i think i have a crush on garrison keillor

q: what passes for "aromatherapy" to norwegians in lake wobegon?
a: bacon and coffee

the 'rents came into town and brought with them much ado (fun, chaotic, at times exasperating and publicly of the "i am trying to act casual but new york scares me a little" ado)...plus tickets for us to go to a live broadcast of a prairie home companion at the town hall theatre. dad did us a solid and managed to somehow finagle seats that were about eight rows from the front and five seats from the middle aisle, with the sound effects guy smack dab in front of us!



fred newman was able to extract from his mouth the sounds of horse's whinnies, prowling tigers, even the notorious alligators of the new york city sewage system. his arsenal held telephones, deadbolts, creaky doors, a pair of shoes hanging around his neck. for me, he was definitely one of the highlights, though i really felt as if i had experienced two hours worth of good, clean, american music and humor. seriously. i felt down-right patriotic....and not patriotic in the bushie "i'm an amerikkun- freedom ain't free" kind of way. it was more a feeling of being wrapped in a warm blanket of the familiar. the entire production completely sucked me in. i was entranced.

thanks, dad.

afterwards, we walked north several blocks (through times square--always fun eye candy for the tourist) to rockefeller center to behold the tree:


now that's something.

so it begins again: my love affair with where i live. there is something magical (or atleast fun) about a place where you can stuff yourself with a plate of pierogies, a bowl of borscht and fried dumplings for $7.50 (what can i say? dad had a hankering for polish food. and yes, i know that pierogi ARE dumplings...i just wanted fried dumplings too), experience a magnificent show, trudge through the masses at times square, and take in perhaps one of the most iconic of all holiday spectacles..all within a matter of hours.

being as the broadcast was from new york, garrison keillor sang a little ode to west 43rd street to get the audience warmed up, and the program contained a short essay from one of APHC's writers on being a new yorker (almost). an excerpt:

I Might Have Been A New Yorker
Laura Buchholz- December 2007

When I moved to New York in 1996, I came with the "let's give this six months and see what happens" attitude. I lasted for 11 years, almost 12, having just moved back to the Midwest in August of this year.


And while I throw back my head and laugh every time I think about my new spacious two-bedroom apartment with high ceilings and hardwood floors and lots of closet space with a garage and NO ROOMMATES for $900 a month, I am concerned about my membership in the New York club. If indeed I was ever a member in the first place. Leaving New York feels an awful lot like going all the way through medical school, and then the internship and the residency, and taking on all the debt, and then deciding-you know what? I think I want to raise chickens.


When I announced that I was leaving New York, my friends tended to have one of two reactions. The first, delivered with an incredulous sneer, was one simple word: "Why?" The second was a bit longer, but still sounded like one word:

"ohmygodyouaresoluckyyouaregettingoutof
hereIwannagetoutofheretooIamgoingtodiehere
ohmygodIamgoingtodiehereinNewYorkifidon't
getoutofheresoonwhenamigoingtogetoutof
hereyouaresolucky!!!"


Both of these reactions are correct.


How long does it take before a person qualifies as a New Yorker? Some say 10 years. Others insist it's 15. I tend to believe that however long you are in New York, add another two or three years and that's when you qualify for membership. 21 years? You're not really a member until you've been here 23. And if you leave--the clock probably goes back to zero. I don't want to believe this, but knowing New York, it's probably true.


......


But there are things I miss. Alot of them. I miss how easy it was to meet up with people. New York is like a giant dormitory for ambitious adults. A giant dormitory with a rat problem.


But I have suspended my membership for now, and that is okay. If the clock goes back to zero, so be it. I can take it. Because I was a New Yorker, I think. Or at least I was two years away from being one.


......