Sister Mumford had gone ahead to the restaurant hoping to get a table--but they are "skeptics" and won't "seat you" until ALL in your party arrive). Things did run a little late--but by 8:45 we were sitting at a table for 4-- then expanded to 6--with the arrival of Rick (aka Spill Bill) and Christine Nelson's arrival too. The morning time we had slipped away so quickly as old friends enjoyed some "catching up" and laughing together!! We (Elder Mumford and I) had to be to our assignment in the Manhattan Temple by 11:00 am--so we hurried back to the Subway and parted with our friends, who were going on a "walking tour" of the Brooklyn Bridge and surrounding area. The Roses' came to the temple later that afternoon and enjoyed the 4:00 pm session that Elder Mumford was blessed to officiate. We finished at the temple about 6:00 pm and began our "rainy night" adventure of "Big Nick's Burger Joint" (classic NY dining in very limited space) and then a "slowest cab in New York/longest route to our destination" ride to our evening's entertainment of an "Off Broadway" production of DADDY LONGLEGS. We are pretty sure now that the Cabbie was "milking" the ride!! We got to the Davenport Theatre about 5 minutes after "Showtime" but we were able to be seated immediately as the show had not 'officially' begun. What a play!! A two-man show ( actually husband/wife duo) based around a story by Jean Webster (The Secret of Happiness)--set in 1911--about an orphan, Jerusha Abbot, who is the oldest orphan at the John Grier Home. She finds that a wealthy "benefactor" of the home has arranged for her to go to college because her writing skills exhibit talent. She doesn't know him as he wished to remain "anonymous" so all she sees of him is his "shadowy long legs" as he exits. So she dubs him "Daddy Longlegs" in the monthly letter she has been asked to write to him to report on her "college experiences". ( Apparently there is a movie with Fred Astaire of this same story which Kyle told us about later). Here are a few of the notes from the Director, John Card, that I found quite interesting.
" Jerusha Abbott enters the world of college embarrassed by her own ignorance and ackwardness, but her very lack of sophistication, together with her wicked sense of the absurd, allows her to see the world of her peers as it really is, untrammelled by any elements of self-interest. Her critique of the social and academic world around her is marvelously matched when she meets her mentor and benefactor, Jervis Pendleton, the extreme disparity between their two backgrounds allowing Webster (the author) to develop her story into one of personal growth and emotional evolution. . . The message of this production is an enduring one--in Jerusha's words " that the true secret of happiness is to live in the now. Not to be forever regretting the past or anticipating the future, but to get the most that you can out of this very instant." ( interesting side note--the author died 5 years after she published this book, in childbirth, and this director truly felt her book was/is a 'masterpiece'.)
Anyway--it was just such a great show and we enjoyed it so much!! We came out of the theater to more rain--so E. Mumford went to find us another cab. On a Friday night--in the rain--an empty cab is hard to find in NYC ( especially in the theater district)--so he goes down the "traffic-jammed Broadway" peering into cabs for an 'empty' one!! A guy exits a cab. Here is the dialogue that insues: E. Mumford asks the driver if his cab is available--asking where he is going. "No, I'm going home--I'm tired." E Mumford "Where's home?" Cabbie "Uptown". E. M"Oh, that's where we need to go--66th and Columbus--can you take us?" Cabbie--" sure--get in" and then is informed he has to come back and pick up 3 more of us ( standing in front of theater under umbrellas"-- which he does--and 6-7 minutes later-- we are in front of our apartment building!! THAT'S when we decided "longest ride Cabbie" had milked us earlier!! Such great memories already!! The Roses' stayed the night in our apartment--our FIRST OVERNIGHT GUESTS--and pronounced our new Sleeper Sofa as The Best Hide-A-Bed they've ever slept on!! ( BTW--no fee was paid for that pronouncement!!) They even used the word "Posh" in their description!! (We had heard and used that word also after others described it that way to us). So--there you have it--future visitors (we hope) our "digs" are good!!
We had a full day in the Temple and the Roses and Nelsons had another full day together--and we almost missed our chance to even get a pic together--but they had to come back to our apartment to grab their luggage on the way to Penn Station for their return trip to Philly--so we got a photo in our Lobby and said our Good-byes.
l-r Elder Greg Rose, Sister Wendy Rose, Mumfords and Rick Nelson
We were able to see the Nelsons again on Sunday afternoon as they completed their Sabbath activities earlier than they thought and were able to come enjoy a late afternoon meal with us at our apartment. What an enjoyable visit we had!! They were in NYC with the Utah Symphony ( Rick is on the Symphony Board) and the orchestra had a guest performance at Carnegie Hall on Friday Night--which went very well according to those we talked with who were there. Also-- it was like a "coming home " visit for the Nelsons as Rick was President of the NY NY South Mission from 2009-2012. So Sunday they went to church at their ward in Longneck where the Mission Home was/is while they served here. Interestingly--the Rego Park 1st Ward--where we attend--that building also houses the NY NY South Mission Office. So they came to that building weekly during the time he served here also. So we had a full Sabbath that ended with many FaceTime and Google Hangouts with our family!!
We were also able to begin teaching the Sunday School class we've been called to--the only youth class--ages 12 to 17 or 18--and Linc requested a picture of our "students"--hoping maybe Field and Abram could write them letters and become a "friend" to them. So here are 2 of the 4 who are 'regular attendees' ( one was in Utah for his Spring Break--Mason--and the other one--Tifano--was supposed to come in late--but we didn't see him this week).
Elder and Sister Mumford with Jeremiah McCain
And with Eric Sanchez
No comments:
Post a Comment