It’s Thanksgiving, a holiday designed for the expression of gratitude. I am happy to join in the festivities.
Thankful, I am thankful for nice days, rainbows, love, and laughter. I am grateful for both adversity and tranquility in the downs and ups of life.
No feast is necessary to celebrate. Don’t get me wrong, I like a nice turkey wing and some pecan-laden stuffing but I don’t need the poultry to underscore my appreciation.
*https://wp.me/paH8Mg-xw
It is with dread and delight that I welcome the weekly, weekly mind you, into my living room.
There is no keeping up with this magazine. I understand this is a favorite complaint of aficionados of the New Yorker.
It is relentless in bringing a stream of fascinating articles, cartoons, and reviews into the house. You can see me trailing behind this onslaught of the memorable.
To not feel like a failure under this barrage I have set myself strict guidelines in my approach.
As it comes in, I immediately peruse the back pages. Here are cartoon caption contests and impossible puzzles I won’t attempt. Working from back to front, I come upon the critics from whom I learn a great deal. They are a must even if only scanned.
Unfortunately as is the New Yorker’s wont I am not satisfied skimming and have to go on to read every word.
My next task is to be selective about which article or interview I follow. Then on to the front of the book. Here The Talk of the Town captivates.
Here’s the tricky part. I now have only 5 days to peruse this week’s issue, get a glimpse at an article or 2 from the pile of back issues before turning over the publication. My husband takes it from there, delivering a couple of old New Yorkers to the recycle bin.
This lessens my load and eases my conscience.
I heard a broadcaster say we are getting an early winter these last few days in the northeast. It struck me as strange. Usually by November I am accustomed to wearing my winter coat.
Last Saturday, the 12th of the month, the temperature was balmy. The sky was sunny and I was in a tee-shirt. Of course, it was a precipitous drop the next day. And the cold snap has held.
We may see the snowfall that used to greet us over Thanksgiving this year again. The usual early snow to kick off the holiday season.
Le Petit Parisien looks to be a rather incendiary little publication. Our new Cafe shares its name. The decor is a simple reminder of that connection. Cappuccino, as I mentioned in an earlier post, is very satisfactory.
Missing from next door since the owners posted their “Gone Surfing” notice is the friendly Bar Coastal. Fear not; a pub awaits. Plug-Uglies looks all set for business.
Speaking of bars… these “convenience stores” like High-End Puff [above] appear to be ready to satisfy weed cravings.
Miscellaneous photo scenes that are not food related follow below as part of the fro and to of getting to Le Petit Parisien or Plug Uglies or High-End Puff.
We’re an opportunistic people, we New Yorkers. 79th going east off 1st was closed for emergency vehicles on Marathon Day.
It became a playground. These boys throwing a football and the kids playing tag around NYPD trucks took hold of a great big play street.
Over 50 years of living on the starboard side of NYC’s Marathon has given 50 years of griping.
This year it felt cozy. I remembered the occasion and planned accordingly. I made my last foray to west First Avenue on Sat. evening; let them shut it off as early as 10am and the stragglers trail in late into the night.
Halloween provided the opportunity and these little horror decorators rose to the occasion. I am sure that after having worked this hard, they’d rather just wait for happenstance to take these down.
Truthfully, it’s hard to judge when a season is a late arrival. Weather spikes all over the place these days.
I’ve been noting that there was a preponderance of yellow leaves which, and yes, they are beautiful, are the weaker foliage of the Fall. My conclusion today? Reds are just late to the party. At least for me the first week of November for “peak” colors just peeking out appears late.
Autumn is a lovely season with generously colored leaves gracing the crowns of trees.
Autumnal implies a weathered maturity.
It is also in the lexicon of sadness, where it suggests regrets over the changing seasons.
Before the Fall can decry an end to warm weather and revelry, it decorates our environs.
Somewhere in there, our man-made decorations creep in as we celebrate a pagan holiday.
Leaves, in pretty colors, fall to the ground, and with the nip in the air, define an end to summer.
Spirited activity is good for body [of course] and soul [incidentally.] It comes in many formats, from just good old aerobics or push-ups & pull downs to spins on a bike, either across town or staying in place -to mention just a few.
The talented can hit tennis balls over the net or affect the butterfly stroke. The choices are wide and high. The idea is to keep moving.
Is this something new? Can’t walk your dog without stopping to give him a treat? Not something I remember from my days on a leash. Maybe that was why my pooch dragged me the last 400 yards to the supermarket.
We are so lucky to have a bee-line view to Central Park’s festivities. It’s the Friday before the Marathon and fireworks were in order.
Yellow appears, now just
Blanketing the crown of
The tree like the white
Covers my crown; soon the
Yellow leaves will overrun
The green and then drop
As the temperature does
Millard Fillmore, remember him? Well, I hear he was head of a supremely negative political movement that was proud to call itself the Know Nothing Party.
An aside here: the fool is proud of that which the wise man finds embarrassing.
old Yugoslav expression
Ignorance goes hand in hand with the kind of pride that revels in conspiracy theories. It is the foundation on which falsehoods and misinformation [aka LIES] are built.
Along with the untruths, there is a new kind of pornography spreading in negative political advertising.
The good news for us is we can eschew the Know-Nothings and disdain far-fetched theories.
We know something; we know better.
We can use our knowledge. We can come to rational conclusions. We can be wise and principled.
All The Best