August 3, 2013
Hi hi hi!
What a week we have had around here, as you can see from the photos.
First of all, Monsieur Henri, one of my heroes, got his Wish through the make a Wish Foundation. He loves all things relating to fire engines, you know, and his wish was to go to New York City to SEE a real fireboat. His simple wish turned into a chauffeur-driven ride from Asheville to Charlotte, a night in a Charlotte hotel, a ride to the Charlotte airport the next day, a flight to New York City, a chauffeur-driven ride to a hotel near Madison Square Garden, two nights in a 16th floor hotel room, a day in New York City escorted by FOUR New York City firemen which started with him being sworn in as a real New York Fireman by THE Commissioner of the NYC fire department. He now has a real badge in a leather wallet.
He is a New York City Fireman.
His day continued with a trip to HIS new Fire Station, the one in Hell’s Kitchen, where he was greeted with a banner welcoming him, HIS own locker, which had his name on it and a full set of personalized fireman’s gear, complete with his name on the helmet and the jacket. There he met the other firemen on duty that day. Henry and his fireman brothers shared a cake specially made by The Cake Boss. The next stop was a trip to the fireboats where he was escorted to the bridge and piloted the fireboat out to the Statue of Liberty. Then it was time for pizza at the local haunt with his station brothers.
The family had the next day “off” to explore Central Park and the Subway and all sorts of New York things.
At the same time, MY family was preparing for our own New York City weekend, a gathering including my niece Rachael and her son, my 7 year-old nephew, Jones. It was his first trip to New York too, his first airplane ride among many other firsts.
His day started with a visit to Rockefeller Center for lunch with his mother; his grandmother; my sister Lucinda; and one aunt, my sister Heather. I joined them after lunch at the Lego store (where, by complete coincidence, we ran into Henry and his parents!) We split up for the afternoon (where my family took naps or played with Legos) and reconvened that evening at Henry’s new pizza spot where Jones and Henry shared howls over silly videos on their mothers’ cell phones and enjoyed Shirley Temples at the bar. We also met up with Karen Miller, who used to work with me here at Laaurey's. She and her partner, Rachel (lots of Rachel/ Rachaels on this trip!), are expecting a baby (they had just found out that it will be a boy) later this year. We toasted the ultrasound photos.
On Saturday my sisters and I guided Jones around the city, focusing on museums and parks. WE visited the Museum of Natural History where he saw his first dinosaur bones, his first whale skeletons, and the wonderful dioramas. He visited the planetarium and the museum café (not fine dining, but perfect for a 7 year-old) and then had a run through the fountains of one of the many playgrounds in Central Park. The aunties all watched our shirtless boy run and cavort.
That night we introduced him to the lights of Times Square and to Broadway, where we had front row mezzanine tickets to Pippin (thanks for the tip, Carol Lucha Burns!) After the show I escorted everyone past the lines at the stage door ONTO the stage where we waited to personally greet Rachel Bay Jones who plays Catherine in the show. This Rachel worked with me in my very first shop at 60 Biltmore and now she is a Broadway star!!! And while we visited, Jones played tag with Rachel’s daughter, in and out of the rows of seats in the Orchestra. WOW!
Sunday’s adventures included a visit to Chelsea Market for breakfast and then a frantic afternoon as we all found out that our flights were going to be messed up because of extreme weather. Sigh. We all made it home safely, if somewhat harried.
Home sweet home. We all had fine and fun-filled weekends and now here we are again. Home sweet home.
