I'm watching "You've Got Mail" on AMC. It's a holiday movie. I love "You've Got Mail." Yes, I love Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks and "Sleepless in Seattle." And I love book stores of all kinds. Big, little, with or without coffee shops... but most of all I love my old 'hood.
(H&H Bagels-- look, it's H&H!)
The entire movie was shot on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I lived at 96th and Columbus for 12 years. The neighborhood changed a lot-- when I moved in, 96th Street was like the final frontier. Go north-- sketchy 'til you got to Columbia. Go South-- classic Upper West Side: restaurants, delis, small stores and more and more boutiques the farther south you went. By the time I moved to the 'burbs, gentrification north of 96th street had brought new businesses to Columbus and Amsterdam... It was safer, but it sort of lost some of its character.
I loved Shakespeare & Co. It was the famous not-so-little book store in my 'hood. I lived on the Upper West Side when Barnes & Noble opened its first store in Manhattan.
It was Fox's in the movie. Everyone thought that B&N would kill Shakespeare & Co.-- as Fox's was going to kill the Shop Around the Corner in the movie. Actually it was Manhattan's rising real estate prices that killed it-- to which maybe B&N contributed indirectly.
(Zabar's-- they just showed Zabar's. I loved Zabar's, too.)
I love this movie-- for the memories, the romance, AND the books!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Caving or compromise?
Is there a difference between caving and compromise?
I found myself getting mad at President Obama last week for caving into Republican demands for an extension of the Bush tax credits in exchange for extending jobless benefits. I couldn't understand why he caved on the tax credit issue--- the part about letting the credits expire for only those in the top economic tier, an issue he campaigned on two years ago. I wanted more backbone, more stick-to-it-iveness. We're told it's a compromise, a way for the Administration to get through an extension of jobless benefits-- a give-and-take. But I still wasn't satisfied. People who can't find a job in this economy are more the rule than the exception. It takes longer, and when they do find one, it usually pays less than the one they had, and probably doesn't come with the benefits they had with their previous job either.
People who make $500K or more a year won't get hurt if their taxes go up. People who lose their unemployment benefits (and the health insurance that goes with it) will.
This week, I'm beoming a little more sympathetic with the President's stand. My daughter wants a cell phone for Christmas. She's not getting one. I thought I'd get her the very expensive boots she wants instead. She's lobbied for them before-- unsuccessfully. As my husband and I explained to her and her siblings, we're open to well-reasoned arguments for almost anything, but since our house is run as a beneficent (and financially strapped)dictatorship, we get the last word.
Now I find myself caving into her arguments. But it's not caving, is it? It's a compromise, right? Even though the boots won't keep her feet dry (we live in the snow belt, remember?) and have no support for her still-growing feet, I'll get her the boots to make me feel better about the fact that she's not getting a phone.
Or, not. I still haven't made a decision. I wish I had a Congressional committee to consult...
I found myself getting mad at President Obama last week for caving into Republican demands for an extension of the Bush tax credits in exchange for extending jobless benefits. I couldn't understand why he caved on the tax credit issue--- the part about letting the credits expire for only those in the top economic tier, an issue he campaigned on two years ago. I wanted more backbone, more stick-to-it-iveness. We're told it's a compromise, a way for the Administration to get through an extension of jobless benefits-- a give-and-take. But I still wasn't satisfied. People who can't find a job in this economy are more the rule than the exception. It takes longer, and when they do find one, it usually pays less than the one they had, and probably doesn't come with the benefits they had with their previous job either.
People who make $500K or more a year won't get hurt if their taxes go up. People who lose their unemployment benefits (and the health insurance that goes with it) will.
This week, I'm beoming a little more sympathetic with the President's stand. My daughter wants a cell phone for Christmas. She's not getting one. I thought I'd get her the very expensive boots she wants instead. She's lobbied for them before-- unsuccessfully. As my husband and I explained to her and her siblings, we're open to well-reasoned arguments for almost anything, but since our house is run as a beneficent (and financially strapped)dictatorship, we get the last word.
Now I find myself caving into her arguments. But it's not caving, is it? It's a compromise, right? Even though the boots won't keep her feet dry (we live in the snow belt, remember?) and have no support for her still-growing feet, I'll get her the boots to make me feel better about the fact that she's not getting a phone.
Or, not. I still haven't made a decision. I wish I had a Congressional committee to consult...
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Moms: Just Say No! (or Not)
An article in yesterday's New York Times piqued my interest. It seems that many moms are feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, not by their family's finances or a loved one's illness, but rather by volunteering too much and too often in their children's schools.
I'm a compulsive volunteer. I sit and lead committees in both the elementary and middle school PTSAs. I teach religion and am on the board of a local light opera company (not because I'm a big donor, but because I can "communicate".) My husband and I volunteer to help out with each sport (soccer, baseball, softball) or activity (choirs, community theater) my kids are involved in.
I could just say no. To all of it. And if I worked full time, I probably would cut back-- a little. But, maybe naively, I think you need to help out if you expect others to help you when you need it. I want my kids to understand that.
And if you're involved, you have more of a voice in how things are done. You have more of a right to complain when things aren't what they should be.
I wrangle volunteers for middle school activity nights. Many parents say they can't help out because their child doesn't want them to be there. It's not cool to hang with your friends under your parents' watchful eye... Really, who is the parent here? My daughter doesn't have a choice. I want to see her with her friends and keep an eye on the middle school scene. And, once at the event, she doesn't seem to mind. More importantly, if parents don't show up, there is no activity night. That may be OK-- it's not like activity night participation will get your kid into a good college-- but I think the kids lose out.
There are certainly very late nights or very early mornings when I'm putting together the school newsletter that I would like to throw my computer against the wall, wondering why I decided to volunteer for that particular job. And it's never fun avoiding my husband's rolling eyes after I tell him of yet another thing I've volunteered (or volunteered our entire family) for. But you get as much out of something as you put in...
Yikes-- gotta go make a "healthy" treat for my son's holiday celebration.
I'm a compulsive volunteer. I sit and lead committees in both the elementary and middle school PTSAs. I teach religion and am on the board of a local light opera company (not because I'm a big donor, but because I can "communicate".) My husband and I volunteer to help out with each sport (soccer, baseball, softball) or activity (choirs, community theater) my kids are involved in.
I could just say no. To all of it. And if I worked full time, I probably would cut back-- a little. But, maybe naively, I think you need to help out if you expect others to help you when you need it. I want my kids to understand that.
And if you're involved, you have more of a voice in how things are done. You have more of a right to complain when things aren't what they should be.
I wrangle volunteers for middle school activity nights. Many parents say they can't help out because their child doesn't want them to be there. It's not cool to hang with your friends under your parents' watchful eye... Really, who is the parent here? My daughter doesn't have a choice. I want to see her with her friends and keep an eye on the middle school scene. And, once at the event, she doesn't seem to mind. More importantly, if parents don't show up, there is no activity night. That may be OK-- it's not like activity night participation will get your kid into a good college-- but I think the kids lose out.
There are certainly very late nights or very early mornings when I'm putting together the school newsletter that I would like to throw my computer against the wall, wondering why I decided to volunteer for that particular job. And it's never fun avoiding my husband's rolling eyes after I tell him of yet another thing I've volunteered (or volunteered our entire family) for. But you get as much out of something as you put in...
Yikes-- gotta go make a "healthy" treat for my son's holiday celebration.
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