Hell's Kitchen Journal: I Can Still Dance

 

 

 

In my youth, there were no barriers that could possibly stop my dreams from coming true. There was this internal deeply held belief that only my fear of taking chances could hold me back from the realization of my life goals. There was this magnificent sensation of omnipotence that was my companion on a daily basis. Living life on the edge was exciting. Even though falling was inevitable and painful, lifting myself up and fighting on was an incredible feeling and needless to say filled with new knowledge of the possible.

When seeking relief from my weary journey, dancing become my refuge. I loved to dance. From my early years in high school, I wanted to be one of the best dancers. Woodstown High would have 'canteens' on Friday night. They were held in the gymnasium with all the African Americans on one side of the gym and the whites on the other.

Showing up in 1960 with my white bucks or cowboy boots with my tight blue jeans and a checkered shirt, I was ready to strut my stuff. This was the age when The Jitterbug was heading out the door and people would learn to dance with each other without touching. Chubby Checker started it with "The Twist." Despite high parental and teacher disapproval 'around and around' we would go. Dipping to the fly and slowly twisting back up. The Twist came easy to us and think maybe the hula hoop craze in 1958 might have trained us for the transition.

In the late 1960's and early 1970's - the age of Aquarius - one could get stoned and dance with oneself at concerts. Golden Gate Park in San Francisco provided the site for just such bliss. We added strobe lights, and psychedelic patterns to take us to 'new dimensions.' Strangers would suddenly be matching your moves right in front of you and big dopey grins would appear on our faces as this was the age of free love, peace and harmony!

Coming Out provided a freedom, an abandon that I had never known on the dance floor. Finally dancing with men, singing together, flagging and watching the brave hot young men dancing on top of speakers. Grinding together in the most erotic of ways provided a place of both naughtiness and total sexual freedom. Studio One in Los Angeles seemed huge at the time and it was the must stop every Friday night. Was totally confident of my dancing abilities until I walked into my first gay disco and realized the talent that was surrounding me. Not seeking to create new moves on my own that would solicit envy from others, I instead did my best to imitate the best dancers.

As I have gotten older, life has become less about possibilities and more about limitations because of physical health. Of course that does not mean you don't still push up against the edge but you chose to excel at those things that are possible instead of everything being possible.

In my youth, we used to marvel and love to watch 'older people' dance our dances. Now I am one of those older people who because of some limitations can no longer 'cut a rug.'

However, I still dance in my dreams. With the lights, music and all the essential ingredients reminding me of my youth, My knees are not bad and my legs are not sore and in those dreams at night I am young and dancing away. I love those dreams and count the nights they appear as some of my best nights of sleep. While listening to music at home, I wiggle this and that, shake my cane and laugh at loud the joy I feel with still moving my body to music.

Hell's Kitchen Journal: "Oh God, Do I Really Have To Get Up?"

 

 

A dream...or is it?

The wind is either driving snow or rain across my windows and the cold air manages to seep slowly into my bedroom making the old heaters inadequate in their assigned task. The dark clouds cover the sun and it might as well be night in any bedroom chamber. The cats lie perfectly in their chosen locations helping the big down comforter push against your body even more to save the heat inside. Where the spread out cats fail to close the spaces that allow the cold to invade underneath the covers, I wrap my feet and hands in the soft plush down. Looking like a present waiting to be unwrapped, I glance at the clock knowing it is my sworn enemy.

"Oh God, do I really have to get up? Don't you know this is your day of rest and I should be allowed to do just that?"

At those moments, being a single man, is when I want a lover, a partner or now even a husband. One that would squeeze out of his side of the bed in an act of love. Feed our little creatures so they can quickly return to my side. Bring me a hot coffee with The New York Times tucked under his muscled arm. He would smile, quite pleased with himself, as he unfolds the surprise of a hot Danish pastry. My man would slip back into bed and we would divide up the Times and chose our favorite sections. For hours we would read it and once in a while say "Listen to this..." and read an interesting fact from the paper of record.

Then the morning talk shows and being Super Bowl Sunday we would stay in bed and order that pizza and root for the Giants to kick some Patriots ass. At half time we would argue if Madonna or Lady Gaga was more current and then comment on the attractiveness of the players. Each of us would pick our favorite and attempt to solicit just a tinge of jealousy from the other. After victory is declared over the Patriots, the two of us would make mad passionate love. The day would have been conquered without ever leaving my sainted bed.

