A quiet then an active day

Dear family and friends,

A highlight of the weekend's conclusion was a phone call from both Harvey and Sandy, traveling by car to or from one of their many activities of the day. Sandy is always a joy to talk to, but she seldom has the time for a long chat because she is so busy with her demanding job as an administrator and her volunteer work as an elected town official.

By that time, I was in bed, trying to recover from the events of the day. The main thing to report, I think, is that the last time we went to the Philharmonic, on May 10th, Merwin and I felt he had to drive me to the door at Lincoln Center and then park in the garage below, to minimize the stress. But this time we went in by train to Penn Station (where I picked up a salad for lunch) and then caught a M20 bus right outside at 34th and 8th Avenue. It went directly to Lincoln Center, but we got off one stop earlier to sit in a little park with a few farmers' booths selling such items as fresh fish, flowers, wine, and cakes. A man at the curb was playing a harmonica and singing, in alternate bursts, along with guitar strumming. Another was drumming on a box. I enjoyed their performance, my salad lunch, and the sights around us.

Then to the philharmonic, just a block away. I had a delightful surprise in that the recently new conductor Alan Gilbert, the son of a present and a former violinist in the orchestra, played the viola in the first piece of the all-Brahms program, "String Sextet No. 2 in G major." After the intermission, he went on to lead the whole orchestra playing Symphony No. 2 in D major. For some reason, a few orchestra members did not arrive in time for symphony and we had to wait another 20 minutes or so for them. Rather a surprise. The whole orchestra was assembled, and then one by one the missing 2 or 3 members turned up and took their seats.

Naomi and I found the time at the concert's end to buy some great socks, patterned with musical motifs. After these interesting purchases, we walked down Broadway towards a shoe store that Naomi has discovered. We stopped on the way at Ollie's, a restaurant I have never tried—and never will again! Ugh. tasteless. We should have eaten at Arpeggio at Lincoln Center, which is a decent restaurant. By that time, with all the walking, I was exhausted. I couldn't go on to the shoe store, but turned back to walk a block to the elevator leading to the subway. By the time we returned home, all I could do was crawl into bed.

But this morning I feel that I have recovered. I did my exercises while watching a bit of the movie Madam Bovary, with Jennifer Jones. And now I have the prospect of a lovely day ahead of me—which I will write about tomorrow.

Love to all,
Bernice