Somewhere Different

“I’ll never say that art doesn’t imitate life again.”

--Woody Allen as Larry Lipton in the comedy film, Manhattan Murder Mystery
It’s New York City week.  Alan and I leave tonight.  I wrote mom a card as I was excited from anticipation of getting to know NYC better.  We have a sketchy itinerary, but we will be spontaneous, too.  I know I was to go up to the top of the Empire State Building.  I’ve done it once—but never with Alan. 
September 1, 1993
Dear Mom,
Do these “red pepper” vines look familiar?  I bought this card in Taos, NM at the little shopping square.  I really had a good time in New Mexico with you and Ashley.  I’m so glad we finally did it.  It really is ironic that you waited ‘35’ years to go visit again.  Maybe we can go again next summer and/or somewhere different.  We’ll have to think about it.
It’s 1:45PM on a Wednesday afternoon and I am up here lounging on the roof.  It was nice to get off early from work today.  And tonight, I will be heading for New York City for fun, rest and relaxation.
I miss you since you’ve been gone.   We must plan for your next trip here!  Ashley’s ‘Thank You’ card to Alan arrived today.
I can’t wait to start up on my New Mexico scrapbook.  I hope you finished the film in your camera!  Get those photos developed.  It will be fun to see the photos we took.  Too bad I didn’t take a picture of you and Alice or “Chata” (was that her name?).  You sure are a “beauty queen” compared to them!

Well, this is my ‘Thank You’ for experiencing La Posada de Albuquerque, The Hotel Santa Fe, The Hacienda del Sol and The Inn at the Alameda with me.  It was a great adventure.  Shall we shoot for New York City, Washington DC, Spain…or how about Hawaii the next time?  Think about it…where would you like to go?
Oh well, I’m going to take a little nap now.  Regards to your granddaughters and grandson.  Kisses and Hugs to you and the rest.
All My Love,
Michael J Armijo
Alan and I arrived in NYC.  It was swift and uncomplicated.  I brought along my new T-shirts that I bought in New Mexico to wear in and around the city.   We checked-in to the New York Hilton and Towers.  We had a connection to stay in the Towers section of the hotel because Alan’s stepfather, Jack “Israel” Cohen is a regular hotel guest for his jewelry/findings business.  They treated us like royalty when we checked-in at the Towers reservation desk (not the regular ground floor check-in).  And, of course, the staff in the Towers all knew Jack and Gloria.   

I found a Financial Times dated Wednesday September 1, 1993 in the Towers lounge area and kept it as a souvenir to recall the financial/business news of the day.   I browsed through it and I liked the headline about HSBC doubles to 1.2Billion pounds.   The view from our hotel room, looking down, was intense. I had to take a picture of that perspective.
Heck, I even took a photo of our Hotel Card Key and the Hotel stationery. 
I laughed at the hair salon across the street named MIKE AND ME SALON.
Alan and I walked along Avenue of the Americas and Fifth Avenue.  I had Alan pose with the crowd (but NOT looking at the camera so he could blend in as just another New Yorker). 
“I don’t like when you pose,” I uttered to Alan, “it looks too posed, so it’s better if you just act like you are part of the scenery.” 
I love taking candid photographs of random people.   That was my modus operandi.  
I kept looking at the MANHATTAN street map because I really wanted to understand the differences from Uptown, East Side, West Side, Downtown, Battery Park City, Midtown, etc. 
9-2-93
Hi Mom,
I’m in New York City, Manhattan District.  It’s great being here on a regular workday, seeing everyone hustle and bustle to work. 
Look at these color photos I got.  These were taken in Indianapolis, Indiana back in March 1992 when I was in-training for my job at Charles Schwab & Co.  I just got them developed!
April Stosur is in the photos.  She was in my training group with me.  She ended up quitting Schwab.  I think she decided to have a baby and her husband is an executive at Barnes and Noble bookstores.  Doesn’t Indianapolis look nice?  I loved the homes.
The Black and White photo is a photo of ‘me’ that my mother took at La Chirpada Winery in Dixon, New Mexico.  Thanks-A-Lot.
See You,
Love,
Michael
“I have to fulfill my craving for an egg and bacon on a roll, Alan.”
“Don’t worry, I know the best place.” 
We ended up in the Upper West Side at ZABAR’s.  This place is apparently quite famous, and everything is quite yummy here.   Alan wore his Jurassic Park t-shirt today and we walked all over the place.  There’s so much to do and see in New York City. 
“How can we do it all?” I asked.
“Don’t worry, we’ll do a lot,” Alan replied.
I snapped photos of random people on Madison Avenue, in the Upper East side and in Central Park.  Everywhere I looked I saw a potential photo.  It was endless. 
We had fun in Times Square and Alan got tickets for us to see THE SISTERS ROSEZWEIG.  I couldn’t believe I’d be seeing Michael Learned (famous for THE WALTONS TV-series), Linda Lavin (famous for the ALICE TV-series) and Hal Linden (famous for the BARNIE MILLER TV-series) all on the same stage for this show.  The show started at 8pm at the Barrymore Theater on West 47th Street.   Alan miraculously managed to get Row A in the orchestra seating, so we were so close-up for everything.
We did the Empire State Building.  Waiting in that line was annoying but worth it.  I captured a solo photo of Alan at Rockefeller Center.  I loved the city views from The Empire State building.
Bette Midler was the topic as she was going to be playing at Radio City Music Hall.   We never saw her in-person but we did see her on the cover of the well distributed NYC WHERE magazine. Ha-ha.
We ate at the Hatsuhana Japanese Restaurant on East 48thStreet.  What a great restaurant.  We also went to the METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART.  Our legs were getting quite the workout from all the walking.   There was an article about VAN GOGH’s “FIELD” in the newspaper.  I’m glad I saw that painting.  I loved browsing in the gift shop and choosing the postcards that caught my eye.
I saw a poster plastered here and there about a TOYOTA COMEDY FESTIVAL on Wednesday, June 9th.  The poster depicted a bizarre MAMA’s BOY image. 
I joked to Alan, “We’re both mama’s boys.”
“It’s true, we are,” confirmed Alan.