Oh God, I just woke up from this dream/fantasy and I have to feed the damn cats, make the coffee, turn on the computer, write for my readers tomorrow and empty the cat box.  Just maybe I can sneak back in bed for the Super Bowl.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Have a great Super Bowl.

Sunday's Poetry Corner: David Mixner

 

 

"Your Eyes...." by David Mixner

My love,
When I look into your eyes
I see the moon rising to a brilliant song,
And the comet streaking across the Monterrey sky.
The waves pound by our Fire Island bedside.
The smells from our travels linger on your body.

Our journey is unique,
The road has had many twists and turns.
The passage has been uncertain,
Filled with strangers seeking a glimpse.
The crowds are ignored as we passionately embrace.

Love has no limits.
There can be no fences.
Stand on the edge with me and
Marvel at the beauty of the unknown.
Fall into the splendor of overwhelming sunsets,
So we again can return to our song.

Your youth challenges me unto new ground.
The body gives me delights previously unknown.
My age teaches patience to enjoy the lush green.
Spirituality is our bed upon which our souls make love.

Although we witness the harshness of the world,
There is no sword of war that can deny me your love.
Our love rises above the cascade of angry voices
To create a world of flowers, incense and music.
In our travels we have even touch the sun.

All of this I remember
When I look into your eyes my love,
I see you and I see the world.

Hell's Kitchen Journal: On Becoming A Writer

 

 

My passionate love affair with writing began at a very early age and wasn't fulfilled until the latter part of my life. The years in between were spent overcoming the myths and justifications that danced in my head about why I could never be a writer.

Growing up, books were my great escape. With no television and minimal contact with the outside world, books were a magic carpet that transported me to far away places. My beloved mother, Mary, insisted that all three of her children not only be literate but also love books. We had shelves that dad had made and they were filled with books in the front room. Most of them were very old and out-dated since they had been picked up at penny sales or given to my mother by others.

Amidst those books was a set of encyclopedias that had blue covers with gold printing. They were published sometime in the 1930's and someone had given them to mom. Despite being decades out-of-date, we loved those books filled with knowledge. Often mom, with great pride, would say, "Go look it up in the encyclopedias." Most likely by the time we left home, I had read almost every volume.

Of course old knowledge can be a trap and in my freshman year in high school (we were transported from our small rural school by long bus rides to a more sophisticated high school) we had a science class project. Going home, I planned my outline and then took down the old blue cover books of knowledge and worked hard to prepare for my first high school science report. When I presented it, the information was so old that my teacher, Mr. Downey, made fun of me in front of the class as they all roared with laughter. My refuge of knowledge had betrayed me in the most humiliating way.

Quickly I learned the library had access to current information. At the same time I began to fall in love with Steinbeck, Capote, Williams and other great American writers. With a dictionary by my side I would look up words that I never encountered before reading their books. Amazed at their ability to make sentences flow with imagery that boggled the mind. I was in awe. Later in college I discovered the classics and current international writers.

I yearned so badly to be a writer but was convinced that my background, schooling and the little blue books of knowledge had left me in the dust of that possibility.

Sometimes we find our dreams come true out of necessity and that is how I became a writer. After being arrested in front of the White House over DADT in 1993 all my clients left me almost within a week. No one would hire me and quickly my debts became massive over the next three years. A literary agent named Todd Shuster approached me about writing what would become my first book -Stranger Among Friends. Desperate for funds, the fear, low self-esteem and barriers had to be discarded.

At first my attempts to duplicate the beauty of the sentences of my favorite writers had to be forever vanished from my writing. My strength was not the flow of my prose nor the structure of my sentences. Storytelling was my ticket to writing and I was an excellent story teller. With that, at the age of fifty, I published my first book.

After three books, two screenplays, a play and this blog, I have realized a lifelong dream. I have joined the pantheon of those before me who put pen to paper to hopefully, in some small measure, enlighten the human condition.

I am a writer

Hell's Kitchen Journal: My Naked Snow Dance

 

 

Finally yesterday we had some snow in New York City. Not a big storm but more than snow showers or flurries. All winter long I have waited to see them fall outside my window. The cats are finally happy as they attempt through the window to catch the flakes and stop them in their tracks. There is simply no one that loves snow more than me. Childhood was when I developed my love affair with snow. The bigger the better was my motto. The beauty of a light dusting of snow was never enough. Blizzards would put me into total spasms of joy.

When the weathermen would issue their first forecast over the radio I would live by the hour to see if it would materialize or be a false alarm. Before satellites and fancy named radar screens, they forecasted the weather the old fashion way...by the seat of their pants! Upon waking in my small rural bedroom I would run to the window hopefully to catch flakes mixed in with a howling northeast wind. The next stop would always be WSNJ radio to see if the endless listing of schools by the announcer would include Daretown Elementary.

