Thursday==>OK, my loyal and faithful readers and followers, your favorite blogger here in The Big Apple, The Greatest City In The World, owes everyone a heartfelt apology for not making a timely posting yesterday.
He does, however, have a legitimate excuse ... and that is ... the AWESOME tour yesterday, with Marie Taylor, of the GREEN-WOOD CEMETERY out there in that foreign country/outpost known as Brooklyn.
I left the warm and cozy confines of PHC at 11:15am to meet my friend Marie at the subway platform @ Times Square. It was 5:15pm in the late afternoon when I opened the door to PHC. Yeah, it was a full afternoon. I had a show for the evening so I just didn’t have time to post.
So ... why don’t we get started with, first, the tour ...
To refresh your memory ... “GREEN-WOOD is 478 spectacular acres of hills, valleys, glacial ponds and paths, throughout which exists one of the largest outdoor collections of 19th- and 20th-century statuary and mausoleums. Four seasons of beauty from century-and-a-half-old trees offer a peaceful oasis to visitors, as well as its 560,000 permanent residents, including Leonard Bernstein, Boss Tweed, Charles Ebbets, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Horace Greeley, Civil War generals, baseball legends, politicians, artists, entertainers and inventors.”
We took the 2 train to the Barclay Center in Brooklyn where we transferred to the R train. We got off at the 25th Street station and had a two block walk to the entrance to the cemetery. It was cold but not too windy, Thank God.
When we arrived at the tour office for our 1:00pm departure time we learned that we would be the only people on the tour. Of course, the thought crossed my mind that they were going to cancel us. Well ... they didn’t.
We met our tour guide, Marge Raymond, and our driver, Anthony, and boarded a van, rather than a trolley.
Interestingly, Marge is a well-known cabaret singer, who is a tour guide because of her obsession (her words) with GREEN-WOOD. She is absolutely charming and has a wealth of knowledge about this place. Check out her website
Marge began with an engrossing overview of the cemetery and off we went.
Folks, it is totally impossible for me to put into words how AMAZING this place is. The 478 acres was covered with light snow and the sun was out. The views are breathtaking and I am trying not to be overly dramatic.
We got out of the van several times to view the burial sites up close. The most emotional ones for me were the memorial for the Revolutionary War Battle of Brooklyn and Leonard Bernstein.
Marge gave a virtually nonstop commentary on what we were seeing and it was both highly informative and very interesting.
It was around 3:30pm when we got back to the office and our tour ended. We had seen only 1/3, yep, that’s right, only 1/3 of the 478 acres. AWESOME!
Anthony took the picture below. It is, from left to right, Marge, me, Marie.
Frankly, I was in almost emotional overload by this time
Marie and I took a bus over to The Barclay Center subway station were we caught the 2 train back to Manhattan.
At 42nd Street we split and she continued on uptown to her apartment in the Upper Westside.
So==>thank you so much Marie for this adventure. I never would have done it without you. THANK YOU!!!
I plan to return in the spring, that is for certain.
Had my usual fruit and cheese plate and then it was time for my evening’s entertainment event, an Off Broadway show ...
7:30==>DINNER WITH FRIENDS - “Ever since Karen and Gabe played matchmaker with their friends Beth and Tom, the two couples have been inseparable - going to the Vineyard every summer, raising their kids and enjoying countless dinners together. But when one marriage unexpectedly crumbles, the couples' lives begin to veer in opposite directions. Can these four friends move on to the next chapter without moving apart… or have they changed beyond recognition?” (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket)
This show is extremely well-acted, with excellent staging. The story line is believable and the characters are each interesting in their own way.
Billi Pod’s report card==>A-
Before the show I met up with my friend Kim aka Whoever and we did some much needed catching up. After the show he also gave it an A-.
It is playing at The Laura Pels Theatre on West 46th Street, has a running time of 2:00, with intermission, and runs through April 13th.
When I got back to PHC I have to admit to being pretty emotionally drained. It had been a very interesting day.
Now ... let’s backtrack a bit because, when I didn’t post yesterday, I didn’t share with you loyal and faithful readers and followers Billi Pod’s report card on ...
THE COMMONS OF PENSACOLA, about Judith who has been divested of her assets and forced to leave her luxurious New York life after her husband’s Wall Street scam became headline news. She now lives in a one bedroom condo in Pensacola, FL==>B
Both Blythe Danner as Judith and Sarah Jessica Parker as her daughter Becca are excellent but the story line leaves a lot to be desired. Frankly, it takes a turn toward the “no-way-would-that-ever-happen” when Becca’s younger boyfriend has sex with Becca’s 16-yr. old profanity-spewing niece.
Having said that ... I am glad I saw the show for Danner and Parker.
It has received very mixed reviews and now I understand why. It is playing at Manhattan Theatre Club on West 55th Street, has a running time of 1:20, without intermission, and runs through February 9th.
Now ... back on track with Billi Pod’s scheduled entertainment event for this evening, an Off Broadway show ...
7:00==>PRIVATE DISCLOSURES - “On the eve of his 40th birthday, Preston Sherwood, the gossip columnist for the NY Gazetteer, both announces and then denies the completion of his roman a clef: an expose of the sexual shenanigans of the city's high society. No one has read it. No one has seen it. Is it a hoax? Preston and his beloved companion, a foul-mouthed parrot named Oedipus, must navigate the deadly night of his birthday party.” (Off Broadway - complimentary ticket)
This show is playing at The Bridge Theatre on West 54th Street, has a running time of only 45 minutes, without intermission, and runs through February 2nd.
I have grown to really like this venue. They produce often very cutting-edge stuff so I just couldn’t pass this one up.
OK, my loyal and faithful readers and followers, you are now up-to-date ... so ...
STAY WARM OUT THERE!!
Oh, yesterday was also an excellent walking day despite the freezing weather.
Yesterday’s Pedometer mileage==>5.41 miles (or, 11,836 steps)
Total mileage for 2014==>78.83 miles (average 2.72 miles per day)
GO BRONCOS!!
Billi Pod
“Don’t pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he’ll just kill you.”
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