We shopped a bit at BLOOMINGDALE’s but didn’t buy too much.  We popped into a CHARLES SCHWAB office to check a few stock quotes.  We walked by St. Patrick’s Cathedral and peeked in for a bit.  I dipped my hand in the holy water on the way out.
We popped over to the KING COLE BAR for a drink at the infamous St. Regis Hotel.  I got a postcard there for mom:
Mom,
Here are some more photos.  I don’t know what’s left in the camera, hopefully, some good ones.
Please have Ashley develop hers and send me the copies.   That goes for whatever is in your camera, too!   I’m loving New York now.
Love You,
Michael
Our NYC excursion continued.   We ate at the infamous 2nd Avenue Deli.  Yummy!
On the night of September 3rd, we saw another Broadway show.  This time it was OLEANNA, written by the famous playwright, David Mamet.   This one was starring some unknown actors by the names of Jim Frangione and Mary McCann (only two characters for this show); however, if they’re On-Broadway now I’m sure they’ll have a lot of acting credits ahead of them.   The OLEANNA story was a bit strange, but we enjoyed it—just the same.  I guess this playwright, David Mamet, is known for being a bit ‘out there’.   It was about the power struggle between a University Professor and one of his female students who accuses him of sexual exploitation and, by doing so, spoils his chances of being accorded tenure.  It made me wonder if David Mamet was inspired by a personal experience with himself and a female student.  
I loved taking photos in and around the city.  I kept taking shots and picking up postcards at gift shops.  I like to capture a scene that feels like somewhere different.   I loved doing a 'Find Waldo-like' photo.  For instance, we saw a long red limousine in front of the Plaza Hotel.  I had Alan stand amidst the scene.  You'd have to examine the pic and 'Find Alan'.  Ha-ha
We saw another movie.  It’s called MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY.  It was a fabulous Woody Allen comedy film.  His dialogue is always the best.  It so fitting to see a Woody Allen film while in NYC.  It adds to the luster.   Woody starred in the story as did Diane Keaton.  In a nutshell it’s about a middle-aged New York couple who suspect foul play when their neighbor's wife suddenly drops dead.
Alan arranged a dining outing with real-life New Yorker’s:  Sam and Miriam Hirsch.   Sam is Alan’s ex-wife’s father.  He is a Holocaust survivor.  They’re a trip to go out with.  I enjoyed my time with them and this place we went is supposedly a legend.  It’s called the RUSSIAN TEA ROOM.   It was initially opened in 1927 by former members of the Russian Imperial Ballet as a gathering place for Russian expatriates (and then became famous as a gathering place for those in the entertainment industry). I got a kick out of the Russian Tea Room menu and seeing all of these unfamiliar dishes.  It was so red velvety in the place.

We’re on a roll.  For the third day in a row we saw another Broadway Show.  This time it was a musical that has won 7 TONY AWARDS: “Kiss of The Spider Woman”.   Boy oh boy…was it great!  It starred CHITA RIVERA, BRENT CARVER and ANTHONY CRIVELLO.
What else did we manage to do in NYC?  I had scrambled notes, but it was endless.   We went to the MOMA-Museum of Modern of Art where they had this exhibit of LATIN AMERICAN ARTISTS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY.  It was quite fabulous.
We ate at CAFÉ LA FORTUNA where we experienced an unbelievable Veal Parmigiana plate.  Delicious!
You can’t win them all though.   We saw another movie called BOXING HELENA. I love that actor, Julian Sands but this film missed.  It also starred Sherilyn Fenn.  The movie got all kinds of hype because Kim Basinger and Madonna had legal battles regarding the film and they both ended up backing out of the lead role of Helena.  I suppose that was a good thing.   The story was rather peculiar.   Talk about escaping somewhere different.  Who knows if it will turn into a cult-classic someday?
I can’t get enough of Central Park.
I liked this ad in Times Square for the UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON brand.
We ended our New York City journey with a wonderful meal at the Stanhope Hotel. 
Alan reassured me, “We’ll be back.  You’ll see.”
Mom’s birthday was coming up (September 6th), so we each sent her cards.  I also sent mom a turquoise colored scarf.
Happy Birthday Virginia!

Love,
Alan
P.S. Your present is waiting in LA at Marina Del Rey.  See You soon.
Dear Mom,
Thanks for being my friend.
I Love You Very Much.
Here’s a little something for your birthday…I thought (and have always thought) this color was great against your hair.
Always,
Love,
Michael
“You have to look at what you are, and what you feel, and how you act.  And, finally, you have to look at how you act…and say:  If that’s what I DID, that must be how I see myself.” --Jim Frangione (as John) in the David Mamet play, OLEANNA