Wishing Upon A Star

This day was as close to perfect as I could have imagined. It was pretty much all I had hoped it would be.

The day started early, as I got up fifteen minutes earlier than I do during the week. I was filled with energy though. I took extra time to get the makeup looking right. (If I ever needed good eye makeup today was the day!) And was out the door with time to spare.

The bus was already there when I got to the designated spot, and it left about five minutes early. It was already warm out, but it was damp and rain was threatening. The bus was almost full and most people were going to go shopping.

They played a Christmas tape for a while (the same on over and over) and then put on the movie "Jack Frost" to watch. I’d seen it and knew it was sad, so I decided to sleep. I think I got a good couple of hours in. It was pouring in Connecticut when I woke up at one point, so I just closed my eyes again. By the time we reached New York the skies had cleared.

Wahoo!

It took quite a while to get to Rockefeller Center, as the city was packed with people and cars, all in their pre-Christmas frenzy.

I hopped off the bus, and got away from the crowds as quickly as I could. I am so glad that I basically know my way around and can get to where I need to go without any fuss.

My first stop was the Times Square Visitor’s Center, to see what they had for twofers, but they didn’t have what I wanted. Then it was across the street to TKTS to see what was posted, but no Carol Burnette there either. "Cabaret" was available but the line was huge and I figured that nothing would be available by the time I got to the front of the line.

So I hotfooted it over to the theater where "Putting It Together" was playing and forked over eighty bucks for a tenth row center seat.

All this was done by eleven thirty. So I went to the Marriott Marquis to use their bathroom. This is my traveler’s tip: if you need to go to the bathroom stop in one of the nice hotels, they are always clean.

It was a good thing, too, as I was adhering to my rule of never use the bathroom on a moving bus unless you are totally desperate.

So that left me with about an hour to kill before it was time to meet Michael. I thought the wait was going to kill me. I wandered in and out of stores and tourist traps, popped into the Virgin Megastore, and was about as jumpy as I ever get.

Finally I got to the Carnegie Deli about ten minutes early.

The line was almost all the way down the block and there was a forty-five minute wait. I figured there was little chance we’d be going there, but decided to get on line anyways just in case. I had a nice chat with the man who was behind me, he was from San Francisco and was also waiting for someone to join him.

I kept scouring the crowd for Michael.

This man’s friends arrived and I was still waiting. But it wasn’t 12:30 yet. At just about 12:30 I saw Michael looking for me, he was at the end of the line and making his way forward check to find me. He’s very tall and with his long hair it’s easy to spot him in a crowd.

He saw me, big hug and kiss in greeting.

All was well with the world.

As I expected he though that the line was too long and that we should see what else was around. But he was very concerned that I might be disappointed. I assured him that it was fine with me, and suggested we try 8th Ave, where it was far less crowded.

We started walking, and he turned to me and said, "I brought you a present!" He handed me a bag of Krispy Kreme donuts! I laughed and hugged him. I thought that was just the cutest thing. And thoughtful as well.

We had rounded a corner and he said, "Hey, the Soup Nazi is on the next street over." And I said, "No, he’s on this street."

He looked at me and said, I’ve lived here all my life and you know where things are better than I do. You wanna go there? We could get our lunch and eat in Central Park."

Heart drop to feet. Oh what a wonderful idea!!

I am assuming that most people know who the Soup Nazi is from the Seinfeld episode. Oddly enough I was never a Seinfeld fan and that was one of the few episodes I’d ever seen.

The place is exactly as portrayed on television. You have to decide on your order before you approach the window, hand over your money, give your order and STEP TO THE FAR LEFT. Or it’s "No soup for you!"

I let Michael go first. We both passed muster and then headed up to Central Park, stopping to get a soda on the way. During this short (but brisk) walk (hey, he has long legs!) I was commenting on a really nice building and he said "We knew you were coming and built it just for you last night."

Our conversation was sometimes silly (joking about Kuala Lumpur and their symphony – which doesn’t exist), sometimes serious (computers, work, our lives). It was all wonderful. We sat at the corner of the park, ate out lunch, fed the pigeons and talked non-stop for over an hour.

The lunch was interesting. I had chicken and broccoli soup and it came with a half a loaf of bread, a container of fresh fruit (strawberries, cherries, grapes) and a banana. It was very good.

I am absolutely crazy about this person and so wish there were a way to explore the possibility of a real relationship. I know there is no way to do that, but it doesn’t stop my wishing.

