The first 3 months of 2008

Wow, it is hard to believe that the first quarter of 2008 has come and gone, and, as usual, it was crammed full of exciting entertainment events, but nothing topped what will be the highlight of the year 2008 - oldest grandson Warrant Officer Alex Falletta receiving his wings as a certified Apache (The Longbow) helicopter pilot - way to go Alex!!

In reviewing my daily log (log, not diary - real guys don’t keep diaries) I find that in the past 3 months I attended: 9 Broadway shows - Come Back Little Sheba, The Color Purple, Legally Blonde, 39 Steps, Passing Strange, Spring Awakening (for the second time on Broadway), South Pacific, Gypsy, and Sunday in the Park with George; 58 Off-Broadway shows; 2 comedy shows - Will Farrell @ Radio City Music Hall and Frank Caliendo @ The Beacon Theater; 1 rock music concert - Eric Clapton @ Madison Square Garden; 9 classical music concerts; and, unfortunately, the Yankees Opening Day was rained out. I was out of town for 5 nights for Alex’s graduation ceremony, and stayed in the apartment 11 nights without attending some sort of entertainment event. The nights I stayed in were almost always cold/nasty weather related.

During this time-frame I was able to spend some quality time in the City with: Dwight Wells of Key West; my former roomie David West of Gainesville and Paris; now retired Circuit Judge Susan Roberts and her husband Dan Brawley of Lakeland; new shop owner Dian Crystal (a theater nut like moi); and Hunter College student/intern/bartender Scott Reed.

Not bad for a soon-to-be 74 year old guy, is it?

As many of you know, on March 15 there was the crane collapse at the building site on my block, resulting in the death of 7 people. As I write this, many of the buildings nearer to the construction site remain vacant, including my drug store and a favorite Mexican restaurant. Construction on the site has not resumed.

On the political side was Governor Eliot Spitzer’s fall from grace and Rudy Giuliani’s dead-in-the water run for the Republican nomination. Honestly, who could have predicted either one?

Oh, and thanks to my son Bill, the iPhone has now become an integral part of my life.

So, more to come later as I try to figure out just what and when I will post on this new blog. Please share your thoughts and recommendations with me either on this blog or via email at: wanjr@aol.com.