New York: Day One

I walked from 95th and 5th all the down to Sardi's on 44th yesterday. Took me about an hour.

The sun was bright, the air was crispy cool, and the people were everywhere. It's one of the best times of the year to be in the City. Maybe it was out of fatigue, but I didn't bring my video camera along, and now I wish I had, but it doesn't matter.

I walked past all the museums on museum row, the Guggenheim, which still looks like a gigantic toilet bowl to me, crossed over into Central Park and into the Zoo. Just as I got to the giant clock, I heard bells, and saw all the animal statues overhead circling around.

And kids! Kids everywhere, smiling and laughing, and others being grumpy, while their parents tried to convince them this was fun.

Kept going south until I ran into a video shoot coming at me. It was Levi Johnston, surrounded by his famous entourage, but the focus was on him and a blond model. As the passed, I looked behind and saw that his coat was being held together by a line of orange clippies.

Got to Sardi's just in time to see Jim and meet the critic, Peter Filicia. He asked me, "What's the one thing you'd like to see in this article?" And I said, "That Zero is back and the world needs him and his righteous anger."

Ate a quick lunch, Ed Gaynes joined us for a sec and then we went to see the Danny Kaye show off-Broadway. The guy playing Danny was uncanny. This show has been running six months, and, as good as the performers were, it reminded me what a great book Zero has, and how much of a genius Jim is.

Then we sauntered over to St. Clement's where they were taking down a set. A girl in a Follies t-shirt came up to us and asked if we were parishioners. We told her we were the next show and she told us they were striking Brigadoon, that they have a local company which began back in 1924, started by some rich people, who hired someone to use their kids to put on Pinafore aboard their yacht with the audience sitting on the shore. (I love the '20s).

Then, they did it again and again, starting a theatre company which donated all the proceeds to charity. The company has done so ever since. Each company member donates their services and they put on a Gilbert and Sullivan show every year in the Spring and then a more Broadway type show in the Fall.

As we were leaving St. Clement's this tall, a good looking guy asked if we would hold the door for him, and it turned out to be one of the producers of Zero Hour, who runs the resident company there at the church.

We had a great conversation about Zero Hour and his company, the Peccadillo, learning that St. Clement's and the Cherry Lane are the two oldest off-Broadway houses in New York. He was very proud of their history, so I promised to do good video blogs about this.

By then, we were both hungry, so we zipped over to 46th and had matzo ball soup at the Polish Tea Room, and told the owner there that we were developing a new show based on his restaurant. He was very pleased.

By then, we were exhausted, so we stopped off at a subway station to get Metro cards, and then cabbed it back home. Steinbeck was happy to see us, and he showed his happiness by staying under the bed asleep.

I've had a little diarrhea the past few days, but it finally cleared up last night.

We flopped down on the bed and watched the season finale to "Mad Men," and then Jim went to sleep while I finished off the Dallas/Eagles game. Dallas won.