He makes me laugh, he makes me think, he makes me want to know him better.

We laughed over so many things, he remembered some things that I had told him ages ago, about work, chorus, the magazine article and asked all sorts of questions. It probably seems pathetic, but it thrills me to know that he really does read what I have to say and remembers what is going on with me.

Not many people think to ask about those things. I love that he does.

We have always had wildly imaginative conversations, especially when we first started talking on line, and these crazy conversations, about movie plots we could write, and other assorted nonsense continues in person. It was great.

Finally I had to give in to the fact that I needed to get rolling or I’d miss the matinee.

So we started walking back down the street, stopping to check out some old magazines a vendor was selling and some photographs of the city.

We got to the corner and he needed to cross to go to a bookstore, and I needed to go another six blocks, so he said goodbye.

Big (friendly) kiss and a tight enveloping hug. I felt short next to him. For those of you who are short, you don’t know what it’s like to be tall and have a tall man tower over you, or put his arm around you. For me it’s a feeling of protection that I rarely experience. Most men I know are my height and can’t provide that for me.

Not that there is anyone in my life to do that anyway, short or tall!

If I tell you my heart was full to bursting, I wouldn’t be exaggerating in the least.

I’m not in love (thank God!) but I do like this man more than anyone who is currently in my life. He makes me fell intelligent and special.

No matter what else happened during the day, I had had an hour and a half of perfection.

The show was great. Did I mention my seat was tenth row, center? Bronson Pinchot (remember Balki in Perfect Strangers?) can sing well, and was very funny (and cute!) particularly when he introduced the show. Very irreverent, poking fun at Andrew Lloyd Webber and being a real wise guy.

Carol Burnette was all you’d expect her to be. A huge presence on stage, and a joy to watch. She never did anything to upstage another performer, but when it was time for her to do her numbers your eyes were riveted to her. A couple of numbers allowed her to do some of her loose-limbed clowning and it was wonderful to watch.

George Hearn, one of my favorite Broadway performers, was also in the show. I also got to see Ruthie Henshall, which was interesting. She’s one of the top London stage performers. Her singing style baffled me though. She had a very nice voice, but to hit her high notes she’d clench her teeth and sing them from the back of her throat. I’ve never seen anything like it.

That’s one of the hazards of going to the theater when you’re a former theater person and a singer. You notice all the technical stuff. But I like noticing all the technical stuff.

I enjoyed the show even though some of the Sondheim music is a bit weird. It’s hard to hum some of it, but other pieces are magnificent.

It was worth the price of the ticket to see Carol Burnette in a live performance. I like seeing some of the icons in live performances. I saw Yul Brenner in "The King and I", Rex Harrison in "My Fair Lady" and Julie Andrews in "Victor Victoria". I love seeing true stars in special roles.

When the show was over I walked down to Macy’s (thirteen blocks) so I could see the windows. They were so adorable. The animation and detail for the figures was amazing. They had chosen significant scenes from "Miracle on 34th Street" and there was even dialogue running at many of the windows. They had the scene where Natalie Wood pulls Santa’s beard, watching the parade from Fred’s apartment, the mental health test, the scene when the post office dumps all the letters in the court room and the final scene where the cane has been left in the corner near the fireplace.

It made me think of all the wonderful store windows that used to be around when I was a kid.

By the time I finished viewing the windows, it was time to go back to 42nd Street to get the bus. I shouldn't have rushed, it was an hour late. He finally arrived and then came the realization that the driver had no idea how to get out of the city. I knew how to take FDR drive, but he didn't want to go that way. He couldn't even find Madison Ave to go back that way. One of the people sitting up front had to ride shotgun. When we got to the end of Madison he missed the turn for the expressway so we ended up touring a neighborhood of what I think might have been Harlem, as this guy tried to find the expressway (I think it might have been the Bruckner that he was looking for). We eventually found our way. Shouldn't there be some sort of rule that a bus driver needs to know how to get to and from his destination?

Then he decided that we needed to stop at a McDonalds in Stamford, which meant getting off the highway. He did manage to find the way back, but the McDonalds was not prepared for a busload of people. It was not a needed stop. Everyone was antsy to get home.

We got back to at about 11pm. It was a very long ride. The ride down didn't seem quite as bad as, I was restless and feeling cramped when we finally pulled in.

But the day was really wonderful, so the bus ride can't dampen my enthusiasm for the rest of the day.

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