Behind our house the fields were flat and extended for a mile or two. Our home would be the first barrier to the blowing snow. Huge six to eight foot drifts would wrap around the house and farm buildings. The road in front of the house with a raised embankment acted as a 'snow fence and the perfect place to build snow forts and tunnels. We knew the snowplows might take a day or two to work their way through to us in a really bad storm. Our complex of snow tunnels was impressive and any person serving time in prison attempting to escape would envy our tunnel system.

As I grew older I would love to say I outgrew this passionate love affair with winter. Alas it has only grown worse. With abated breath I follow every forecast of snow and still upon awakening run to the window. In my last year in Turkey Hollow, I was recovering from one of my surgeries and my dear friend Steven Guy had come to nurse me back to health. The doctor had ordered bed rest but I woke up to a raging snowstorm. Running from window to window in my rural hideaway I couldn't contain my excitement.

Steven did his best and kept ordering me back to bed. In total defiance and made delirious by the snowfall, I refused his requests and continued to stay up desperate not to miss the magnificent storm. With the authority of a prison guard, Steven once again demanded that I listen to the doc and get back in bed. Refusing I defiantly said I would go into the blizzard and do a naked snow dance. Challenging me he said go ahead and be a fool. Whipping off my clothes and with a bandaged neck from the surgery I dashed outdoors to do a "naked snow dance" singing here comes "Suzy Snow Flake" in front of the house!

Unfortunately for me I fell backwards into a huge snowdrift and couldn't get up. That damn Steven took his everlasting time before getting his coat and hat on to pull me shivering out of the drift. I learned my lesson....well, maybe I learned it. After all, there is always that next big storm isn't there? Hell's Kitchen should be on the alert for an older heavy man with a distinguished cane dancing naked in the streets.

Hell's Kitchen Journal: When The Schools Closed For The Flu.......

 

 

In 1957 the world in our little rural farm country was pretty limited. The phones were still party lines (eight people on the same line) where you had to call the operator to make a call to another town. While television had invaded our lives, the massive news operations were almost non-existent. The Huntley-Brinkley Report (NBC's Prime time News Show) was on the air for just 15 minutes each night. Satellites had not even been thrust into space to bring you the latest earthquake or tsunami live from anywhere in the world.

Those living in the country especially didn't have many resources to plug into the latest on public health. Doc Shepard still made house calls with his 1940's type suave moustache and little black carrying case. The great discovery of the Polio vaccine by Jonas Salk had us all standing in lines in our schools waiting for our shot. The queue went around the basketball court and it was my first experience of mass public health projects.

In 1957, there were a few hints of a pandemic starting calling the Asian Flu. There really hadn't been a huge pandemic since the great Spanish Flu in 1918 that killed 30 to 50 million people around the world. The Asian Flu sort of creeped into our lives through the schools. This flu targeted young children more than older citizens. At first, about a quarter of the kids stopped showing up at our local schools and then quickly there were only three of us left in the entire class. The next days they shut down all the schools for a week. Total panic set in and people ceased going anywhere or visiting other families. Public events in the area were canceled.

The only really public announcements that reached us were through the schools and in local newspapers which had limited information about what was happening at the time. Like a wind quickly sweeping through a deserted town as suddenly as it appeared, it disappeared. In fact, the 1957 pandemic was over in the first two months of school but another wave hit the older folks February and March of 1958. In the United States, 70,000 people died from the Asian Flu and worldwide they estimated two million dead.

Can't help but imagine the massive media reaction and public hysteria that would exist today if a moderate pandemic hit the United States. Today we hear about one person dying almost as soon as it happens in Asia. The good news with such communications there is able today to be a quick response and a reasonable shot of getting preventive vaccines before all hell breaks lose.

David Mixner's Review of 2011: Seven News Stories That Broke On The Internet!

 

 

@Breaking News has been the source of not only breaking a major news story but keeping the information flowing. They recently picked seven stories from 2011 and this is how they picked them:

Here at BreakingNews, we've compiled the biggest breaking stories of the year — the stories that drove the biggest traffic spikes, the most @breakingnews retweets, the fastest stream of updates, the most social media reports and some of the most stunning eyewitness YouTube clips:

Here are the seven they picked:

7. East Coast Earthquake:  A rather minor earthquake isn’t going to make many “top news stories” lists, but the rare August 23rd tremor that shook the East Coast was unexpected enough to crash BreakingNews.com. The quake set a record for the most simultaneous users visiting the site — most within a few minutes — as well as the most activity we’ve seen in our Facebook chats (1,000+ comments in a couple hours.) And it was the first story that bubbled across Twitter so fast, people saw tweets about the quake before feeling it themselves.

