Emily in Paris

Every once in a while the stars align in a way you just cannot imagine. That day happened last Sunday when we were in New York.

Our agenda for The City was to see the holiday displays, shop at Broadway Up Close, check out the shops in Bryant Park, take a picture in front of The Tree, and enjoy the car-free hours on Fifth Avenue.

We did some of that.

Then I noticed a sign in front of the Paris Theater next to The Plaza Hotel.

Wait. What? 

I knew the show was dropping on Netflix that Wednesday, but I had no idea there was a premier taking place THAT NIGHT!

I was pointed to a website to request a FREE ticket. FREE. I was certain they would be "sold out," but I was there. And on the other side was not only a show I wanted to see, but a bathroom (the ones in Central Park were closed for the season). 

It took me three times to fill out the online request on my phone with my 50+ year old fingers, but finally I had success. Yes, if Ashley had been there she would have been mortified. Yes, Don did not try at the same time as I tried.

When the screen said they would email me tickets (what did we do before smart phones?), I checked my messages and jumped in line. As it was still a few minutes before the doors were set to open, we got seats in row F. Seats were assigned in order of lining up with your QR code.

We went inside. After using the bathroom we still had over an hour to kill. About the only thing to do was people watch since too many people were trying to use their phones and there was no signal. Not even a signal strong enough to text Ashley to let her know we would be home much later than planned.

Most of the audience skewed to their early 20s. Girls wearing berets and snapping selfies. There were two rows in the center that stayed empty for the longest time. When they did show up, it was obvious they were connected to the show somehow as they dressed more outlandishly than those of us who stumbled upon the show. I later saw the initial showing was a couple of days earlier and included the stars. Maybe these were behind-the-scenes people.

Other than seeing the first three episodes of season three with me that night, Don has not seen the show. On Wednesday through Friday I devoured the other seven episodes of the season. He was a good sport, and even offered to set up a computer so I could watch it on our TV set at home, instead of on my laptop.

Don did agree there is something special about seeing a show in community. The laughs, the crowd noises made brought the show to a new dimension. It was great seeing Paris on a big screen.

There was a hilarious trailer before the movie that picked on the fashions of the show -- platform shoes, running in Channel, etc. that is such a part of the show. Unfortunately I cannot find a link to it to watch again or to share here.

Spontaneity can be fun. In this case it was a 90 minute trip to glamourous Paris. A place to which I dream of returning. 

Fifth Avenue, NYC

Last Sunday Don and I went into NYC to see the holiday displays. Given that the temps are now in the single digits, I am so glad we decided to go on that balmy 40 degree day.

We drove to the Grove Street Station in Jersey City and took the PATH into the City. The strangest moment came when a group of seats freed up and I grabbed one intending for Don to join me when suddenly a swarm of teenage boys sat around me. Or rather, two swarms. Boys from the one group recognized people from the other group. Me, the lone white lady of a certain age sat in the middle of them trying not to draw attention to myself in what felt like the longest stretch between stops (which it wasn't by far). When we got to the next stop I grabbed Don and suggested we find a different car. 

While I never felt threatened, I was uncomfortable with them passing their vape to each other around me. I also felt as if I was in the middle of Pass Over, a play we saw on Broadway last year. I just wanted to laugh about the caricature of the situation. Don is not the one for that, though, so instead I opted for moving to a different car.

We made a mad dash to Tim's shop, Broadway Up Close, catching it about 15 minutes before it closed for the day. Perfect shopping experience with Brett suggesting the ideal gift for Ashley, and wrapping it up in a green bag with 10 minutes to spare.

The city was filled with people celebrating Argentina's win in the World Cup. So many people wearing matching Argentinian shirts and waving matching Argentinian flags I wondered where the French shirts and flags were stashed. There must have been vendors who bought both not knowing who would win earlier in the day. Alas, we didn't find anyone selling the items.

The big draw for going that day was that 5th Avenue was closed to traffic from noon to six to help alleviate the crowds. Police were at each intersection protecting the crowds and guiding the cars. Food trucks were set up. There was a selfie station. A stage had a high school group performing on it. From 47th to 57th it was a ten street block party. 

For as many people who were hanging out there, if they had all been relegated to the sidewalk it would have been insane! As is, crowds were thick in Times Square and leading up to 5th Avenue.

We walked up to Central Park.

We had every intention of studying the window displays, but it didn't happen. Instead we saw a preview of "Emily in Paris." On the way to dinner at The Counter, we did pause for a picture in front of The Tree.

Not quite the same without Ashley, but at least I did see it this year.

Lawrence Recreation

It has been fun seeing the new activities the Lawrence Recreation Department has been creating lately. I don't know if the changes are happening because of the pandemic, or because of new leadership since Steve, the former director, retired after holding the position for decades. In any case, new activities have been taking place around town.

