My Last Day in New York

As far as moving goes, Friday actually went fairly smoothly. There were a couple of hiccups, but nothing that derailed the process in any way. In spite of dealing with the logistics of moving, my last day in NYC was actually pretty great -- surprisingly so since I had mentally prepared myself for a gruelling day of potential nonsense beyond my control. (As it turned out, I wouldn't be disappointed -- the nonsense would come later (in spades) and as you'll see from my next blog entry, it was completely beyond my control.)

Quick review of Friday ("Move Day"):

At 6:00 am, I got up to shower, un-make my bed and get the last few things tucked away in boxes.

The movers were booked (and confirmed) to show up between 8:00 and 8:30 so that they would have enough time to load before I had to leave to catch my flight later in the day. The moving foreman finally appeared around 9:15 and the truck showed up an hour after that. They assured me that it wouldn't take long to load the truck and they were right -- they were pretty much done by 1:00 pm, even though they had to deal with a double-booked elevator and someone else who was trying to move in as I was trying to move out.

After tipping the movers and loading them up with various cold bottled drinks to take with them, I was left alone in my now empty apartment. I took a few minutes to remember the first time I saw this apartment when I first picked up my keys almost two years ago. It was empty then, too, but full of possibilities instead of mostly pleasant memories. What a difference two years makes and how humbling to realize that your presence hasn't made any structural, permanent changes and that the few marks that you did leave on the wall will just be scrubbed or painted away and that space will come the anchor for someone else's personal story very soon. As I thought about that, I dug a Sharpie marker out of my bag, got down on the kitchen floor and wrote "I Heart NY" on the bottom of one of the kitchen drawers. A little silly perhaps, but I liked the thought that a little piece of me will remain on the west side, at least until that kitchen is remodeled.

Because of the movers' efficiency, I had a couple of hours before my car was due to pick me up at the airport, so I headed out to grab some lunch. I was only planning to hit a deli for a quick sandwich, but as I was walking down Columbus, I slowed my pace as I walked by an Italian restaurant I had always wanted to try. "La Fenice" has always looked quaint, warm and inviting from the outside, but I had never actually been there for a meal. I went inside and sat at the bar and struck up a conversation with the bartender. Instead of a banal sandwich, I had ravioli neri with gorgonzola cheese cream sauce (I'm not due to check my cholesterol for another month or so, thank goodness!), a brilliant ceasar salad and a bread basket with a medley of different pastes and dips.

Now THIS was worthy of being my last lunch in NYC! When Peter The Bartender found out that I was moving that very day, he also treated me to dessert on the house, an incredible layered treat of mango and raspberry mousses.

When I was half-way through my lunch, an older couple came in and all the servers went over to say hello. Even Peter the Bartender left his station and visited the couple with the white, silvery hair for a few moments. When Peter came back to the bar, he leaned in and said to me "That guy is Big Bird on Sesame Street! They come in all the time!" My eyes immediately drifted to the wall space above the mirrors behind the bar where a plate was hanging with a hand-drawn sketch of Big Bird and the signature of Caroll Spinney. Peter saw my eyes go immediately to that plate (because I'd seen it as soon as I sat down) and he smiled and nodded, "Yep, that's him!"

I smiled at what a truly "only in New York" moment this was and how great it was that this should happen on my last day, at an unplanned lunch at a restaurant I'd never been in before.

Peter and the other servers wished me the best of luck and I headed home (for the last time) to change clothes and grab my suitcases. This is where the "nonsense" started. Stay tuned...