6. Norway Attacks:  When a bomb exploded in the middle of Oslo, Norway on July 22nd, dozens of residents snapped photos and recorded videos. While we furiously posted updates from citizen reports and Norwegian news sites, we started to hear about a second tragedy: a shooting at a youth camp on an island outside Oslo. Together, this story ranked in our top 5 traffic events for the year.

5. Steve Jobs Dies:   A six-word tweet, “Apple says Steve Jobs has died,” sparked shock and disbelief across Twitter. In fact, it set our all-time record for the most @breakingnews retweets with an incredible social outpouring across the globe: 11,000 retweets and 10,000 new Twitter followers in just a few hours time. We’ve never witnessed such an immediate social reaction to any story we’ve posted.

4. Joplin Tornado:  We were first alerted to the impending tragedy on May 22nd with this tweet from @stormchaser4850, “**MULTIPLE VORTEX TORNADO REPORTED NEAR JOPLIN, MISSOURI** TAKE COVER IMMEDIATELY!!” Moments later, the damage reports began to stream in: hospital on fire, neighborhoods wiped off the map. We discovered this chilling YouTube clip moments after it was posted — the terrifying sounds of people huddled in the back of a convenience store, praying above the deafening wind. Amazingly, they survived, but 160 others lost their lives in one of the most devastating tornadoes in U.S. history.

3. Arab Spring:  We’ve posted more updates on the protests and violence in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain and Yemen than any other story in 2011: over 5,000 in all (which you can review as a historical timeline of the events in each country). The protests sparked more social media reports of any international story to date: the steady stream of citizen tweets, photos and videos told stories that reporters were unable to reach. (A special thanks to Andy Carvin for his terrific work curating and crowdsourcing many of those reports.) The Arab Spring may always be known as the true starting point for social-powered citizen reporting.

2. Osama bin Laden Killed:  It wasn’t our biggest traffic event or even our most-retweeted story (we retweeted @nytimes on this story), but President Obama’s stunning Sunday night announcement of Osama bin Laden’s death triggered 111 updates on BreakingNews.com before sunrise the next morning. That’s the most updates our team has posted on a single story over such a short period of time. It was also one of our most-difficult editorial decisions: we saw tweet after tweet with rumors and half-confirmations of bin Laden’s death, but we waited several minutes for an official confirmation before publishing it.

1. Japan earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Crisis:  When a tsunami swept Japan after one of the largest earthquakes in modern times, the world watched in awe as surreal video and photos showed entire towns swept away. Throughout the night U.S. time, our team published updates from Japanese media while linking YouTube clips and Twitpics moments after they were posted — like this one which how has 16 million views— and BreakingNews.com’s traffic went on to set an all-time record before noon the next day. This remains our biggest traffic event in our history, our largest jump in Twitter followers (+25,000 in two days alone) and the story that introduced many people to BreakingNews’ real-time coverage.

David Mixner's Review of 2011 and the LGBT Community

 

 

This week begins a series of looking back at 2011 and giving my thoughts on the year in a number of different ways. Today we begin with the LGBT community and what a year it has been for us. The list could go on and on so please feel free to add your recollections of the year in the comment section! Here goes:

The Year's Biggest Victory: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" officially becomes history.

The Best Speech on LGBT Issues: Secretary Hillary Clinton's Geneva Speech

Best Presidential Order: President Obama's Presidential Memorandum interlocking American Foreign Policy with LGBT human rights.

Best Victory In The States: New York becomes a marriage equality state.

Best Change of Heart: The Justice Department calling for an end to DOMA.

Most Effective Organization: The Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund for an astounding success rate in electing openly LGBT candidates.

Emerging Powerful LGBT Leader: Mayor Annise Parker of Houston

News in 2011 that makes us look forward to 2012: Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin announces she is attempting to become the first openly LGBT person in history elected to United States Senate.

Most Surprising Political News: Congressman Barney Frank announces he is leaving Congress.

Most Effective Straight Allies: Two New Yorkers with Governor Andrew Cuomo directing the successful marriage equality campaign and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for staying on top of the effort to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Another Historical Appointment:  Jeremy Bernard appointed as the first man and first LGBT person as White House Social Secretary.  They are still talking in Washington,D.C about his famous Rose Garden Dinner.

