Miles and Miles of On the Going—2019 in Review

Sunrise in Hawaii

Sunset in Manhattan

Sunrise in Bar Harbor

I saw the sunrise on the Big Island in Hawaii in February and the sunrise in Bar Harbor, Maine in September. I saw the sunset in New York City.  I saw Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish on Broadway, hence my need to incorporate "Sunrise, Sunset." My travels were confined to the United States. I didn’t make it across the pond. But I put on a lot of miles. The Big Island and Bar Harbor are 5,158 miles apart. From Washington DC it's a 6 hour flight to London; to Hawaii it's 13 hours.  Why doesn't anyone call the Pacific the pond?

Manhattan—Thrice!

In the freezer in frigid Brooklyn

Oh boy, did I take Manhattan this year.  Now that Peter lives in Brooklyn I love going to New York more than ever and that's saying a lot.

We went to Brooklyn in frosty February and stood in the freezer at Ample Hills Creamery factory in Red Hook.

Peter and Sean in Glom at The Bitter End

The Flower District

In August we went for the surreal experience of seeing Peter’s band Glom perform at the Bitter End, and stayed in Chelsea in the flower district.

Judy and I in New York

Flatiron Building

MOMA

And November was my much-touted Birthday Week, where I did so much that my blog had 23 links.

Musicians — A Trio of Stars

Keith and Mick

Paul

In 2019 I saw Mick Jagger in Washington, Paul McCartney in Los Angeles and David Byrne in New York. I want to thank them for being alive and continuing to perform live. I really can’t thank them enough. Who ever believed that we would get to see our musical heroes as septuagenarians. I’m sure it’s unique to our generation. I bet Taylor Swift won’t be doing concerts in her 70’s.

Millennial Motel

Jake Griffith

We like to house a millennial in the basement. Since we don’t have our own down there (a blessing) we have had to borrow a couple. We had our nephew Jake Griffith here for months while he was relocating from New Jersey and job hunting. We loved having him. He was an atypical millennial in that he did not require either kale or oat milk. In fact, he ate lots of meat with us, had eggs for breakfast instead of granola, and was a joy to feed because of his tremendous enthusiasm. He was neat as a pin, and an awfully nice kid.

Charlotte Cohn

Then we had our delightful cousin Charlotte Cohn who is also job hunting in DC. She too had few dietary restrictions, and with a fresh degree in energy law, taught us a great deal about energy production. She, like Greta, is going to help save the planet. I am sure of it.

Masses of Beisers

Being A Beiser Reunion Tucson

We had a kick-ass Being a Beiser family reunion in Tucson in April this year. Tucson sparkled with sunshine and warmth, and sizzled with Mexican food from the Gods. And although they now live in places like Omaha, and Jacksonville, and Brooklyn, everyone who had a taste of Tucson loves it and wants to live there again.

 Main Lining Philadelphia Twice

Rocky

I ended up in Philadelphia twice this year. What happened? Did I lose a bet? No, no. I had a business trip there in May that placed me smack in the middle of downtown Philadelphia for a week. Lots of urban edginess contrasted with a beautiful boulevard of museums. I never mind going because some my favorite people live there, Barbara and Owen Katzman. They live in the delicious suburban of Haverford on the Main Line.

The Broderick Family (61 more not in attendance)

My second trip in September was to attend Kathleen’s mother Nancy's 90^th birthday party. This is one huge clan! Her Aunt Betty alone has 27 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. They’re cute, they’re fun, they're family. And there was an Eagles game on during the party, so all was right with the world.

Miles of California — Dos Veces!

Dog houses with a view--Beverly Hills

Golden Gate

The Palace of Fine Arts San Francisco

I went from head to toe in California this year, La Jolla, the jewel and Beverly Hills, the five carat diamond in July. And then the City by The Bay, San Francisco in September. My son has cleverly relocated to Berkeley after leaving Memphis.

Moving on from Memphis

Kale and Beans Art Show Memphis

It may have been our last trip there. We went for Franky and Hope’s delightful art show in May, the culmination of their work in the year since they graduated. The ducks at The Peabody have become tiresome. Many millennial friends of Franky’s came in for the art show and we had a fun brunch and took a walk on Mud Island on the banks of the Mississippi. I will miss spelling Mississippi, but not much else.

Maine

The Shore Path, Bar Harbor

My friend

And what would life without a summer trip to Maine? Less good. Much less good. Spent a week at the magnificent Bar Harbor and exhausted many more scenic hiking trails. We also tried to exhaust the lobster supply, but thank goodness there are plenty more of God’s Little Crustaceans. Keep them coming.

Muffuletta Land--New Orleans

French Quarter

And then, the odd man out, like the city itself, was my business trip to New Orleans in October. The good news is we were there around Halloween, so the French Quarter character drama was extra amped. The bad news is we were there during the World Series with the Nationals, and they just don’t watch baseball there. Not if football is on.

Manny’s Men

World Series Parade

While this entailed no travel on my part, the fact that the Nationals won the World Series was transporting in every way.