1) Up early after a beautiful night’s sleep, I remembered that the Algonquin had self-serve coffee in an obscure lobby niche — and also that I had a cache of Sweet ‘n’ Low in my laptop bag.
2) Oh, were the Oscars last night? Did Mary Astor win anything?
3) At a loose end, I decided to visit MoMA after breakfast at the Red Flame next to the Algonquin. The Red Flame, a classic New York diner, can always be relied on for a good omelette!
4) Off I wandered like a baby duck to MoMA, naively thinking I could just waltz in and buy a ticket when they opened at 10:30. Imagine my surprise at the line of hundreds of people, including large groups of high school students, stretching around the block. And I said to myself, “Robert, of course people want to get into MoMA! Can’t you use your noggin?!”
5) So I retraced my steps back to 47th Street, thinking to browse the jewely windows. And almost immediately I got sucked inside a store at the corner with the kind of hard sell I very much dislike. My God, these people treat an honestly delivered “No really, I’m just browsing” the way a bull treats a matador’s cape. But I was shown some very interesting jewels, got to share the story of the Duchess of Devonshire’s star ruby, and got out of there as graciously as I could without providing any personal information.
5a) Outside I had not moved two steps down the street when someone from the next store called “Are you shopping today, sir?!” I muttered “No,” and just kept walking.
6) Having checked out, I spent the rest of the morning writing in the Algonquin lobby. Not such a bad way to spend the day!
Delicious old architectural details exposed at some 44th Street theatre.
7) But about 1:30ish I gathered my luggage from the doorman and strolled off to to the station. Today was what Winnie-the-Pooh would have called “a blustery day:” bright, sparkling, and with a very brisk breeze down 44th Street. At points the trailing end of my big white scarf snaked about my arm like a cobra.
8) The Metropolitan Lounge at Moynihan Train Hall is my Manhattan Taj Mahal. Anyone who remembers the dreary old Club Acela in Penn Station will know how wonderful this spacious sunlit room is. I was able to stake out an enormous yellow velvet wing chair by the windows, plug into my etiquette course, and then 90 minutes before my train, comfortably participate in a course webinar.
8a) I am really enjoying this course, and its roughly three webinars every two months. But the number of students logging on to the webinar (as opposed to viewing it later) is dwindling. And that’s sad, because there’s something to be said for group participation and interaction.
9) In the lounge, after trial and error, they have beautifully worked out how to get first class passengers to the train without confusion. They now call everyone to the front of the lounge, and an attendant ushers everyone down in single file right to the escalator to the track, before it’s announced generally.
10) The train was just pulling away from the platform when I heard a woman call out “Wait, I forgot my coat!” And no lie, the train was stopped on the platform while she retrieved it! Later, I think after we had popped out of the tunnel, I heard that another passenger, a man, was on the wrong train; he was supposed to be going to Washington! The train did not turn around for him.
11) Now I am enjoying my bourbon and soda after my lamb tagine, and we should have a lovely ride back home to Boston. Farewell, New York! It’s been lovely, and I hope to be back soon.
12) By the way, Lisa — if you’re reading this, whoever you are — the woman sitting in row ahead of me on a work call thinks you’re a significant part of the problem.