One More Time

When I moved to New York City in July 2009, I had no idea how long I would be here. The time, seemingly,  has gone by in the blink of an eye. I have come to love New York and everything it has to offer, both good and not so good. This week, my husband and I are moving all of our belongings back to the Chicago suburbs, a world away in terms of lifestyle. I am looking forward to being close to my beautiful daughter and mother, the angels of my life, but I am leaving behind many aspects of my life that I have come to love. Last Friday, January 24, 2014, I prepared a farewell speech for Hunter Toastmasters, where I have been a member for over two years. Here it is in its entirety in written form, polished for this presentation. The content gets to the root of my feelings for this, my second home.

One More Time

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Time is running out and I have so much more I want to do! I’m moving to Chicago next week to be closer to family, so I put together a New York City “bucket” list.

I have already done of few of the activities on my list: last week I went to Pearl Art supply on Canal street, one more time, to climb the well-worn wooden stairs, as many artists, some of  them famous, before me have to peruse the voluminous choices of pastel and oil colors... and the variety of brands... Holbein, Old Holland and Sennelier... the best selection outside of Paris!

I visited the Morgan Library one more time to stand in the personal office of J. Pierpoint Morgan himself. Here, he undoubtedly smoked cigars while he played masters of the Universe with his Wall Street cronies. The room is the epitome of Gilded Age glory with luxurious red wall-coverings and mahogany encased walls.  The bookcases hold first edition copies of some of the most hallowed literature in all the world. Down the hall in his personal library, I viewed one of his copies of the original Gutenberg Bible. In another gallery, I saw drawings by Leonardo daVinci… the famous one of the angel’s face that he used for Virgin of the Rocks. Did you know it is only four inches square? 

Leonardo da Vinci, Head of a Young Woman (Study for the Angel in the ‘Virgin of the Rocks’), 1480s, metalpoint heightened with white on buff prepared paper. © Biblioteca Reale, Turin (15572 D.C.)

The Hispanic Society is a five-minute walk from my apartment, yet I had never been there in the
year I lived in Washington Heights. Entrance to one of the most prestigious collections of Spanish art outside of Spain and South America is free to the public. As I entered the heavy Spanish style doors,  The Duchess of Alba  was there to greet me. I would have thought I had to go all the way to Madrid and the Prado Museum to see this famous work by Goya, but there she was, just down the street
from me.

Duchess, would you like to have a cup of coffee with me at Taszo?

The duchess of Alba, 1797
Franciso de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828)

After a fresh snowfall early last week, I decided to take my camera to visit The Cloisters just one more time. The grounds of Fort Tryon Park, the bluff where The Cloisters are located, was resplendent in white. I marveled again at Romanesque edifice, much of which was transported from France to occupy this high point in Manhattan. Seeing it in the winter time was truly a high point for me. Thank you, Mr. Rockefeller!

The Cloisters, Fort Tryon Park, New York

There are other things on my list that I probably won't get to do. I want to go to the Metropolitan Museum one more time… and the MoMA, and walk through the elegant and sumptuous halls of the Frick where, some say, Princess Diana stayed on her visits to the U.S.

I long to be dazzled by New York City Ballet or American Ballet Theater and see the snowflake crystal chandeliers ascend before the opea at Lincoln Center… just one more time. And step into the bedroom at Washington’s Revolutionary War Headquarters, where George actually DID sleep, only a few blocks from my apartment.

New York City Ballet... dazzling!

These are some of the highlights available in New York that make it such a magical place. My home in sleepy Bartlett, IL can’t compare, although a short drive away is one of the largest Hindu temples in North America; fifteen minutes away is a restaurant called “Al Capone’s Hideout”, where he really did hide out, and only forty-five minutes away, barbed wire was invented in Dekalb.

But, the real New York experience that I will miss the most can not be planned on a bucket list. These experiences are random and unexpected. Everyone who lives here knows this. Trips to museums and historic places can’t recreate the real New York Experience.  Here are some examples of some the very real New York Experiences I have had here:

Eating a delectable cupcake with cream cheese frosting at Billy’s Bakery, which is designed with the look of a 1940's kitchen, a short walk from the New York Academy of Art in lower Manhattan where I studied oil painting and anatomy for artists with Peter Cox (see his work at http://www.petercox.us/).

 

 

Yum Yum... Billy's Bakery

Exploring the beach at Rockaway with my camera where I lived for nearly two years before the hurricane and watching the surfers...even in January.

Experiencing a hurricane and coming back to the Rockaways to provide a “healing through art” program for residents affected by the storm.

Or, the strange confluence of energies unique to New York, which bring together unlikely circumstances, like:

·        Sitting on a bus listening to a concert of Israeli music on the iPhone of an Hispanic woman sitting behind me while cruising past the George Washington Bridge, all lit up at night in twinkling splendor! She apologized to me, and when I assured it that I was enjoying it very much, she leaned in and showed me the screen, so I might enjoy it even more.

·        Or, finding myself at a performance of Mozart’s Magic Flute in Arabic on the day of Egypt’s revolution, with my new friend who grew up in Cairo.

      Being a part of the tenth anniversary mass for FDNY heroes who lost their lives at 911 at 

      St. Patrick's Cathedral. Admittance was very restricted, and I was overcome listening to the children who lost their fathers speak, and hearing the powerful voice of a member of the FDNY chorus who sang for the families and friends. I didn't belong there, yet, there I was...very humbled by the experience.

       Shaking hands with Cardinal Dolan on Easter Sunday. He admonished me by saying, "Never wear a hat prettier than mine."

 And last but not least, witnessing Lindsay Lohan cuss out a pizza delivery man in Soho.

My bucket list also includes spending time with people who have enhanced life over the past four years:

·        Taking one more class with Linda, a former Broadway dancer, who is 70, yet has the body and energy level of a much younger woman. She taps like she is 20 and she helped me get my strength back.

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·         Seeing the faces of my high school students, at times exasperating, yet beloved, realize that they can do something artistically they didn't think possible...one more time.

·         Spending time with my colleagues at The Beekman School, and the artists of the collaborative project  I’m involved in.

Most of all, I am especially savoring this experience of being here with all of you tonight at Hunter Toastmasters and the many good friends I have made among you. In the nearly two years I’ve been coming, I became more confident and creative in my writing and speaking abilities. I have been entertained and excellence has been modeled. If I only had just one more time…