligatory girls-in-skimpy outfits- reviews. ....and of course the infamous towel animals.

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I started mentally suffering. Imagining myself trapped for two full days at sea ......watching drunken people in a conga line...(it's a 5 day trip and there's a couple of sea days).

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Between family complications and the thought of bobbing up and down the coast from San Diego to the tip of Baja, Mexico....I tossed and turned all night.

Then this morning...my son asked me a simple question....could he fly up to Ohio and hookup with his sister??.........why yes that would be brilliant and would get 2 out of 3 kids there in one swoop... I rechecked my frequent flyer miles.....hmmmm...forcing me to fly into New York a few days ahead of the family could be blessing....I could solo around the island and find some excellent wine....a big multi-colored beach umbrella......figure out train system ....Maybe this could work....maybe....lol

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As far as the cruise....I emailed hub and asked him if we could spend a few days in Death Valley ( a place I've always wanted to visit)....before we go a-cruising....we could stock up on wondrous desert vibes....solitude....certainly enough good energy to survive a conga line and forced-happy talking cruise directors.....and the cruise isn't till October plenty of time to forget about it before I have to remember it.

Finally .....I sat down to blog....and realized.......if I can drink champagne and restreak on the Ides of March....maybe...just maybe....I could drink enough martinis.....to Karaoke?????? Isn't there some rule which states you have to Karoke at least one time in your life?? (Best to do it at sea where no one knows you ...right?)

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What we do for love is amazing....lol

"What you want baby I got it....what you need....you know I got it....."

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Get out of the house and eat jello

"The soup ...the soup was only lukewarm last time....you can't eat soup lukewarm...tell them...nice and hot....it's too cold outside for lukewarm soup.....nice and hot.....that's the way soup should be....nice and hot...and my wife will have jello....just jello....because she has trouble with her bowels.....the cramping....the pain....and I told her....we can go out to eat ...because you can still get out of the house and eat...even if its only for jello."

You can still get out of the house and eat jello.

Somehow....the words sounded prophetic....no matter what your pain....what your misgivings....what trouble you may have.....you can always get yourself out of surroundings....and change your experience...a little......even if its only to have a cup of comforting ground cow hooves (that is what jello's made from ...right?)

I could sit in this diner for hours.....soaking up the conversations and the people: the comings and goings of stooped old people with big watery eyes and over sized glasses....cocky beefy guys in baseball hats with loud opinions on the next ball game, clusters of families with seat bouncing children, waitresses who fit every stereotype of every movie you have ever seen shot in a diner....and me....the obvious out-of-towner....who contributes to the experience by allowing everyone to raise their eyebrows...point....and whisper....she must be here visiting someone.

I had misgivings about coming back to NYC and Long Island....I had been here in September....and I had issues about returning so soon ....even a mild case of flying anxiety which occasionally bites me. But sitting here in the Plainview diner....I was thrilled that I "got out of the house" and though I wasn't eating jello....or lukewarm matzoh ball soup.....I was savoring my old fashioned omelet and hash browns and buttered wheat toast.

In someways ...it had been a small ...uneventful....day...and the lack of trouble.....was the source of joy.

I was lucky to leave home and miss the mini ice storm.....I wasn't delayed too long at the infamous Chicago O'Hara airport...and I had pleasant seat mates....which is important when you're packed like sardines in coach.

I landed at La Gaurdia.....got on the right rental car bus...found the right exit and the right freeway....chilled during bumper to bumper rush hour traffic ...and arrived at my hotel in one piece....with all my luggage...all my things....and me in good working order. It was a MasterCard moment...and I knew it.

I even cherished the fear and the tight stomach I had over Manhattan. Apparently La Gaurdia was backed up....and our plane first circled over Pennsylvania and then came in low and slow approaching Manhattan for a few more lazy circles.

"In my twenty years of flying, I've never come in this slow over Manhattan...we're only going 180 knots." I didn't know what 180 knots translated to in miles per hour....but the plane felt more like it was gliding than flying.....and the pilot started pointing out landmarks....here's Coney Island on the left....Staten Island on the right....this bridge ...that bridge so..it felt more like we were on a tour bus.....rather than in a jet.

But it was just that closeness to Manhattan that scared me. I've flown many times in NY since 9/11...but we always fly north of the city center...and now on this beautiful clear day.....with the city center below me....on American airlines....I shivered....wondering ...emphathizing...what it must have been like to be a passenger....in the terror....but also the strange beauty....of seeing this stunning skyline.....get closer and closer. I wondered even if in great fear if your mind registers....there's the Empire State Building...as you fly to your death.

My heart was like a hammer....I closed this contemplation....at least while I was flying.

But this ...of course.....is why you travel...or why some of us do....it is exactly for moments ...which expand your reality ...or give you ideas....or make you smile at the thought of cold Matzoh ball soup.
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A wedding story from the NY TIMES: When Susan met Jack

I deleted this blog.

I took Susan and Jack's story from the Times and shared how I might read it....and what funny comments I might make about their relationship and the course of their courtship.

Hours later....it came to me........that is was disrespectful ...to joke about the trials and tribulations of their love......in a public forum....heck if the story of some of my relationships were printed in the newspaper....I wouldn't want some blogger having fun with what may have been painful times for me.

Susan and Jack.

Mazal-Tov
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