Waiting for the birds

This is Rocky.He's my little foundling cat. He managed to climb up to the bird feeder and he won't get down. He's waiting for the birds. He is such a funny cat. A mop of fur. He flops over like a dust mop when I pick him up. Unlike his sister Rosey, he doesn't scratch,no matter how rough you play with him. He also has double paws, both front and back. He is very much like a Maine Coon Cat. Where I grew up on the Maine/New Brunswick border,there were plenty "Coon Cats" . It was believed they were the product of an unholy alliance between a racoon and a house cat. Who knows ! Stranger things have happened.

So much has happened since I last wrote, that I don't know where to begin. So I'll begin at the end. I have taken to reading the last page of an article first, that way I know if it's worth my while.

Today was my Grandson's birthday. He is seven. I told him on the way to school, that seven was the "age of reason" . He wanted to know what that meant. I told him it meant he could think big thoughts and reason things out himself. He thought about that....

Today he had a skate board party. All his "male " friends gathered at the skate board park and had a wonderful time pretending they were "Tony Hawk" the greatest skateborder ever ( who promotes wearing helmets). Some big boys were there and looked a little put out because the wee ones had taken over the park. They were patient and put on a little show for the boys. Lots of "Awesome!" "Cool" and "Dude".

The loveliest experience in my life recently was my trip to New York City for my birthday. It was incredible. I took the commuter train from Stamford Connecticut and arrived at Grand Central Station. I had ever only once been in New York City and that was in 1968 when I was 25. Do the math.......

That trip was a weekend trip as well . We arrived the day Martin Luther King was assasinated. On the Sunday there was a "love in " in Central Park. It was a very special weekend.I had so many wonderful memories of NYC . Well this trip was everything and more. My daughter joined me on Saturday and we covered the whole of lower Manhatten in the space of and afternoon. We visited "The White Horse Tavern" where Dylan Thomas liked to drink as well as Jack Kerouac and Anias Nin (forgive the spelling). We toasted my daughter's father, who like her was a writer and who would be so proud of the woman she has become.

We went to Washington Square , which in the sixties was full of hippies in all sorts of regalia. I remember my husband getting into an argument with a flower seller. I don't remember why. He did buy me a flower though.

We had lunch at a lovely cafe, where we had our only celebrity sighting. It was the couple from the movie "Once". I had seen them earlier in the week on "America AM". We had a birthday cupcake at "Billy's". Cupcakes are the rage in NYC. There were long lineups at the "Magnolia Bakery". It's reputed to be the best.

We went to Ground Zero. That was sad. All we could see was the big hole in the ground. It's hard to believe two huge office towers ever stood there. We walked along the Esplanade to Battery Point and caught the Staten Island Ferry. It was getting on for dusk and was cooling off. On the way over my daughter showed me a photo, her aunt had sent her of her Dad and I on the Staten Island Ferry, 40 years earlier. It was a special moment.

My daughter treated me to a wonderful birthday supper at the "Savoy" in Greenwich Village. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day. All that I dreamed of and more.

I love New York! The people are so friendly and helpful. It is so easy to find your way. The Yellow Cabs are fantastic and cheap. There are so many things to do. It would take a lifetime and more to see all there is to see. Museums, Art Galleries, Broadway Shows, Parks, Restaurants,Shops et al.

I can't wait to go back. I'm sure it will never be as magical as it was this time , but who knows? It was in 1968.