Greetings from beautiful Providence, Rhode Island, New England, Northeastern United States of North America, the Western Hemisphere, Earth Prime, the Milky Way Galaxy, the Multiverse, the Eye of God.
WHEW! Just got started and I'm ALREADY tired!
Now that the formalities are out of the way, I hope you guys are having a great Summer so far, (Although wherever you are right now, it's either too hot or, as it is here in the Northeast, too cold, and, to be honest, I think it's our bad. Whatever happened to the Goldilocks days. End of political commentary, for now.) I'm off to a great start here in Providence where I'm representing GORGEOUS Temple Emanu-El (And I'm comfortable in my masculinity, thank you.) at the Men of Reform Judaism's centennial convention, but before that, I have done A LOT of sightseeing.
MONDAY, JUNE 19
After a three-hour ride from the brand spanking new Moniyhan Train Hall at Penn Station, I took a Lyft to the former Providence Biltmore, now rebranded Graduate Providence and targeted to the students, faculty, and alumni of Brown, the Rhode Island School of Design, and the University of Rhode Island. (Graduate has similar locations in other cities, for example, Roosevelt Island, a small town tucked away between Manhattan and Queens.) I was informed that I would not have a room for an hour. Hooray. All that work just for nothing. If I knew it was going to be like this, I would be just as happy to stay home and wait until just before the 4th of July and taken one of many Greyhounds to Cleveland to visit the Rock and Roll and Pro Football Halls of Fame as I had originally intended. Disgruntled, I trudged over to 7-Eleven, then ate the tuna salad sammich I had just purchased at Kennedy Park, the site of their Intermodal Transportation Center, a rink in the winter and a soccer field in the summer, and a police station, which was apropos, because I thought the way the hotel had just treated me was a crime. I tried calling my contact in Providence, my old friend Naomi Marie diClemente Salvatore who I met when she was the newsreader, as they say in the UK, on the legendary Scott & Todd in the Morning show on the late, great 95.5 WPLJ (Visit stevesspecialblog.blogspot.com for "The Day The Power Died," a tribute to that radio legend.). I kept trying to call her and text her, but she never acknowledged. FINALLY, the hour passed, I got my room, and I made a CVS run (They started in Boston, but they currently operate out of Woonsocket, so I patronized the home industry, more or less.) for the essentials, such as utensils and the all-important toothbrush. (Remember earlier when I said I was disgruntled? I went to sleep, very gruntled, thank you.)
TUESDAY, JUNE 20
I visited the State House and,dodging a tribe of rugrats , took the self-guided tour and saw the House, Senate, State Library, and Salon, boasting a portrait of George Washington (Yep, THAT George Washington!) painted by Rhode Island native Gilbert Stuart. I also visited Providence Place, one of those malls that was cool in the 80s,now less so thanks to the pandemic, the economy, and, much as I adore Target and Amazon, those guys. Anywho, I used a nice, crisp 100-dollar bill Mom gave me as a birthday present at PP's Macy's to acquire a nice Polo by Ralph Lauren shirt which I will DEFINITELY wear when I officiate Emanu-El's Daily Sunset Services (Sunday-Thursday, 5:30 PM Eastern on http://emanuelnyc.org/broadcast and Facebook and YouTube. Just wanted to sneak in a quick plug!) in the weeks and months to come. STAY TUNED! That evening I returned to Prov Place, Showcase Cinemas to be exact, to see Ezra Miller as the Flash. His character may be the Fastest Man Alive, but he did little to save this crazy, confused, confusing mess of a movie. Although everybody was talking about Michael Keaton returning to the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Colombian-American Providence resident Sasha Calle as a Supergirl from an alternate reality, (and rightly so) the best thing about this otherwise mumbo jumbo movie was an all-too-short appearance from Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. (She can read the PHONE BOOK in character and still put on a great show!)
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21
It was going to be either the Roger Williams Park Zoo or the Providence Public Library. The Library won, and I got a nice two-hour guided tour for the amazing low price of FREE! I saw their extensive collections of newspapers, nautical memorablilia, art, and, oh, yeah, BOOKS. (Although I'm right in the middle of Red Sox country, I noticed that one of the books the staff recommended was on legendary Yankees owner George Steinbrenner.) BUUUUUT the BIG STORY turned out to be Naomi herself finally returning all my messages! We finally met at the hotel and we played catch up. She's been doing a lot of work with The Pro Show, a local lifestyle show (like HODA & JENNA or LIVE WITH KELLY& MARK) on CBS affiliate WPRI 12, her husband Bob has grown a successful CCTV security business, and her sons have grown up to be strong, strapping young men. Not too shabby! After we said Goodbye, I walked over to Federal Hill, kinda like Providence's answer to the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, and since I AM on a diet, I enjoyed a nice avocado salad at a funky little place called Julian's, before walking back to the hotel. Not too shabby!
Unfortunately, I can't end this blog without sending my thoughts and prayers (I know, the phrase is WOEFULLY overused, but hear me out.) to the tourists in the submersible visiting the Titanic and wishing them a safe and speedy return to dry land.
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play? But seriously, folks, have a great day, and whether you're on vacation, daycation, or staycation, have a great summer!
Bye, Buckaroos!
Steve
