Walking around the streets near Columbia University in Manhattan on a beautiful spring day, I stopped abruptly when I saw the sign. It said "Tom’s Restaurant" on one side of the building and "Restaurant" on the other. I stared for a moment or two, then grabbed the arm of another chaperone and said, "Wait. We have to stop. Do you recognize that place?" As soon as she saw it, she knew.
She, too, was a loyal fan of the Seinfeld series. She knew it was the home of the "Big Salad," the place where George, Elaine and Jerry frequently met and discussed sometimes controversial (but mostly mundane) topics. Where George griped about everything under the sun and Jerry pondered imponderables.
Without hesitation, we went inside for lunch and noticed that the interior looked nothing like it did on the show - completely different floorplan, different art on the walls (this place was covered with signed caricatures and photos of the stars of the show), different condiment containers and different booths.
But the hostess? She could have come straight out of one of the sitcom’s episodes.
Here’s the scene. The restaurant is quite small, with three rows of booths, very narrow aisles between them and a counter. One booth could be described by restaurant people as a "six-top" which means it seats six adults, all the others seat four.
We arrived before the lunch rush, so most of the booths were empty. We were a group of eight, two chaperones and six kids. Or, if you look at it the way I looked at it, two groups of four people each. I had been traveling around Manhattan with the same three girls, so I was expecting to sit in a booth with the four of us (as we had done for every other meal).
The hostess had a different idea.
With a gorgeously strong, rapid fire Manhattan accent, she asserted, " ‘Ow menny ya got? Ya got eight? Right here! Come ohvah heaah. You can sit heaah. Eight. Right? Yeaah. It’s peh-fect. We’ll just pull up a chair, put it on the end. Theaah ya go. The rest of ya sit…ya know…theaah."
She gestured matter of factly toward the six top and looked into my eyes as if it were an order, not a suggestion. I hesitated…knowing, first of all that certain girls didn’t want to sit together and the way they were about to squeeze in would have resulted in elbowing, arguing and an all around unpleasant dining experience. Just try to shove tween girls together who don’t like each other very much, you’ll quickly discover just how nasty they can get. It’s a catty, sarcastic phase.
But the hostess could care less.
She scowled at me with growing impatience and a "WTF are ya doin’ ya frickin’ tourist? Sit ya a@# down already!" kind of look, still motioning for us to fill in the six-top booth.
Meanwhile, some of the girls had climbed out of the six-top, others had climbed in, and my three girls had opened menus, sat down and started getting comfortable in a four top in the next row. They then said, "We’re sitting here ," without even looking up from the menus.
Our lovely hostess, now completely annoyed with us, tried one last attempt, "Wha? Ya got eight, right? Right here. Whaat’s wrong with this? This is fa eight. Right heeaah. I got a chair. I’ll put the chair heeaah. You’ll be fine."
I explained that we were fine as we were. No thanks, we would just sit separately. It was better that way. For us. You know, the customers . We grumbled among ourselves as if we were taking cues from George Costanza himself. "Do you believe that woman? Expecting us to squeeze in there?! Ridiculous! What was she thinking? Well, I’m not doing it."
Lovely hostess rolled her eyes, threw up her arms, sighed and said, "Fine. Whatevah."
But it wasn’t fine.
She came back again and said, "Ya know…if we get busy…now you’re takin’ up two booths. You can all fit in that one booth. It’s fa eight. Y’can sit ova theeaah (motioning again in the direction of the six-top)."
"Uh, well, sorry, we’re already here. It’s early. We’ll probably be gone before you fill up. If we have to move later, we will. But we’d rather stay here. For now. Okay?" I offer in my most sincere, midwestern (please let this end soon) voice.
Just as the drinks arrived, another group of five (that happened to also be part of our main group) walked in the door. Five. All of the girls were tiny, young tweens, so they dove right into a four-top booth. But the hostess would not have it. She walked over to the half of our group sitting in the six-top and commanded them, "Yor gonna haffta move. We gotta bigga group heeaaah. Ya gotta move."
They packed up the drinks, menus and personal belongings and sat in the four-top booth behind us.
I had to laugh. Would there be any better way to enjoy the restaurant from Seinfeld? Thanks, lady. Now can I get that Big Salad?
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
with conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
with silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
- Emma Lazarus
For more Wordless Wednesday visit HQ here and here .
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and, yes, in case you were wondering, my daughter took this photo on our recent trip to NYC.
When I first read an outrageous headline screaming something like “Miley Cyrus Bare in Vanity Fair” I felt shocked and disappointed. I wondered whether she was about to topple off her teen-pop-star-queen throne despite the fact that she seemed so centered (due in large part to her strong family support system).
I mean, would I want my daughter to pose like that at fifteen? Of course not. But that’s not the point. It’s incomparable. Apples to oranges. Cyrus is huge. Mega gargantuan. Tickets for her concerts sold out in minutes. She’s a pop megastar. She travels in a different universe.
Besides, Cyrus admitted her mistake, quickly apologized and expressed regret about the controversial photo. Okay, fine. Let’s just forgive the girl and move on.