The most recent is that the Grinch has been seen in different parks. There was even a mock press conference announcing his appearance in town. 

Things were looking serious.

When I learned he was in Village Park (down the street from our house), I went to look for him.

I found him looking for the new Little Free Library. I think he was bored and looking for something to read.

I snapped a selfie and submitted it to the Recreation Department. I was rewarded with an email saying I won the contest. I needed to stop by their office (conveniently located between home and school) to pick up the prize.

I honestly do not know what to do with the lion/bear. I brought him with me to work. He is extremely soft, and a conversation starter.

Should I put a t-shirt on him and make him a gala prize, find a toy drive to take him to, or keep him as company?

He is cute.

 

The Purple Cow

Gelett Burgess

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

I never saw a Purple Cow,
I never hope to see one,
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one!

Twelve years ago a new ice cream parlor came to town. It was called

Purple Cow after the illustration made by the owner's daughter when she was in pre-school (seen in the picture of us), and which hung in their kitchen for many years. This was the third ice cream parlor in town since we moved here in 2000. 

The first was Sunny's. It was located on Gordon, where Lawrenceville Treasures is now. Sunny wanted to be an actor and would close for auditions. We enjoyed hanging out there, but it never caught on.

After he closed, Peggy Sue's moved into the location. The owner brightened up the place with a 1950s theme. It, too, did not last long.

Then about 12 years ago Tom and Cindy opened the Purple Cow on Main Street in what had been a gift shop. They quickly became a favorite hang out place in town. Their first year they judged the Halloween contest. We won best group costume, and a gift card to The Purple Cow. Hard to believe that was 12 years ago! 

Last weekend we went for one last visit. Tom and Cindy decided it is time to move on with their lives. Cindy will continue working full-time. Their pre-schooler who drew the purple cow picture which inspired their name is now all grown up. She was a high school senior when they opened.

While Tom and Cindy are leaving the business, the good news is the Purple Cow will live on. Joanne, owner of the fan favorite bakery Gingered Peach located behind Purple Cow, has agreed to buy the shop and reopen it in the spring (they learned to close when The Lawrenceville School was closed as their students were a big part of their business). 

The closure brought back memories. We stopped going when Ashley had bad reactions to dairy (a problem that has since resolved), and I was trying to avoid sugar (a problem that also has since resolved, or at least steadied). 

When Ashley was in middle school we had her birthday party at the art studio next door (since closed) and had dessert at Purple Cow. After one of her plays we went with some friends to celebrate at Purple Cow (they even stayed open later for us). They were always donating gift cards to any organization that asked, sponsored Little League Teams, and were overall good neighbors. 

They will be missed.

However, perhaps we will see them more often. Now that they are not working every weekend, they hope to have time to go to (our) church and be part of the community.

We wish them all the best in their semi-retirement.

Here Comes Santa Claus!

A few years ago our Firehouse Santa switched to a donation method of visiting the good little boys and girls in our part of town. Basically the moms (and dads, I suppose) in the know paid a fee to have Santa drive by their house slowly while shouting "Ho Ho Ho." 

I learned this when our neighbor paid for a visit. 

Prior to that, Santa would drive through every single street in our section of town (there are three fire departments in town: Lawrenceville, Lawrence Road, and Slackwood), yet still missed going in front of our house due to a quirk in our streets. I would hear the sirens for hours, maybe even days, as they drove through the neighborhood. 

As Facebook became a thing mostly used by suburban moms, there would be many posts asking where he was. I think Santa even had a tracker on the firehouse website. 

The experience always brought back memories of growing up and seeing Firehouse Santa. 

It also made me smile.

Last weekend while sitting down to eat dinner we heard a lot of honking -- friendly honking, as if a parade was happening.

But not any sirens.

How odd?

We saw some flashing lights turn into our neighborhood so I quickly put on some shoes (fortunately the arctic freeze hadn't happened yet) and caught St. Nicholas himself, along with his friends from the local IBEW. 

Yes, this year Santa traveled with electricians instead of fire fighters. Other parts of town got both Electrician Santa and Firefighter Santa. But I only saw Electrician Santa.

Plus two visits with the real Santa.

Office Holidays

As part of fulfilling a resolution this week, I went into the County Clerk's Office to hand in paperwork and take the oath of office. I was only there about 10 minutes, but at least five of them were spent waiting around. From the hallway I could look into the office space, also known as the Cube Farm. Since it was a couple of weeks before Christmas, the office had decked their halls with holiday and winter decorations, an office decorating contest, Christmas trees, menorahs, and much festivity. It reminded me of one of the goals I had when looking for a new job: Holiday Parties.

My first year at Bridge I attended the holiday party and it felt good. I went another year, and while I did not enjoy myself as much (feeling off that day?) I was still glad that I went. At the very least I felt like a team player.

