I am so glad to report to you loyal and faithful readers that April 23, 2010, turned out to be the awesome day that I hoped it would. When I woke up at 8:00am I checked the weather and it was 46º and the sky was virtually cloudless. I knew that I could begin my birthday adventure whenever I wanted.
So, after having breakfast and reading all of the emails, texts and postings I was ready to head out at 11:00. It was 52º so I wore a sweater and running pants. I had uploaded “1776 the Musical.” “76 Trombones,” and “I Did It My Way” into my iPhone. In my backpack was a bottle of water.
It was a bit brisk as I headed North up 9th Avenue for 118th Street in the Upper West Side, walking just a bit slower than the usual “I’m-a-NewYorker-get-the-fuck-out-of-my-way” pace. It felt good. Was at Lincoln Center (62nd Street) at 11:30 and at 76th Street at 11:45.
As I had previously posted, my plan was to take a short break at 76th Street, find 76 W. 76th Street, and, hopefully, have my picture taken. Well, that didn’t happen. Why, you are no doubt breathlessly asking? Because there is no 76 W. 76th Street, that is why. The last building number on the block is 60 and the next block begins with 100. Oh well ... it was a good idea.
So, back on 9th Avenue I went (actually 9th Avenue had turned into Columbus Avenue and would ultimately become Morningside Drive). I also began to experience some rather steep up-hills and then significant down-hills. I still felt great
At 110th Street Columbus Avenue turns into Morningside Drive which it adjacent to Morningside Park on the East and Columbia University on the West. The Park was absolutely beautiful. I had only 8 more blocks to go so up the really steep inclined Morningside Drive I went, arriving at 118th Street at 1:00pm. Billi Pod had done it and he felt great!
Took some pictures and then went over to Amsterdam and decided to take a bus back to 42nd Street. The M-11 bus actually goes South on 9th Avenue so that would work fine I told myself. Well, it took almost an hour to travel the approximate 4.5 miles, but ... what the hell ... I played solitaire on my iPhone.
Bottom line, I was back at PHC at 2:25, a bit tired but really feeling great, physically and mentally. After checking the emails, texts, voice-messages and postings I took a nice soaking hot bath and my legs felt great as did Billi Pod.
At 7:00 headed out to my Broadway show SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM - “It's a completely different kind of Sondheim evening: an intimate portrait of the famed composer in his own words...and music. An ensemble cast, led by Tony Award winner Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat, will perform brand-new arrangements of over two dozen Sondheim tunes, ranging from the beloved to the obscure.” My legs felt fine after walking the 12 blocks to the theater.
The show was excellent, especially Barbara Cook but it was a bit long, 2:45, so it was after 11:00 when I got back to PHC.
Watched the rest of the Yankees vs. LA Angels game, which the Yankees lost 4-6. Decided to postpone the steak until tonight, a small salad was all I wanted.
Yes, I did walk at least 100 blocks, or 5 miles, on my 76th birthday, and, yes, Billi Pod was tired when he finally crashed at 2:00am, but it was a very happy tired.
Felt great when I woke up this morning at 8:30. No problem with muscle or joint pain. I have two shows planned for today, both are one-person performance pieces.
The first is “HEBREW SCHOOL DROPOUT Or: How I Converted from Judaism to Catholicism and Back to Judaism AND Lost Those Stubborn Last 10 Pounds!” and then tonight is: “Lynne Koplitz - Functionally Dysfunctional” playing at a theater on my block.
Again, I want to thank everyone for the emails, calls, postings and texts about Billi Pod’s 76th Birthday - they all mean so much to me - THANK YOU family, friends and you loyal and faithful readers!!
Go Yankees!!
Billi Pod
“Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.”
PS: A big Happy Birthday shout-out to Ruth Porter Stoll who also turned 76 on April 23rd. Ruth, Burke Allen and I were classmates and we share the same birthday.
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