But…then I spoke with my kids about Miley’s photo.
They expressed outrage. Disappointment. Even disgust.
Darling Daughter: “Why would she do something like this? She’s fifteen! Fifteen! She shouldn’t have let them take that kind of picture of her.”
Dear Son: “First it was Britney Spears and then Jamie Lynn Spears and now this?!”
DD: “She’s huge! What does she want… more fans?!”
DS: “It’s disgusting.”
DD: “Yeah. It’s just wrong.”
DS: “What does she think all the little kids are going to think? Does she even care?”
Their theory was that maybe Miley wanted to change the balance of the whole “Best of Both Worlds” shtick. They believe that she does “way more” Hannah Montana (fun, simple, happy songs) and only a few Miley Cyrus (harder, rockier, racier songs).
“Maybe,” they pondered, “she wants to do more of the Miley. But she’s only fifteen. All those fans that love the Hannah Montana side are still there. And they’re really disappointed.”
I think they have a point. Fans often follow the fads and images presented by their idols. I remember Madonna way back in the 80s and the whole material girl trend. She influenced fashions while encouraging girls to express themselves.
Young girls dream about their idols and think things like, “I want to be just like her!” Most of Cyrus’s fans range from about six to thirteen. Would we want those young girls posing the way she posed? Again, no. Annie Leibovitz is not going to be taking any of their portraits.
The most disconcerting part of the photo shoot for me was that it did seem as if she wanted something more. As if she wanted to expand her fan base to reach older kids. But not yet, Miley, not yet. Ride this wave just a little longer. Please. Don’t rush it. Your childhood’s already been mangled. No need to try to leap frog over it altogether. There will plenty of time for reinvention. Look at Madonna.
The difference is that Madonna’s fans did not see her getting racy and over the top until she was well into her twenties. And most of her fans were around the same age (or at least in the same generation).
Miley’s fans are much younger than she is and, if she starts to drastically change her image, we don’t want them following in her footsteps. Miley has been the exception to the unfortunate rule of young pop stars like Britney, Lindsay and Jamie Lynn.
Miley was always the breath of fresh air. We need that air. Please learn from this mistake, Miley.
My daughter and I were in the middle of New York City on Saturday and got caught up in this frenzy. I felt compelled to photograph some of the many people taking pictures. Can you guess what they were trying to capture with their cameras?
I’m just beginning to get my hands around Twitter. This video helped me get a better understanding of why people would want to use it.
It’s not just full of “I’m going to cook dinner now” or “Off to get some milk.” It’s a great way to quickly share a great link without having to write a full blog post or to share your thoughts about anything from last night’s game (did you watch Kansas win?!) to the latest political news. Heck, just this morning I watched a YouTube video called Google Campfire (caution: it’s a bit dry). I’ve always heard that Google is an amazing place to work and this video gave me just a little taste of the special nature of that company.
Bottom line? The little blips of content (always under 140 characters per message) that make up Twitter give you insight into people and content that you probably wouldn’t discover by just surfing the web, reading your RSS feeds or Alltop , or even just chatting with your real time friends.
Give it a try and let me know what you think. On Twitter, you can find me here .
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UPDATE: For another perspective (and more information), read my blogger friend, Jeremy’s post (from Discovering Dad and Thoughts on Quotes ) comparing and contrasting his Twittering with his daughter’s texting. His use of Twitter (and posting about it) gave me the nudge I needed to try it.
Okay, and then, in the interest of fairness, there’s also this .
On Oprah recently, I saw Ralph Lauren’s daughter, Dylan, talking about her love of sweets and her numerous candy shops called Dylan’s Candy Bar. Three levels of candy, candy from around the world, candy from your childhood, just look at it and you’ll be amazed!
If you want to give a unique valentine’s gift to someone who isn’t necessarily nutty about chocolate, I think these little items are great finds!
Here’s the swag bag she gave to the members of Oprah’s studio audience. It includes things like a “Lollipop Tackle Box, gummy bears, gumballs, Smarties, Tootsie Rolls, Laffy Taffy, Mary Janes and a limited edition Pez Princess set and can be yours (or your daughter’s (?)) for only $50:
Or, if you’d like to surprise your wife with a whimsical trinket, you can get a candy charm bracelet for that same price:
I was so amazed at all the adorable items on this website, I just had to include a few more for you.
That’s Dylan’s Candy Bar Makeup Bag Set (above) for all of you travelers that still like a little whimsy (I’m looking at you, Missives) and the little gummy bear bag (below) for less.
Today, I was out and about, running errands and browsing through some of my favorite shops when I found these great little, sleek, chic wallet clutches made by Lodis:
They’re sturdy and get the job done in a whimsical, stylish way. It’s bubble printed, patent leather and snaps open with a push of your thumb. Inside, you’ll find 14 credit card slots and a zippered coin compartment. Nordstrom sells them, but if you go to their website, you can enter in your location and they’ll tell you where to buy one.
It’s a great find!