Fast forward to this past June. A couple of days before the end of the school year party at someone's house, the head of the school told me I am not allowed to attend and that I am not included in out of school functions. Evidently (according to her), I make people feel uncomfortable when I attend.

I don't know how the head of school left our meeting not knowing how hurt I was, but she did. She felt we came to an understanding. I don't know why she feels it is okay for her, the school secretary, and school nurse to go to the party (even though they are not teachers), but not me (the fundraiser) and the person in charge of HR and payroll, but she does.

Standing outside the county office looking in at the decorations the feelings hit me again. The longing to be part of a holiday celebration at work.

It never feels good to be told you are an outsider, especially in an environment that prides itself on being kind and inclusive to all.

Fulfilling a Resolution

In 2020 I set resolutions / goals that were quantifiable. At the time I was struggling with what to add to the list. I wanted something that was an easy either I did it or I didn't. After living in Israel for five weeks in 2019, the possibilities felt wide open. Still I made what should have been a slam dunk resolution:

Become a notary.

My logic with this goal was while we have a notary at the school where I work, it would be good to have a back up. I planned to pursue it in March after the gala.

Then the pandemic hit.

The goal sat unfulfilled until earlier this month when I was looking at my to do list and I wondered what I could accomplish. It sort of leapt off at me.

A quick google search showed I had to pay $2.50 to take the notary test (after I promised to read the manual). A class used to be involved, but they scrapped that. The $2.50 fee allowed me to take the test three times. 

Good thing because I failed it the first time (you need an 80/100 and I only scored a 78). The questions were tricky -- ex: true or false: You have to keep records for five years.

Answer: you have to keep your records for ten years. Five is less than 10, so true? Or false because you must keep longer?

The second time I scored an 86/100 and passed. Then I had to (electronically) send it to my legislator, who sent me a congratulatory email later that day and mailed a letter, too. There was another $30 paperwork fee.

Then I had to wait for the official certificate to arrive in the mail so I could make an appointment in Trenton for the swearing in ceremony -- and pay another $15 fee.

Home again I ordered my official stamp so I can get to work notarizing documents. 

Hopefully this post answers the most popular question I've received: what is involved with becoming a notary public. Much hoop jumping and fee paying. 

I wonder what I'll actually get to endorse!

It felt good to finally make a resolution come to fruition. Time to think about my 2023 resolutions.

Roller Skating Saturdays

Earlier this year, Jaclyn founded Trenton Sk8s and started hosting Roller Skating Wednesdays in Cadwalader Park in Trenton. And all was good. At least until Mother Nature did what she always does: makes nighttime come earlier, and bring colder, wetter weather along with it.

I think we were all resigned to having to wait until Spring before we resumed skating. Personally, I put "buy quads" further down on my to-do list -- no reason to buy new skates if I wouldn't be wearing them until the Spring.

Then she came up with a great idea: Roller Skating Saturdays at the Presbyterian Church of Lawrenceville. Yes, my church. Yes, the church a mile from my house. 

I was so excited, I went to Philly SkatePlex on the outskirts of Philadelphia and bought quads (I really wanted to try them on first -- good thing since they are a size smaller than my shoes, 1.5 sizes smaller than my sneakers).

Before this, I was using my old roller blades, which are fine for skating, but have no finesse for dancing. I'm still adjusting to feeling comfortable on the skates, but at least I've stayed upright!  

Lessons are offered from 6-7 pm for $10. Skating is from 7-10 pm for another $10. 

There is so much to love about this I wanted I wanted to share my thoughts in a blogpost.

In no particular order:

• The church opened its doors to strangers without supervision. While this has
  been part of the church's mission for years (not roller skating per se, but becoming a community center), it is actually happening.
• The skating community draws from a more diverse group of people than we see on a Sunday morning. Diverse in terms of race, geography (one woman comes from New York, others travel a distance), age (18 to 60s), stages in life (just starting out to grandparents), gender, good dancers and future good dancers -- you name it, the group welcomes everyone where they are.
• Some skaters are so fluid they look like they were born wearing skates. Others spend half their time clinging to the walls, or gripping them in order to stop.
• People take videos and selfies to record the fun.
• Everyone talks to each other. People switch dance partners. People get along.
• It is really hard to be grumpy while skating. The positive energy is contagious! 
• It is great exercise -- you are basically squatting the whole time you are skating. 

Here are some pictures of the transformation:

Let me know if you want to join me some week. Only downside is THERE IS NO SKATE RENTAL!

Practically Perfect in Every Way...

When given an option for a post-show talk back, Don and I often aim for that performance. It adds value to our experience. Similar to why we would hang out at the stage door before COVID. 

Our subscription for Langhorne Players is for the Wednesday night show, even though mid-week is a challenge, because the Wednesday night performances have a post-show talk back. When we decided to see "not the Disney version" of Mary Poppins at the Quintessence Theater in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia, we aimed for the performance with the post-show conversation.

