1) I slept like the dead, and rose . . . like the dead. The way a stone rises from the riverbed.
1a) Exactly.
2) Once again, it proves that, unless I plan something to happen, nothing happens. But I didn’t beat myself up over it, spent some time writing, and then strolled leisurely to a late lunch with a friend.
3) That leisurely stroll took about 25 blocks, and the panoply of New York is there for all to see. New York is full of people who (check all that apply):
. . . are doing the best they can.
. . . don’t realize they are in the way.
. . . realize they are in the way and do not give a good goddamn that they are.
. . . wear whatever they want. (This includes me.)
. . . want your money.
. . . will treat people better than they have been treated.
. . . walk with assistance.
. . . are probably reconsidering some choices.
4) Lately I’ve become interested in mandarin garnets, so called because of their orange color. So I passed through 47th Street to look in the jewelers’ windows — Insert Typical Adjectives About Jewelry Display Here. But I only saw one, quite beautiful but set into a ladies ring, surrounded by tiny diamonds. Not for me.
5) My friend had suggested Casa Lever for lunch. I wasn’t familiar with it, or with its location, Lever House — one of the triumphs of mid-century Manhattan architecture. And the dining room was right out of a Jet Set airport fantasy: warmly plain blond wood panels and cream walls (if neutrals are ever lush, these are lush neutrals) contrasted with large paintings of butterflies against bold backgrounds. You know I’m a maximalist, but this was a beautiful room.
5a) At a nearby table I saw a quartet of martinis blossoming like crystal lilies with green centers. But my order did not include such decadence: caprese salad, pomodoro risotto, and a glass of sauvignon blanc, followed by cappuccino.
5b) Our conversation ranged everywhere, from the previous night’s State of the Union speech to Feud: Capote vs. the Swans, travel plans, matters of manners, and the changing restaurant scenes in our cities.
6) Lunch began at 1:45 PM, but I was still surprised to realize it was 4:15 when we parted company. I’d originally thought of going to the Met, but impulsively returned to my hotel instead. En route I passed Trympe Tower — and a man in a rubber Trympe mask directing traffic!
6a) Then almost immediately afterward I realized I was passing St. Thomas’s Church, so I stopped in for a quick peek.
The organ bar at St. Thomas’s.
7) I am starting — horrors! — to weed through my library and pass on books that I know I’ll never read again. On this trip I’d picked out Fokine’s memoirs to give to my friend Austin. I’d gotten this at Avenue Victor Hugo years ago, and never actually finished it. To pass the time on the subway, I started reading his chapter about the creation of the ballet The Firebird with Stravinsky and Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes. It was quite interesting! But so many theatrical (and other) memoirs are about settling scores, justifying choices, and making sure people know how things were really supposed to be.
8) Austin and I had our first dinner at Cafe Luxembourg ten years ago last month. It was bitterly cold and icy that February, and I remember gracelessly picking my way over the icy sidewalks in my hiking boots like a timorous old lady — only to discover Austin witnessing my performance from the restaurant’s entry. This year the weather is truly like early spring; climate change is real!
9) We had a beautiful little dinner: oysters and cod and profiteroles for me (I can’t remember what Austin had), and a bottle of brut rosé.
10) Austin suggested we check out the Wallace Lounge a few blocks away, a wonderful choice. A quartet was playing — piano, drums, sax, singer — creating the perfect sophisticated and unhurried atmosphere of a good club. We started manhattans while standing at the bar, and continued them when they were able to seat us at a table. When I recognized the tune they were playing as an upbeat version of “Smile,” I reacted as happily as a small child.
10a) One of the numbers they played later was Nancy Wilson’s “Guess Who I Saw Today?” which I hadn’t heard in a long time.
11) And then back to Midtown on a 2 train to close a day of good conversations and happy feelings.