…and effectively “checking out” of the W70th appartment I had been lent so kindly by the super kind Wegman couple who I never met.
I think Jane drove in to the City and that it was on this occasion we dined in a Lousiana style place in Alphabet City and we then went across the water to her place in Passaic Park, New Jersey. The cunning plan, if I recall correctly, was that Newark was a suitable starting point the next day for my rail journey to Washington DC via Philadelphia and for Jane’s journey into work.
The snow had all-but disappeared by the time I visited Passaic Park, New Jersey
My research 30 years later suggest that Passaic Park is home to one of the larger ultra-orthodox Jewish communities now. I’m guessing that the neighbourhood has changed. Perhaps Jane too has changed…or more likely moved…but in any case I didn’t see much sign of ultra-orthodox Judaism during my visit.
I enjoyed my short stay “in the burbs” – thanks Jane – and I also enjoyed the rail journey from Newark to Washinton DC with a “day tripper” stop in Philadelphia on the way.
Philadelphia freedom
I did much of the stuff a tourist is supposed to do in Philadelphia…
Independence Hall
…and even found time a for a bit of shopping near the railway station before training it to Washington DC.
If I recall correctly, I had organised my digs for a couple of nights in DC through the more conventional expedient of booking a hotel room. Quite near the railway station and convenient for sightseeing. No I cannot recall the name of the Hotel.
My “crashing at a friend’s place”…or even “crashing at a friend of a friend’s place” days were coming to an end, although there was one more “crash night” on that trip – a colder, more northerly story for another day.
It’s very clear from my log that I went to the theatre (or, as they say in the USA, theater) on the Sunday. Not something that can be done in London much – most theatres in London close on a Sunday. I think I went to a matinee or perhaps they just do the one late afternoon/early evening showing on a Sunday. I think this because I have a feeling that I met up with someone for dinner that evening as well; I think a second evening with Jane Lewis and I think it was the Louisiana-style restaurant in Alphabet City mentioned in Part One of my New York story…
…which rather begs the question, where and what did Jane and I eat on the first evening? Something mid-town and reasonably trendy at the time, I suspect.
But returning to the Lincoln Centre production…
…the theatrical production I chose was a good one. A double bill of short plays; one by Shel Silverstein, The Devil And Billy Markham, which was a musical monolgue performed by Dennis Locorriere of Dr Hook fame.
Locorriere was a superb performer. The Devil And Billy Markham had started life as a Shel Silverstein story in Playboy, which Silverstein adapted as a monolgue for this production.
Below is a video of Dennis Locorriere performing another Shel Silverstein piece, Carry Me, Carrie:
Below is a video of a subsequent performance of The Devil And Billy Markham by an unknown (to me) performer, doing it rather well, but not quite as captivating as Locorriere:
The conceit of this “sequel” play is that Bobby Gould has gone to hell and is being interrogated.
Gregory Mosher, the director of both pieces, is a doyen of both the Lincoln Center and David Mamet’s work, so I was certainly in the hands of the right chap for this visit.
Treat Williams, Steven Goldstein, Felicity Huffman and William H Macy were a very sound headlining cast for the Bobby Gould piece – the latter two it seems went on to become a celebrity couple some years after this production. Who knew?
Ironically, I learn that Felicity Huffman has recently (he says writing in the autumn of 2019) spent time in prison after admitting involvement in part of a college admissions bribery scandal this year, in respect of SAT scores for her and Macy’s daughter. A more Mamet-like, Speed The Plow-like true story I find hard to envisage.
But back in 1989, I remember very much liking both short plays and indeed enjoying the whole experience of seeing some theatre in New York.
I also liked living just a few blocks away from The Lincoln Center – W70th between Broadway and Columbus proved to be a decidedly suitable address for me, even if it was just for a week or so.
Here’s a review from the Central new Jersey Home News:
Unusually, indeed uniquely, I did not keep a log of this holiday to the USA. So my memory thirty years on will have to suffice, supported only by 100 or so photos and some planning scribbles in my diary.
The Planning
My purpose and plans were fluid to say the least when I arranged the trip, but I had contacted my distant cousin, Fran Barst Blake, who had arranged through some extraordinarily kind friends, Dana & Mark Wegman, for me to borrow their pied-a-terre on W70th Street for a week.
Fran absolutely insisted that I should join the Barst family for Thanksgiving, which was to take place at her sister Maurie’s place in upstate New York.
My only other plans were to try and see Philadelphia and Washington DC before ending up in Boston where I could see Pady Jalali.
I managed to find a suitable “dog leg” flight arrangement for those loose plans, flying to JFK but returning from Boston Logan, by booking with Aer Lingus and flying in via Shannon.
When I told Michael Mainelli (whom I had known for less than a year by then) that I was going to the USA for the above loosly-arranged fortnight …
…Michael reeled off a small collection of names, locations and telephone numbers, suggesting that any of his old friends (mostly from Harvard) would welcome me if I simply dropped his name and said that he had provided me with their details.
Many of those friends most certainly did welcome me. Most…possibly even all of them, are still even talking to Michael despite the intrusion!
The requirement to stop off at Shannon on the way to JFK seemed, when I booked the journey, to be “part of the price”, but in fact it proved to be advantageous. While Aer Lingus processed the Irish contingent onto our flight, those of us who started in London were processed through US immigration at Shannon, which enabled us to avoid the circus that is immigration at JFK.
While massive queues of people awaited immigration at JFK (this was just a few days before Thanksgiving, remember), we were stewarded past the queues with cries of “Aer Lingus passengers from Shannon this way”…
…past the queues, through customs and away quickly.