Other than this being the Broadway or West End version, and not the Disney version, I wasn't sure what we would talk about. Rather than talking about the nuances of the show, we were treated to a post-show conversation led by the theater's director of education and local Disney expert Dr. Christen Mandracchia. Dr. M earned her PhD studying the "Disney Renaissance." It has been a while since I've been around someone who geeks out talking about Disney. We had a mini-lecture talking about the different stages of Disney movies -- the Golden Era, the Silver Era, and the Renaissance. 

We also touched upon how Mary Poppins changed from P.L. Travers' book to Walt Disney's vision in the 1964 movie to the West End (though the West End was not mentioned, I recall it appeared in London before appearing in New York City) and Broadway version. I would have enjoyed dissecting more about the differences, but as is we were gathered mesmerized for 45 minutes.

The Quintessence Theater is small. It was a fancy Art Deco movie house that has clearly seen better days. The theater was gutted. Now they have bleachers that can be moved around to suit the production and no stage. Rather than feeling run down, it felt charming. We hope to return. I did not see any information about season tickets, but now that we know about them, we will hear more in the future.

Controversial Topic

It seems once you state an opinion, no matter what the opinion, it becomes a topic for controversy.

For me, it was stating how much I do not like the advent hymn "Lo, How a Rose e'er Blooming." 

Due to a desire by some pastors to only celebrate Christmas once Christ has been born, and not during the four weeks leading up to it known as Advent, "Joy to the World," and other joy-filled tunes must wait their turn. That leaves only a few hymns acceptable to be sung in worship during Advent, most notably "Lo, How a Rose e'er Blooming." Even the title is a mouthful.

In the first week of December I heard this hymn THREE times -- once in Muhlenberg (which Ashley warned me about), then at Ewing Church (which Don warned me about), then again at PTS's Carols of Many Nations service (which the man behind me warned me about). At least the last one was sung in German. Had I gone to church at PCOL the Sunday earlier, it would have been four times in ten days. Don warned me off, so I attended virtually and tuned that out.

I find it humorous that people know how much I dislike this hymn, and will warn me in advance. After publicly sharing my distaste for it, people have shared with me how much they love it, and articles about how wonderful it is.

To me it just shows how divisive we are as a culture -- no one shared on my Facebook post they could take it or leave it, they all either loved it, or hated it. Much as we seem to be about the rest of life.

Though no one as ever asked, I will share my favorite hymn, the one that always gives me goosebumps: "Once in Royal David's City." It tells a story. It has a varied tune. When they start with a soloist acoustically singing the first stanza, with his voice filling the church, and not a sound other than the voice can be heard, it is magical.

 

Christmas is Back!

After a couple of years of modified Christmas celebrations, for better or worse, celebrations seem to be back!

Last weekend we went to Muhlenberg College for their Candlelight Service. It was just as beautiful and magical as people told me it is when she decided to go there. We attended last year, but less people were allowed and it seemed shorter.

When the soloist started singing "Once in Royal David's City" I could feel goosebumps!

We were asked not to take pictures, but I tried to discretely snap a couple to remind me of the magical feeling.

A few days later we attended one of our favorite Christmas services each year, Carols of Many Nations at Princeton Theological Seminary. When the service became super crowded, and super popular, they switched to a ticketing service. My parents got tickets for the 3:30 pm service. Don and I went at 6:30 pm. There is also a service at 8:30 pm.

Similar in format to the Muhlenberg service with a twist. The PTS service has pre-selected members of their community read the scripture in their native language, with a translation in English printed in the booklet. In-between each scripture a song or two are sung, often in a foreign language. In the margins of the booklet are a couple of sentences about the history of the song, notes about how the holiday is celebrated in that song's country, and sunrise and sunset times for Christmas Day in those place.

One of the most interesting stories was about the song "Betelehemu" It was written in the 1950's by a young Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji, who enrolled at Morehouse College on a Rotary scholarship. He collaborated with the Glee Club director to arrange this traditional Yorube Christmas song. The piece is a staple of their Glee Club's repertoire. 

I was entranced by the background. The next line blew me away: "it is conducted this evening by Morehouse College alumnus, Otis Byrd Jr.

Most songs most years are new to us. Each year the lights are turned off and each reader returns to light the candle and say "You are the light of the world" in their own language. Then candlelight fills the sanctuary and a combination of "Peace, peace" is sung by the choirs as the congregation sings "Silent Night." We walk outside and continue caroling together before being dismissed by the benediction. 

As with Muhlenberg, they modified the service the past two years. Other than seeing a few people wearing masks (and, yes, we all should have worn masks indoors) it felt magical once again.

May we return to walking around NYC to see the holiday displays and other traditions. May we all remain COVID-free, too.

Let there be peace, peace on earth.