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Give Me That Razzle Dazzle!
There is something seriously wrong with me. At my age, I should be thinking kind grandmotherly thoughts and concentrating on the likes of Paula Deen or Rachael Ray for hubby’s next great meal.
Instead, I’m concentrating on the next character that I come across in life that makes me reel over in fits of laughter, or the unbelievable experience of just seeing and experiencing something different! The truth is I have not changed at all. I’ve always been this way. Lord knows that I’ve tried to be who I am supposed to be at this stage of my life...but have had little success.
Take Manhattan for instance. I love the place. It’s the only city that I’ve ever pounded pavement upon that has unbelievable raw energy. Where else would you see a senior citizen sporting a genuine beard that sweeps up the soot of the city, standing upon the steps of the public library dressed in an undersea costume, carrying some sort of torch, and calling himself "Neptune?" Laundry constantly jostles in the breezes off of dingy fire escapes, and men and women hustle through the bustle of big city life while rattling off various languages...especially "New Yawk Speak," which sets them aside as folks you might not want to tangle with, except that they would give you the shirts off of their backs if you truly got to know them better.
Manhattan is a cacophony of honking horns, overactive middle fingers, yellow cab zigzags, colorful language, concrete reaching high into the sky, foods of every ethnicity imaginable, ice skating in the winter and colorful dining under rainbow-hued umbrellas in the summer, the pungent taste of chestnuts roasting via street vendors, foot long hotdogs with kraut and chili sauce, hot steam coming up from noisy subways underground, trains to every corner of the universe, Jewish delis with the most delicious kosher pickles set in a huge bowl in the middle of each table, along with "the real thing sandwiches"...especially the Reuben! Where else can you get a true bagel with lox and cream cheese that just about sends one into an orgasmic state of satisfying hunger? "Shakespeare in the Park"...and what a grand park indeed...greenery stretching for acres upon acres smack in the middle of a city that never sleeps! Plays, musicals, off-Broadway...you name it...fantastic talent like no other place in the world. "If you can make it there, you'll make it anywhere...
"My parents moved our family to New Jersey in 1960. Mom and Dad took us three girls and our baby brother up to New York City for the very first time. I was disappointed…disappointed that The Empire State Building did not go up further into the clouds than it seemed to be pointing. How embarrassing it was when we all had to to extricate my brother's stroller from the subway turnstile! Yet another handsome New York cop to our rescue, of course! Mom had an eye for good-looking Irish New York policemen as we got used to traveling up to "the city" during our years of living so very close to it. As a young teen, I just could not understand why she was always getting lost and seeking out a cop to help her find her way. Ha! Then there was the time that Mom had gotten tickets to see Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, and Robert Goulet in "Camelot." I got the flu and my sister and mother got to enjoy a fine Saturday matinee. For years, we continued taking the Route 9 bus up to New York...it was our magical time together.
I taught in Basking Ridge, NJ with Susan, a dear friend from college. We would walk to the train station after a day of teaching and get off in Hoboken. From there, it was a bus to Port Authority Bus Station. After walking several blocks, we would have an ongoing gorging fest at the famous(but now gone)"Mama Leones." We'd be so entranced with the many diversions that we soon found ourselves frantically running through the streets catching that last bus so that we could get that very last train back to our apartment...arriving home close to one o'clock in the morning and having to get up early to teach the next day! Susan and I soaked up all of the history and art museums that we could take in, always stopping to rest and take refuge inside the magnificent St. Thomas' Episcopal Cathedral. This church does wonders for the soul and body of many a weary traveler. The very first play we experienced was "I Never Sang for my Father," with Hal Holbrook. Pearl Bailey got us hopping in "Hello Dolly," along with Cab Calloway and a fantastic black cast. I bought a "fall,"(an attachable hairpiece) off of Times Square...and mounted it atop my already high-in-the-sky hairdo...what fun! Susan and I eye-shopped at Steuben Glass every chance we had...as well as eating our lunch at "The Top of the Sixes," which is now no longer in existence. Talk about a gorgeous view of Central Park while dining high above adjacent skyscrapers!
When I married, my husband's job was based in Manhattan. Our very first apartments were in North Bergen, NJ, and we could cross Boulevard East and gasp at the wonder of the world's most beautiful skyline. I continued my treks into the city with my husband...lots of theatre and bookstores were on our agenda back then. My favorite memory is the time we went to The Feast of San Gennaro in "Little Italy." With very little money in our pockets that particular autumn Saturday, we somehow got bamboozled into betting at one of the little booths...the man telling us that we had to watch him closely as he threw the dice into the air, promising that he would win us an instant television set. Well, we won no television set, nor did we have much money left by the time we started to see clearly once again. With tears in our eyes for being so incredibly stupid to fall for such a scam, we ended up eating a basic meal at a table with a lovely Chinese family in nearby Chinatown, counting our blessings that we still had our shirts.
Over the many years, our three boys got to know and love Manhattan too... going in to watch the skaters each winter at Rockefeller Center with us, as well as being able to eagerly attend Radio City Music Hall's annual Christmas Show. Who else kicks like those Rockettes? We all enjoyed Barnum and Bailey when the circus came to town…can you imagine elephants walking through New Yawk streets already? Oy vey! So you want that I should tell you more?
The years have passed, and I have not gotten into my city as much as I would have liked to. However, the memories still linger. In fact, I’ve found a brand new city very much to my liking now…that of Las Vegas. Oh, the glamour, glitz, honky tonk, gaming, grand hotels, Paris, New York, Venice, circuses, majestic snow capped mountains, great entertainment, lounge lizards, Broadway shows, desert beauty, interesting personalities, transplants of every kind...
Yes indeed…give me that razzle dazzle any day!
Ps…Bob Fosse said it best in his musical, “Chicago”:Give 'em the old razzle dazzle
Razzle dazzle 'em
Give 'em an act with lots of flash in it
And the reaction will be passionate
Give 'em the old hocus pocus
Bread and feather 'em
How can they see with sequins in their eyes?
Long as you keep 'em way off balance
How can they spot you got no talents?
Razzle dazzle 'em
And they'll never catch wise!
Until next time,
Pam
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