New York, New York----I Made it There!!!

I read recently where the famed restaurant, Tavern on the Green was closing down. Another good-bye. I loved that place----it was like an enchanted clearing in the middle of Central Park---glass paned windows, sparkling chandeliers, white, ornate wrought iron garden furniture, wonderful food and elegant service .The last time we were there was a magical evening, spun out of dreams---it was a warm, summery night and we were meeting our niece who was attending Columbia University at the time. After dinner, we rode through the park in a horse drawn carriage to attend a performance at the Lincoln Center. “A Light in the Piazza”, was the name of the play, and it added to the kind of evening only New York can offer--wonderful dining and superb theatre. New York, New York----if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere! Well, I had made it there, once upon a time---to live in New York, that is. I was there before the Tavern on the Green or the “Towers” that was so magnificent and a monument to the city, before being so savagely destroyed.

It was a long time ago, 1960 to be exact, and I was a starry eyed girl from a small town in Calif. I was also a United airline “stewardess”---but just temporarily, as I was going to be a Broadway STAR!! Standing on a busy, Manhattan street with all 5 suit cases in tow and very little money, and waiting for a cab to stop, I was thrilled, pumped, giddy, out of my mind with happiness. I was here!! Nothing could stop me now---well, I slowed down a bit when the girl who had been holding a spot for me in an apartment, broke the news that someone else had moved in---but, not to worry, I could stay there until I found something else. I did, and it was worth the wait. Five O Five Park Ave., thank you very much, was my new address---it had everything---a lovely old pre-war building with wooden floors, big windows that opened out onto a lovely courtyard, quaintly furnished by my new roommate, Suzy, who, if not exactly friendly, knew her way around New York, having been raised there by a governess. She was a window designer for Lord and Taylor, and I suspect the cute wicker furniture had been supplied by or stolen from them. Suzy had lots of friends, all male, who came and went at the oddest hours of the night. About the only thing we had in common was that we both adored coffee ice cream, a fairly new phenomenon at that time. We would sit and gleefully eat a whole carton between us, like two little girl friends---but we were not. Suzy laughed at my pastel dresses and I thought her all black clothes were depressing—she was right, though---black was/is where it’s at if you want to look like a New Yawker---and I did, so out went the pastels.

One other thing Five O Five Park Ave had was a door man---yes, a real live, uniformed door man who took us up and down in the old time-y, rickety elevator. Abe was his name, and he looked very dapper in his green uniform with epaulets on the shoulders. It took me a while to realize that the reason the elevator was so jerky on some of its rides with me in it was due to my not tipping Abe for his services---who knew? I was a slow learner in the ways of the big city---don’t tip the taxi driver enough and he’ll curse you all the way down the street.But I got even the next time a cabbie got rude with me before I even got out of his car--- I left the door open and strutted away----nose up in the air and feelin’ pretty sassy. I was becoming a New Yawker! I eventually learned not to smile at strangers, or even friends so much---and to not look frightened ever---even if you think you’re being stalked, which I did a couple of times.

Of course, one of the best things about New York is the night life. When I was there, there were many wonderful,intimate, smoky night clubs, like the Blue Note, where I saw Peggy Lee perform “You Give me Fever”, and she set the room on fire with it. There were also fabulously glamorous places like the celebrated St. Regis Room , where Suze and friends took me one night. I was having a perfectly fabulous, glamorous time until the man Suzy had fixed me up with informed me that he was married! Horrified,scared, and indignant as only a young girl can be, I ordered the man to take me home immediately---so much for my big night out. But there were other nights spent wondrously at the Opera, the Ballet, and of course the Broadway theatres, where I longed to be ---on stage, not in the audience. My big chance came one day, and I actually got an audition with a Broadway producer! That’s all I have to say about that---it came to nothing, but I think I realized in that instant of being goggled,judged,and dismissed that I wasn’t at all ready for the bright lights of Broadway----what had I been thinking? Without an agent, acting lessons, and connections to the right people, none of which I had or could afford,I was not going to be a star---not even a spark. Who wants to be a STAR, anyway---I could still live in the sky----coffee, tea, or milk, sir?

In the meantime, I met many interesting people, grew up a lot, became quite sophisticated in my black clothing and serious face, and even dated a Vanderbilt! At least he said he was of that dynastic clan---and he seemed the real deal---we didn’t have Google in those days, so I took him for his word. He was kind, awkward, and slept through the opera----had obviously been there many times. He also took me to a political small gathering, where all the talk was of John F. Kennedy and his dalliance with a movie star, named Marilyn Monroe. The media did not betray those secrets in that day, so it was years before I heard it officially on the news!

Eventually, I began to tire of big city ways and feared I had forgotten how to smile, so decided to leave and return to the west, where I prefer the open spaces, ready smiles, and where we don’t even necessarily wear black at funerals! But I’ll always miss New York and sometimes wish that I had stayed and really made it there----but even if I had, nothing is forever---not even The Tavern on the Green ---or the "Towers". So for now, for me, all the world’s a stage---the show opens every day with a new cast and an ever changing story---I hope it takes me back to New York one more time---I need to tip Abe.