Fore!

Each time we have visitors, I try and show them all the familiar sights and then I try and add in at least one thing I have never done or seen. When my sister Ranonne and her husband came last weekend, the "something new" was hitting golf balls at the Golf Club on Pier 59. It is a multi-story structure with a net 200 yards out to keep the balls from going into the Hudson River. With my golfing abilities, no net needed. However, it was lots of fun and I did manage to hit a ball 150 yards if you count the distance it rolled.

Celebrating John Lennon's 70th Birthday

Paul and I decided to Come Together with hundreds of others in Strawberry Fields Forever to celebrate John's 70th birthday. You didn't even need a Ticket to Ride to play your guitar or violin or even to sing along. It was crowded and I did cry for Help a few times as we squeezed through all the people. With a little Instant Karma we were able to find a good place to stand. In My Life I have never thought that I Am the Walrus, but I do Imagine a world where we Give Peace a Chance and All You Need is Love.

Somewhere over the rainbow

This photo was taken out of our dining room window one evening after a rainstorm.
We were a little bit panicked at first thinking that the end of the rainbow (and its pot of gold) was sitting in Yankee Stadium, but we quickly determined that even Mother Nature wouldn't play such a nasty trick on us.

On the Avenue

Three weekends each summer the city closes Park Avenue to traffic from 72nd Street south to the Brooklyn Bridge. It is open to bikers, skaters, walker, and runners. Paul and I donned our cute bike helmets and hopped on our commuters (Paul prefers to call them "old people bikes) and rode the city streets. It really was lots of fun to cruise down Park Avenue around Grand Central Station, through Union Square, Soho, City Plaza, to the Brooklyn Bridge. Along the way, vendors were out hawking their fitness products and good food. One event that attracted lots of attention was the dumpster diving. The city had converted several huge dumpsters into swimming pools. We didn't get to take a dive, but we did get close enough for a photo.

Yankees spelled backwards

A true Red Sox fan knows that Yankees spelled backwards is "I-l-o-v-e-S-a-t-a-n," and even with that knowledge firmly implanted in our hearts, we decided we needed to see a game in the new Yankee Stadium. It is huge, gaudy, elaborate, and exactly what you would expect of the Yankees and with apologies to all our die hard Red Sox friends, we liked it.

Unconditional Surrender

August 14 was the anniversary of Japan's surrender after World War 2. Hundreds of men and women from the armed services had gathered in Times Square and as the announcement was made, a sailor grabbed a nurse who was standing close to him, bent her over and planted a kiss on her as a way of celebrating this huge event. The kiss was captured by a photographer and made it's way onto the cover of Life Magazine. In commemoration of this kiss, a statue was commissioned a couple of years ago and was temporarily installed in Times Square this past week. Saturday, August 14, the city sponsored a re-enactment of the kiss. Sailor hats were distributed to all in attendance and everyone kissed at 12:00 noon. Paul and I were in Times Square earlier that morning and had our kiss sans the sailor hats.

A room with a "clear" view

I was sitting on the sofa reading one morning and I heard a noise like someone was tapping on the window. Since we live on the 27th floor, it seemed unlikely that someone would be tapping on the window. But to my surprise, not only had I actually heard the noise, but I saw the guy making it. It was a window washer and I hope that by taking his picture, I didn't throw him off balance!