New York - June 7, 2010
Up at 7:00 to meet Jesse Goldstine at 7:45 in the lobby. Before I was finished dressing, Pru called to say her uncle, Walter Goodman, had just docked this morning on the Queen Mary. She was going to see if we could visit him.
Jesse and I went out for breakfast at the Edison Hotel, which has an old-fashioned coffee shop – cash only, food comes out fast. We spent about 45 minutes talking and eating. He talked about socks. I talked about my weekend. We parted with me heading back to the hotel, him to work.
I finished up all my labeling of pictures from the reunion (hoping I got names right) and posted them on Flickr. About the time I was going to leave and go over to MOMA again, Pru called and said Walter was up to see us in half an hour. So I checked out, left my baggage, took my camera and walked across town to 340 E. 52nd where Walter and his companion, Bob, live on a very nice ground-floor apartment. Nice walk along the way – took pictures, of course.
A couple of observations. First, food prices are not as outrageous as I thought they’d be. At the places we’ve eaten lunches and dinners, prices haven’t been really different than what we pay in St. Louis. Now, we didn’t go to extremely fancy places nor did we order expensive wine, but still. Second, one of the things I really like about new camera is that it’s really always “on.” So, I can shoot at will as I’m wandering around the city.
I met Pru over at her uncle’s. By the way, I could recognize her walk a long block away. Guess that runs in the family, too. So we visited Walter Goodman, Pru’s dad’s younger brother. I think he’s 88. He and his companion, Bob, have been together for over 30 years. It was really touching for both Walter and me. He knew my grandfather, Jack, a bit. So that was fun. He described Jack as “acerbic,” which I told him was the nicest description of Jack I’d heard. We dissected lots of family history, talked about the Sarah/Clara split and theories about that. A very lovely apartment. Books. Art. He raises dogs and competes in the Westminster show. They had been on a Holland America cruise that ended in the UK and had taken the QM home from there.
When we left, I meandered back across town. I had about an hour before my date with our friend, Arthur Albert. So I walked and took pictures and walked and took pictures all the way back to 43rd and Broadway. I met Arthur at the Brooklyn Diner where everyone knows him. He’s buddies with them all. Some have visited him in Fire Island. Had a lovely lunch talking about what’s going on in both of our lives.
After lunch, I shouldered my way north on Broadway for a couple of blocks. It was cheek-to-jowl crowded. So I headed east as soon as I could and went over to MOMA. I finished my visit at the Cartier-Bresson exhibit and then went floor to floor looking at the interactions of people with the collection. Loved the pictures I took.
Tired from all this, I walked very slowly back to the hotel and downloaded my pictures from the day onto my laptop. Right when the van was to arrive, it was there. Ended up there were only two of us going to LGA then. Had a nice conversation with a woman from Montreal who had then lived in Vancouver, then Hawaii, and now Ft. Lauderdale. Got to LGA, was screened, ate some reasonable food, and waited for boarding.
To say this was a full weekend would be a gross understatement. I loved having time to visit with Chick and Dorothy. Usually, it’s theatre and dinner and that’s it. So it was lovely being with them. And while there are lots of connections to members of my newly-discovered relatives, certainly the closest and dearest are with Pru and Annie. Both are now part of my heart.
Jesse and I went out for breakfast at the Edison Hotel, which has an old-fashioned coffee shop – cash only, food comes out fast. We spent about 45 minutes talking and eating. He talked about socks. I talked about my weekend. We parted with me heading back to the hotel, him to work.
I finished up all my labeling of pictures from the reunion (hoping I got names right) and posted them on Flickr. About the time I was going to leave and go over to MOMA again, Pru called and said Walter was up to see us in half an hour. So I checked out, left my baggage, took my camera and walked across town to 340 E. 52nd where Walter and his companion, Bob, live on a very nice ground-floor apartment. Nice walk along the way – took pictures, of course.
A couple of observations. First, food prices are not as outrageous as I thought they’d be. At the places we’ve eaten lunches and dinners, prices haven’t been really different than what we pay in St. Louis. Now, we didn’t go to extremely fancy places nor did we order expensive wine, but still. Second, one of the things I really like about new camera is that it’s really always “on.” So, I can shoot at will as I’m wandering around the city.
I met Pru over at her uncle’s. By the way, I could recognize her walk a long block away. Guess that runs in the family, too. So we visited Walter Goodman, Pru’s dad’s younger brother. I think he’s 88. He and his companion, Bob, have been together for over 30 years. It was really touching for both Walter and me. He knew my grandfather, Jack, a bit. So that was fun. He described Jack as “acerbic,” which I told him was the nicest description of Jack I’d heard. We dissected lots of family history, talked about the Sarah/Clara split and theories about that. A very lovely apartment. Books. Art. He raises dogs and competes in the Westminster show. They had been on a Holland America cruise that ended in the UK and had taken the QM home from there.
When we left, I meandered back across town. I had about an hour before my date with our friend, Arthur Albert. So I walked and took pictures and walked and took pictures all the way back to 43rd and Broadway. I met Arthur at the Brooklyn Diner where everyone knows him. He’s buddies with them all. Some have visited him in Fire Island. Had a lovely lunch talking about what’s going on in both of our lives.
After lunch, I shouldered my way north on Broadway for a couple of blocks. It was cheek-to-jowl crowded. So I headed east as soon as I could and went over to MOMA. I finished my visit at the Cartier-Bresson exhibit and then went floor to floor looking at the interactions of people with the collection. Loved the pictures I took.
Tired from all this, I walked very slowly back to the hotel and downloaded my pictures from the day onto my laptop. Right when the van was to arrive, it was there. Ended up there were only two of us going to LGA then. Had a nice conversation with a woman from Montreal who had then lived in Vancouver, then Hawaii, and now Ft. Lauderdale. Got to LGA, was screened, ate some reasonable food, and waited for boarding.
To say this was a full weekend would be a gross understatement. I loved having time to visit with Chick and Dorothy. Usually, it’s theatre and dinner and that’s it. So it was lovely being with them. And while there are lots of connections to members of my newly-discovered relatives, certainly the closest and dearest are with Pru and Annie. Both are now part of my heart.
posted by Bud Hirsch at 3:44 PM
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