Yesterday’s adventure was the penultimate Sunset Singing Circle. I had missed two weeks in a row, one week it wasn’t held and the next week I got sick; I needed my fix. Fred and I always eat at The View at Battery Park before the show; yesterday morning when I tried to make a reservation they were booked! I was shocked. Our plan was to go there and see if we could sit at the bar, we’ve done that before. My new tradition is to not take the 4 train to Bowling Green which is right there but to take the D train to Broadway-Lafayette and walk the rest of the way. I do that for the exercise. My goal is to average three miles/day. I’ve been shooting for four most days to make up for the days I miss. The weather was perfect for walking which makes it enjoyable. When I got to Battery Park I saw there was something going on. An entrance was closed off to the general public. People were lined up and had to go through security. It was for the Tribeca Film Festival. I had trouble navigating around it to the south end of the park where the restaurant is. I figured the Film Festival was why we couldn’t get a reservation. When I arrived and asked I discovered that wasn’t true; there was a private event. I don’t know what it was but there was Israeli music coming from inside.
We were afraid that not much would be open down there, there wasn’t when the Sunset Singing Circle season started. I did what you do in these situations and searched for “Restaurants open near me.” I found the White Horse Tavern 0.1 miles away and it had only a single $ and 4.5 Stars. I love pub food so that worked for me and Fred Agreed. It was excellent. When we went in they directed us to a seat by the juke box but said we could also eat upstairs, and I figured that would be better. We got a nice table by the window; it was also right next to the juke box. Sometimes you can’t win. The food, the waitress, and the company were all first rate so I could live with the volume.
When we go to Wagner Park for the singing circle we found they had moved it. Instead of sitting on a lawn we sat on steps. Terre and the other musicians moved there last week because the grass was wet and decided that they didn’t like sitting cross-legged on the grass playing guitar. Too bad I forgot my stadium seat; I still had the problem of lack of back support. The steps were too low for my legs so next week we’ll sit on the wall. I considered it this week but that meant being off the to the side. I like being right in the middle.
I tried something new this week, I wrote down the suggestions as they came in. That’s helpful as they often fall a few behind and then everyone has to try to remember what was asked for. It helps me as I use what they play to help program Gord’s Gold. I know many people that write down every song at every concert they go to. I have never gone that far. I’m too lazy now to get up and look at the list to help me write this. I try and suggest songs that aren’t suggested every week; we never miss Here Comes the Sun. When I requested one song Terre said that she thought we hadn’t played it this year. I told her, “That’s why I requested it; I didn’t want it to feel bad.” Hey, a song can feel unwanted.
I’m going to miss the circles after next week. This year we became friendly with Frances, the young woman from the Battery Park City Authority who manages events. She’ll be back next year, I asked. One change I’d like to suggest, the musicians that play with Terre should be known as The Pirates. Are you too young to remember the comic, “Terry and the Pirates?” I never read it, but I’ve always made the association.
Friday morning, I had therapy. It was a tough one as I hadn’t done my homework from the week before and it was important homework. I promised her I’d make a difficult song as soon as we finished. I didn’t. I said I couldn’t finish watching Star Wars: The Bad Batch until I made the call, and I didn’t. I found other ways to avoid it. I finally did make the call, and nothing was lost by waiting. We went a little over because she had to take a phone call from a doctor, and I like to talk. Her next patient called her, she said she’d tell them to wait a minute then get back to me so she could transfer me to the office to make my next appointment. She never came back. I’m not sure how long I waited, maybe five or ten minutes, then I hung up and called the office myself. I was very tempted to call her back after she her hours were over and leave a voice mail saying. “Don’t worry, I only waited on hold for three hours before giving up. After guilting her our I was going to let her know I made the phone call. She was worried about me. I might still make the call, so she finds it when she comes in to work next week. I have a strange relationship with my therapist.
I’m still not doing things on weekends and I’m not happy about that. I should be going out, hearing music, and seeing friends. Instead, all I did was make my Donut Walk™ with a bonus stop at the supermarket to get ice cream. I’ll reward myself with that after posting this. There was an afternoon Met game, so I listened to that as I walked. For the first time in years, I’m listening to every Met Game. I don’t get SNY their cable channel, we cut the cord, and it’s expensive to watch without it. I learned that I could listen and enjoy it that way. Even though they’ve been devastated with injuries this is their best season in years. They are on pace now to win 93 games. The last time they won more than 90 games was 2006, and that was the only time this century. As a comparison the Yankees have won more than 90 games 14 times over the same span. I hope they can keep it up. They should with their injured players returning. Right now, they are being carried by the weight of their three top pitchers, Walker, Stroman, and Official Greatest Pitcher in the Universe, Jacob deGrom, plus airtight relief pitching and good fielding. Give the new owner Steve Cohen, Team President Sandy Alderson, and GM Zach Scott credit for emphasizing building team depth in the off season. They have needed it.
Now to have some of that ice cream.
Wise Madness 