New Years Day dawned unseasonably warm in New York City, with temperatures in the upper 50s and now the sun has emerged to add an almost festive aura to the first day of the rest of our lives. We have completed a full year in The City and thought it appropriate to review what we have done besides working and resisting [if interested in the latter, go to http://www.shiningseausa.com]. To put it mildly, 2018 was an extraordinary time for us. Here are some of the experiences we had.
As is well known, New York is a “walking city,” meaning that one walks to get most places. And walk, we did. Personally, I averaged 1.8 miles per day. Other data from those walks:
2,356 – Dog poop/pee avoided (there are bazillion dogs of every description here and few places to “go” but the sidewalks and streets, so they do)
242 – Days with unpredictable/unpredicted weather events
17 – People who asked me for directions
14 – Number of times I gave accurate directions
3 – Number of people never heard from again
Other experiences:
DANCE COMPANIES
Continuum Contemporary/Ballet – see https://autumninnewyork.net/2018/06/18/ballet-bryant-park/
Paul Taylor Dance Company
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Wife takes ballet lessons there
BALLETS
American Ballet Theater’s Firebird & AFTERITE
New York City Ballet’s Jewels
New York City Ballet’s Nutcracker
BROADWAY & OFF
Miss Saigon
Waitress
Band’s Visit
Book of Mormon
My Fair Lady
Avenue Q
King Kong
MARCHES
Women’s March
Families Together
March For Our Lives
JAZZ
Cyrus Chestnut
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra
Bill Charlap
Chris Potter
Warren Wolf
SF Jazz Collective
OTHER MUSIC
Brandon Niederauer
MUSEUMS/ART
Photoville Brooklyn
Whitney
Natural History
Jerome Robbins at Lincoln Center Library
EVENTS & OTHER STUFF
High Line
Oculus & One World Observatory
U.S. Open
National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey
Chelsea Market
New York City Marathon
Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade Balloon Inflation
Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade
Ferry around Manhattan
Mets baseball game
Yankees game
Central Park Zoo
New York Botanical Garden
Central Park Zoo
Feast of San Gennaro
Christmas Lights/Windows/Rockefeller Center Tree
Street Fairs – several
Movies – several with reserved seats!
Stephen Colbert Late Show
Extras in a short indie movie: “Howard,” not yet released – see https://www.facebook.com/HowardTheMovie/
FAVORITE RESTAURANTS
Bricco – neighborhood Italian, small, quiet, great food
Greek Kitchen
SURPRISES
Mandarin Duck in Central Park
Lots of visits from out-of-town friends
This morning we walked in Central Park again and mused about how it felt like spring. Obviously we were intoxicated by the warmth. The crowds were small, likely because the one million people who spent New Years Day and night in Times Square were at home and unconscious. So it goes. We look forward to this 2019 with optimism – there is so much left to do. We hope to see some symphonies and other purely musical performances, and, of course, more ballets.
Happy New Year!
