New York City Friends
Some call New York City “the Center of the Universe.” I don’t know about that, but it’s definitely a friend hub for us. In our two months living in Manhattan, we had the opportunity to re-connect with a bunch of our friends - many of whom live nowhere near NYC. We had rented a two-bedroom apartment for the duration, which enabled us to host visiting friends during October and November.
Noel and Dawn, formerly of Princeton Junction, visited from Connecticut. We had dinner at Zaytinya (José Andrés’ Mediterranean restaurant) and watched some baseball on TV. We saw Juan Soto hit the three-run homer in the 10th inning that sent the Yankees to the World Series. Fun facts: Noel is a Yankees fan, Dawn is a Mets fan, and they are both rocket scientists (though Noel is now a dance photographer).
The next day, we all attended the Broadway show Once Upon a Mattress, a group event I had organized for Princeton Parent-Net. The show starred Sutton Foster, a Broadway legend and modern-day Carol Burnett who had the audience - especially the children - in stitches. At the show, and at the restaurant afterward, we connected with old and new friends who live in or near The City.
We had a wonderful reunion with Tampa friends Lisa and Dario, whose daughter Daryn was in Next Generation Ballet with Amy and now lives in New York City. Lisa and Dario were stopping in NYC on their way home from their son’s wedding in Spain, to see Daryn perform with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. They introduced us to one of their favorite restaurants, Kyu, an Asian-inspired, upscale barbecue place. It was fun watching Daryn and Amy reminisce about ballet class. (And the following week, we saw Daryn dance at Lincoln Center!)
Our next visitors were Jean and Stephanie, college friends visiting from Southern California. Along with Jennifer, who lives in Manhattan, the four of us had great fun - you can read more about our Zoom Buddies adventures HERE.
The following week, our good friends Karen and Jimbo - whose wonderful house in Vermont was a welcome stop on both of our epic road trips - visited from Massachusetts. It was a family reunion for them - their three kids live in Boston, NYC, and Colorado Springs. We met up with them and their daughter Persie in Grand Central Terminal, and had a coffee in the Main Concourse. Then my sister Marg, who is the elevator mechanic for the Socony-Mobil building, took us on a quick tour of the rooftop and the mechanical room. We had a great view of the gargoyles on the Chrysler Building. Those elevator motors and pulleys date back to the 1950’s.
That night, we joined the Baroody clan for dinner and a special performance at Joe’s Pub, a cool venue at the iconic Public Theater. It was a rock opera called 1972, by Chadwick Stokes of Dispatch fame. Stokes went to Jimbo’s school, and another member of the band was a teacher friend of Jimbo’s. We had such a great time that I neglected to take photos of our group. It was an excellent and thought-provoking show, and we loved it.
Other friends we saw in New York City:
Kasey from Tampa, along with her husband Bob and daughter Lauren (another Patel Conservatory alum who lives in NYC). We also saw Kasey in Chicago, so it was fun to cross paths again.
Emil, whom we met in Tampa, but who now lives in NYC. We had dim sum together on the evening of the New York City Marathon. Emil didn’t run this year, but he has done seven marathons, including the NYC one!