I think I met Fran and Bob at their place and then we all went to the W70th apartment so kindly donated to me by the Wegman couple whom I never met (nor did I even speak with them as far as I recall). Between Broadway and Columbus it was – a wonderfully located apartment. Near Central Park.
I walked in Central Park several times during my stay.
The apartment was about the size of the main part of my Clanricarde Gardens pad, perhaps a bit smaller, but without “The Ivory Tower”.
The most memorable feature of the apartment was the large water bed that dominated the bedroom. That took some getting used to; especially getting in, out or moving around on it.
My First Few Days
The absence of a travel journal is infuriating me, as I am so used to being able to reconstruct my memories from a heap of words as well as pictures. I remember lots of things I did during those first few days but not really the sequence in which I did them.
I recall sitting in Fran and Bob’s East Village apartment quite early in the visit, enjoying a meal together and Bob explaining American Football to me, as there was a game on the TV. I remember thinking that the game made sense to me when Bob explained it to me…
…but a few days later I remember trying to watch a game on my own in a bar and it seemed impenetrable again – all set pieces, no flow and just a string of jargon spewing forth from the commentators. Those Americans should learn a lesson or two from cricket. But I digress.
I placed a couple of calls to Michael Mainelli’s New York based friends and very soon had two evening arrangements set; the first with Jane Lewis, the second with Rebecca Simmons. Two very different nights out; both very enjoyable in their own way. I particularly remember one dinner being Louisiana style food in a restaurant located in Alphabet City, which was an edgy but up & coming area at that time, I think that one was with Jane. I remember a good Chinese meal too – I think on the Upper West Side and I think that one was with Rebecca.
I cannot remember exactly which evenings those nights out took place. Possibly they were before Thanksgiving but perhaps afterwards; the weekend now known as cyber whatsit. I do recall that the plans were laid very soon after I arrived in New York and that there ought to be scraps of paper somewhere in my collection of rough note pads with clues, unless the rough notes I made once I got to the USA never made it back to the UK.
I also discovered that Rita Frank’s daughter, Mara, really was a willing volunteer to act as my informal tour guide around New York and she proved to be a true friend by showing me around New York and offering me advice on what to do (and not to do) in a way that only a young local could. For sure that touring took place before Thanksgiving.
I cannot recall which of my touring elements I undertook with Mara and which without her. I have a feeling she showed me around the Fianancial District and South Street Seaport…
…but ducked out of taking the Staten Island Ferry with me, I think because she had a late afternoon or early evening arrangement, or perhaps she just didn’t fancy that element of the tour.
Not like me either, to want to take a boat on a cold, blowy late afternoon.
I do remember that Mara and I also went together to midtown and then back to the Upper West Side via Zabars on a different day…
…I also recall buying some goodies in Zabar as gifts and thank yous for people, including Mara, but then Mara insisted on reciprocating the gift with some Godiva chocolates, which was ever so kind of her – beyond generous, given her student status.
I did manage to reciprocate properly in the end by taking Mara to the Lincoln Centre after Thanksgiving – I’ll write that up separately.
It was my intention also to reciprocate when Mara came to London the following year, but by the time she arrived I was virtually bed-bound with my catastrophic prolapsed back, so Mara ended up being one of several kindly people who proved to be a truly good friend and helped me through that difficult period.
…so I can only hope that looking after me in New York (1989) and London (1990/91) was useful training for Mara’s eventual career looking after needy infants.
Necheth Windes Blast & Weder Strong
I think there was a thwarted plan for Mara and I to see preparations for the Macy’s parade, which I seem to recall started from very near Rita & Mara’s apartment on the Upper West Side. But there was some doubt about the the plans due to the unseasonably poor weather forecast for Thanksgiving Eve and indeed for Thanksgiving itself, as I shall report in the next piece.
So I think Mara went off early afternoon that Wednesday and we didn’t meet again until the Friday.
Instead, I thought I’d wander around downtown on my own, taking in Chinatown, Little Italy etc. I thought it would be interesting to see the New York County Courthouse in action and wandered in.
The receptionist insisted that it was not a good day (the eve of thanksgiving) as only a couple of trials were sitting and they were both rather ordinary multiple homicides – nothing truly grizzly for me to get my teeth into.
No amount of Me trying to assure this official that I was not keen on grizzly and was interested in seeing a court only because I had studied comparative law for a while and wanted to see it in practice…
…could convince the fellow that I wouldn’t be disappointed by the relative lack of gore.
Actually I was quite shocked that a gangland shooting trial with a couple of defendants and (if I recall correctly) more than one homicide, attracted no press and just one weeping, praying woman (I guessed the mother of one of the defendants) in the public gallery.
It really was becoming painfully cold, so I took refuge in a bar. I’m not sure why, but I think it was called Vortex. I discovered afterwards that the bar, whatever it was called, was primarily known as a gay pick up joint. I did have previous in this department, the year before, Mr Magoo-like, in what is now my local pub, The Champion, when I was flat-hunting.
I do recall a jocular, rotund fellow sort-of chatting me up in that New York bar…he told me that he wrote quiz books about the movies and that he was known as Mr Personality to his friends…
…I recall thinking that anyone who IS Mr Personality would NOT self-describe as Mr Personality…
…in any case, once he realised that I was a disoriented tourist and not a potential pull, he introduced me to some of the other regulars in the bar and we all chatted in a friendly manner for some while.
I’m not sure I realised quite how much the weather was closing in, nor how very unusual it was to have this kind of weather in New York for Thanksgiving.
But in any case, by the Wednesday, I sure was ready for an early night and that’s what I did.
The first roll of film from the trip, which roughly equates to the events shown in this piece, can be seen by clicking the Flickr link below:
