Lull before Christmas

Last week there was a pause in the holiday season in New York. Or so it seemed to me as I puttered around the apartment on Wednesday. Gray skies hung low, though it didn't rain until evening. Just a dull, quiet day to tidy up the place, read the WSJ articles Dan left for me, and watch the construction going on in the immediate neighborhood below.

I was startled to see a big red crane swinging through at eye level when I lifted the blinds first thing in the morning. I chuckled too, because just when ya get used to what'all they're doing down there, they bring in something new.

At noon, I ducked out for a nice Christmas lunch with Dan and John, at Aqua Grill, in SoHo. Another scrumptious top 50 meal I was fortunate to share with Dan and his business colleagues, in these last few months in New York. My meal was near perfect: mussel soup, a crabcake sandwich, and handmade chocolates, all washed down with red wine. Yum. John and I got a kick out of watching Dan eat five different types of oysters, shipped in from around the world. The restaurant is known for them, and while we were all curious to find out whether there truly was a difference in taste among them, only Dan actually likes oysters. He gave us the blow-by-blows as he slurped up each one.

Dan had to get back to the office, but I accompanied John uptown in a cab. I needed to do some birthday shopping for our friend Bob's 40th, and John knew just the place. Davidoff's had an overwhelming selection of fine cigars. But like fine wine, I know what tastes good and get lost in the details. After a few naive questions, I let the very skilled and courteous salesmen sell me an already packaged gift box of Robustos. And a singleton for Dan's Christmas stocking.

I took the 6 train back downtown, and crossed more gifts off my list at Borders. A book for Bob, to read while he smoked those cigars, and stationery for Dan's mom. When I came out of the store, I was completely unprepared for the drizzle of rain coming down rather hard. As I scurried along the side streets heading home to get ready for dinner out with Dan, I noticed the stock exchange lit up bright.

Merry Christmas, everyone!