Best LGBT YouTube Moment: The Australian marriage equality spot plus the wonderful videos of long term couples getting married in New York!

Requiring the Most Patience: The slow pace of the case to repeal Proposition 8. The California Supreme Court, most likely deliberately, took its time getting a simple opinion back to the Federal Court. Thank God for the Foundation for Equal Rights in keeping everyone's eye on the prize. Thanks again and again Chad Griffin.

The Most Outrageous Villains: The entire field of Republican Presidential candidates who take outrageous positions against LGBT rights while all Americans want are jobs, not hate.

Most Disturbing Trend of the Year: The epidemic of hateful and dangerous legislation sweeping Africa against the LGBT community. Death is now on the table as an option for handling LGBT citizens.

People Who Never Disappoint: Alan Cumming, Judith Light, Rory O'Malley, Gavin Creel, Neil Patrick Harris, Elton John , Ellen DeGeneres, Bruce Cohen, Dustin Lance Black, Cheyenne Jackson and so many others.

Most Fun Unforgettable Moment: Neil Patrick Harris hosting the Tony Awards!

Most Persecuted LGBT American Citizen: Bradley Manning who has been in isolation and without a trial for seventeen months.

Most Unexpected Supporters: The massive amount of Wall Street, Republican and major donor support from conservatives that was organized by Ken Mehlman and Mayor Michael Bloomburg and was a major factor in the passage of marriage equality in New York.

Wow Moment: An openly gay man became the Prime Minister of Belgium for the first time in European history.

The Most Heart Warming Moments: Seeing American LGBT soldiers come out of the closet and marching in Gay Pride Parades, going to events with partners and for the first time being honest with those they serve with in the military. It went flawlessly without a major incident, as the Democrats insisted it would and the Republicans insisted it would not.

The Wait A Minute Moment of the Year: The United States Marines were the most vocal opponents of repeal of DADT and the best implementers of the repeal once it happened.

The Best "About Time" Moment: Witnessing our Transgender brothers and sisters being taken seriously as an issue, the first appointment in Federal Government and becoming more and more visible. It has been inspiring and long overdue.

Five Things To Look Forward To In 2012:

1. Winning the Proposition 8 Case.

2. Senator Tammy Baldwin

3. An active major league gay male jock coming out of the closet.

4. Winning in Maine, Minnesota, Maryland and North Carolina on marriage equality.

5. The Republicans and their hate based approach are defeated at the polls in November

"At Home With Myself" Picked Among Notable Books of 2011

 

 

Forgive me my dear readers for taking space to share my smile about the reception of my third book "At Home with Myself: Tales from Turkey Hollow" In some ways to share this with you is taking advantage of your trust but in another way it is simply sharing my happiness that the book is being well received. Having put enormous energy into this writing project it sure feels great to read the words of praise for the book by others. Want to publicly thank them and especially you for your support. Much love

kenneth in the (212)

"At Home With Myself" is David Mixner: In his long-awaited follow-up to "Stranger Among Friends," the legendary activist, presidential adviser and Africa expert writes from and about his country home in Turkey Hollow, an upstate New York town so small and remote that it has just 10 residents, there's no cable TV, the nearest airport is a three-hour drive, and deer and bear are his closest neighbors. However, these bucolic surroundings provide an ideal setting for observation and reflection

GLBTQ.com' Notable Non-Fiction Books of 2011

In At Home with Myself: Stories from the Hills of Turkey Hollow, David Mixner writes from and about his country home in a remote upstate New York community. In these anecdotes and essays, Mixner, who might be described as the conscience of the glbtq movement for equality, tells stories about the satisfactions of country life, but also reflects on his experiences as an activist and political operative and recalls the harrowing days of the AIDS pandemic. Some of the essays recount the losses and disappointments attendant upon aging, but they all reflect Mixner's unfailing good humor and generosity of spirit.

Lambda Literary Review

by Nels P. Highberg

Ask anyone of any sexual identity about David Mixner, and there is a good chance they will discuss his political work. Whether it has been his activism to end the Vietnam War, to call for global nuclear disarmament, to challenge California’s Proposition 6 (which would have made it illegal for gays and lesbians to work as schoolteachers in California), to raise awareness of the larger social and political forces affecting those living with AIDS, or to object to the enactment of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” people usually know Mixner because of his extensive, public involvement in our political history. His current blog, Live from Hell’s Kitchen , reinforces his relationship to activism and politics even today. His new book, At Home with Myself (Magnus Books), certainly does not contradict that image, but it does complicate it in ways I was not expecting and ultimately found fascinating.

