Saturday, January 26, 2013
Friday, January 25, 2013
one singular sensation
The Fall of 1977 was showing promise.
I was 25 and had been in New York about a year and had just appeared on a New York Public Access television show.
Sardi’s Restaurant, the theater-district landmark, had lost their doorman of 30 years. They were looking for a replacement and someone saw me on that show.
I took the job. I got a poor fitting uniform, $5/hr plus tips and a 45 minute dinner break with the same cannelloni every night.
I got tired of the cannelloni.
So instead I stood in the back of the Shubert Theatre across 44th Street and caught the same 40 minutes of A Chorus Line.
shubert theatre
In those days Sardi’s was the Broadway place to be and a parade of stars walked through my front door every night.
Robert Preston was doing “Sly Fox” at the Broadhurst and instead of the standard 25 cents for pulling the door, he handed me a crisp single every time.
One night, Diana Ross from the Supremes stepped out of a cab while I held the car door, then shrieked “My bag!” as the cab pulled away.
I burst into a sprint in my grey monkey suit, chasing the cab all the way to 7th Avenue. I caught him, jerked the door open and grabbed the glittery clutch still in the back seat.
Trotting back like a golden retriever, I remember thinking “If Preston’s door is worth a buck...?!?”
She beamed and palmed her chest in gratitude. Then took the bag, kissed me dreamy on the cheek and disappeared inside.
Sorry Mr. Preston.
Worth way more than a single.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
in the name of the Father
Anne Geddes is an Australian photographer with a knack for capturing babies. I like the way babies smell.
But yesterday, Business Insider magazine published some statistics that are alarming to me.
“Illegitimacy is becoming more widespread in the United States. More than half of all births to American women under 30 are born out of wedlock.”
More than half.
Quoting the New York Times, “Most researchers agree [illegitimacy] increases a child’s risk of emotional problems and falling into poverty.”
- 29 percent of white children are born to unmarried women.
- 53 percent of Latinos and
- 73 percent of all black children in America are born to a single parent.
It’s not our beautiful kids who are illegitimate,
if you ask me.
the sun is a one trick pony
but nobody does it better.
Then I learned to play some lead guitar, I was underage in this funky bar
And I stepped outside to smoke myself a j
When I come back to the room, everybody just seemed to move
And I turned my amp up loud and I began to play
It was late in the evening, and I blew that room away.
#6 in the United States on the BillBoard 100
1980
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
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