Hot town, summer in the city

Posted on by lifelaughterdeath

In ninth grade, I stood staring at what I hoped would be my future. Actors, dressed in their finest black tie attire were departing from the 1987 Tony awards in New York City. I came to this place because my parents said yes to a field trip with my junior high school theater class. This particular point on our journey was unscripted. Luckily, one of our chaperones and unintended mentor of mine, listened to his impromptu nature and took a throng of us two blocks over, where the Tony Awards were taking place. Plunged into the epicenter of the New York theater elite, I felt an embrace of comfort. I looked down to be certain my feet were actually on the ground. There, in front of me on the sidewalk was a small promotional poster for an after party reception. I quickly bent down and seized the small flyer with the intention of placing it in my scrapbook alongside pictures of William Hurt, Swoozie Kurtz and John Lithgow arriving or departing from the awards. “Hot Town, Summer in the City,” was the party theme/headline. That double entendre, a Lovin’ Spoonful lyric, familiar enough to me, but a popular beat from a generation just older than my own, summed up the entire trip! It was a coming of age moment that formed my sense of purpose, my hope for the future and a confidence boost for my post high school plans.

I’m uncertain why at this point, with this many years past and subsequent trips to NYC under my belt, I feel such a sense of nostalgia about this trip. Perhaps, It is because I feel myself drifting so far away from that initial dream.

My full time work life has thrown me a curve ball in the past few weeks. Maybe it is time for me to go looking for that dream again. I’m a few days away from another trip to the Big Apple, this time with my daughter who is a senior in high school, full of the same wonder and with a mostly unscripted future in her coming years. I wonder what she will see when she visits. Will New York unlock a dream for her? I’ll check back in with you after the trip.

Razor Grinders and Tinkers

Posted on by lifelaughterdeath

Our most recent trip to the mountains gave us two beautiful mornings in Balsam Mountain Preserve near Sylva, NC. Before departing on Sunday, we set out to find one of the remote cabins listed on the property map on the trail marked as #1. It was just the three of us, my 13-year-old daughter, my husband and I.

We found two delightful things on our journey. The first was a rock formation that would require most broader shouldered sojourners to turn parallel to the trial and shimmy through by walking in a sideways motion. I like to call it fat man squeeze in honor of a place by the same name that my parents used to take us to as children. The rock on the right in the picture is about 9 ft. high.

The second thing of note was a frame inside the cabin entitled Rules of this Tavern. I can’t be certain whether the small framed print was left by one of the original designers or if someone brought it along and left it behind for everyone to enjoy a giggle as they visited the cabin.