In 2007, Mixner left his two-thousand-square-foot apartment in Manhattan for a newly-built, two-bedroom home a few hours outside the city in the Catskills. For the next three years, the small town known as Turkey Hollow became his home until he returned to the city. Mixner cites turning sixty as a turning point that pushed him to think about his life, including how lucky he was to have his life but also how isolated he felt having lost so many friends his own age to AIDS. The book is organized seasonally, starting with spring before moving to summer, fall, and winter. From there, Mixner produces a pastoral panorama complete with photographs of the deer, bears, and–yes–turkeys that fill his new life. Much that he encounters in the present of Turkey Hollow reminds him of growing up on a farm in New Jersey, whether it is ads for prom dresses in a local store making him think of dances from his own prom to gay discos or how sitting on his porch reminds him of the forts, frogs, trees, and leaves of his youth.

This does not mean politics is absent from the book. This is David Mixner we are talking about, after all! Besides discussing how AIDS influenced his decision to move in the first place, Mixner ruminates on the “No on Proposition 6″ campaign and working with Harvey Milk. He remembers how her first learned Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., were assassinated. He even presents a unique eulogy for Paul Newman, calling him “an outstanding citizen.” Some say it is in nature that we can find the quiet and solitude necessary for deep reflection, and At Home with Myself may support this argument. The politics and the pastoral mesh well, and Mixner moves easily from one to the other.

Reading Mixner’s collection of essays made me think of Josh Kilmer-Purcell’s The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers , which I reviewed for LLF in 2010 . Do we have a new sub-genre of memoir emerging? For decades, scholars and memoirists have written about the importance of city life to the development of queer communities and individual lesbian and gay identities. Now, these two books chronicle why some gay men who spent much of their adult lives in those cities may feel the need for a more rural life. Perhaps it is just coincidence, but these two books have gotten me thinking–and looking–at the world outside the city a bit more deeply.

Hell's Kitchen Journal: The View From 'Mixner's Corner'

 

 

When there is free time ( a rare occurrence), I love to perch in Mixner's Corner in the front window of the Glass House Tavern with some hot chocolate, a great salad and watch the world provide me a show at my ringside seat. The holidays provide even more entertainment value as people tend to have wild clothing, are smashing drunk and more frantic than usual as they rush about their spirit filled routine.

Oh the things I see!

Last weekend was SantaCon in New York City with Santa's, Elves, Reindeer and lord knows what else on their annual bar hop to have an alcoholic filled day while collecting toys for kids. By late afternoon, if my window seat was any indication, Santa was having a hell of a time finding his way down the streets of New York. One tipped totally over while another white bearded genius walked right into a trash can where he most likely felt at home. Four grown up fully dressed elves, arms connected were skipping down the street together attempting to sing carols while hysterically laughing. Then there was that super small car loaded with six huge Santa getting out of it. There wasn't an inch of room left in that car for any packages. My guess is they toss the toys for the kids to make room for another Santa.

They mingled with the eloquent couples from the East Side of Manhattan slumming in it the theater district with their Fifth Ave shopping bags waiting for show time. You could see them create room between themselves and the riff-wrath in Times Square. These gentle visitors from across town prefer their drinks in glasses and not in a paper bags. They love the restaurants and theater we offer but often after the theater instead of hanging around to argue literature and theater at the local pubs they head back to their sanctuaries in building with marble lobbies and views of the entire decorated skyline.

Then they are the kids from home from college meeting either families or old friends from high school. They have their practiced 'new looks' to match their new maturity to show off to people from the past. You can notice them instantly as they chat on the cell phones with their college room mates counting the days until they can return to their new found freedoms. Ironically almost none of them take the time off from shopping, talking on cell phones or rushing to the next location to see the cacophony of lights, carols and decorations put out for their pleasure. All the beautiful trees, Santa's on the corner, white lights bringing barren trees alive for the season all are ignored as they become one big blur to the rushing masses.

Now inside the Glass House Tavern people are laughing, sitting visiting their children, gazing at celebrities at other tables, taking in the decorations and having those holiday parties. It is just simply two different worlds. The Tavern is ablaze with decorations, music and a cheerful staff instilled with a special holiday spirit. Give me a wave as you pass me in the window or better yet come in and get your Christmas hug!

Happy Holidays my dear friends and if you are traveling this holiday season, please travel safely.