It's Very Hard ......

...... to leave NY.
It's gets more difficult each time I come.
I so very much want to stay here tomorrow, but I can't.

It's time for me to be patient.
And to keep enjoying each day, exactly where I am.
And so I will.
Or at least I'll do my best.

We've had a great time here.
I've loved having most of the kids here.  I wish Daughter #1 could've stayed longer, and I really wish Son #2 could've come, but that's how life is.
It is what it is.
And so you say, "OK" and enjoy what you have.
While you have it.

We saw some really good shows this past week.

I started off with "Ann" last week on the night I arrived (Wednesday).  It's about Ann Richards (governor of Texas and one hoot of a woman!).  Holland Taylor wrote it and stars in it (it's a one woman play).  She does a great job.  You've probably seen her in more than one movie and/or TV show.  The one that comes to mind at the moment is "Two and a Half Men".  She plays the mom of the two guys.  Or I guess it's one guy now that Charlie Sheen isn't on it anymore.  I don't keep up with it, but I know she used to be in it.
The girls remember her from "Baby Mama", as Tina Fey's mom.
She is ...... in one word ...... hilarious.
No matter what she's in.
So yeah, "Ann" was good.

     This is the sign outside of the theatre.

     This, as you can see, is the Playbill from the show.

      This is the set before the play starts.  I have no idea where this picture came from.  It just appeared somewhere.  So I decided to share it with you.  Not that I would ever, EVER, take a picture someplace where picture-taking is forbidden.
Not me.  No way.  No how.
Anyway, the show opens up with Ann speaking to a college graduating class.

     This is another picture that I just happened to come across.  I have no idea where I found it (except maybe on my iPhone, but that's doubtful).  This is the scene that Act II starts with.  It's the governor's office.  As in, the governor of Texas.
Or so I heard.

These next few pics are outside of Lincoln Center, which is across the street from my building.  It's lovely, especially at night.  And THESE pictures ...... I took.  :)

So I saw "Ann" on Wednesday, the 6th.  Four of the kids came on Friday, the 8th.  Then Daughter #2 came on Saturday, the 9th.
We had tickets to Tom Hank's play, "Lucky Guy", on Monday night.  And then my Mom told me that I should go see Sigourney Weaver's play, "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike".  So I looked into it, and then we went to see it on Sunday afternoon.   David Hyde Pierce ("Frazier") was in it, too.  It was hilarious.  And a fun show.  I'm glad we saw it.
Thanks again, Mom.

As surprising as it may seem, and I know how it seems, I somehow came across some photos from this play.  Surprise, surprise.
:)

     This is the set of the show.  It's set at a "farm house" (but not really on a farm), out in the suburbs.
It has a pond.  You don't actually ever see the pond, but the characters refer to it and look towards it, out in the audience.
I liked the details of the set.  Which you could see if someone had the time and ability to take a good picture, instead of having to sneak one, fearing the whole time that she'd be caught by the nazi-usher and tossed from the theatre.
Not that I'd know who that person was.
I'm just assuming.

      This is Sigourney Weaver, after waking up in the morning.  With her "boy toy".  Or so I'm told.

     David Hyde Pierce is on the right, which is actually "stage left".  At least that's what I heard.

Monday night we went to see Tom.  Happy, happy sigh.  I love Tom.  I thoroughly enjoy him, though in a very different way than I thoroughly enjoy George.
I think Tom is very nice, has a great marriage ...... and is very, very kind when it comes to his fans.
That, I know for a fact.  :)


The kids decided that they wanted to wait outside the stage door to see if they could get a glimpse of him.
This isn't Tom, but it is Christopher McDonald, whom you've probably seen in many shows.  I think he had a recurring role on "Boston Legal", and he was also in the short-lived, but very good show, "Harry's Law" with Kathy Bates.  He signed a lot of autographs and spent a quite a bit of time with the fans.

And this is Tom.  As in, Hanks.  Wow.

 Now, you need to know that Maura Tierney played Tom's wife in this play.  She also played the role of Abby on E.R.  I loved that show.
They added a character about 2/3 of the way through the series, who played her love interest, and later, her husband.  He was a dr. from Bosnia and his name was Dr. Luka Kovac. He was played by Goran Visnjic, and he's from Croatia.
Now, I have to tell you that I never, EVER recognize a celebrity in real life.  Ever.  They look completely different to me and I don't notice them.  Until a friend points them out.  But I was in the entry way of the theatre that night, waiting on Son #1 to arrive, when I saw this tall, very cute guy come in.  He was rudely told where the "will call" window was so that he could pick up his ticket (the little old lady in charge of crowd control at the ticket booth was not very nice.  To anyone.)  When I saw him, I immediately thought that he resembled the actor who played Luka.  Except that he still looked so young.  And so very cute.  So it couldn't be him.
He walked over to the window and then I heard hi ask for his ticket.  He had a Croation accent.  And I knew that he was, indeed, Luka!  I was SO excited.  I immediately texted all three daughters, one being back at home and two being in the theatre.  I just couldn't believe that I had not only seen him, but recognized him! After he picked up his ticket he was sent back outside, to get in the back of the line.  Which he did.
So I waited inside the lobby, and kept my phone trained on the glass door, waiting for him to advance in the line.
And advance he did.  Now I know that it looks like I was just waiting, stalking him ...... but I wasn't.  I was also keeping an eye on Son #3, who was trying to sell an extra ticket we had.  So I never looked at the line, nor ever looked directly at Goran.  But I did get a great picture of him, don't you think?
As he came in the building, I completely ignored him and looked past him to Son #3, then walked past him and out of the door towards the Son.  I wanted to leave him guessing.
And I think I did.
After the show he came to the stage door, went in, and then came out with Maura.  I don't know if they're a couple, but they make a cute one.

      Son #1 is the third person, after the policeman, in this crowd.

      If you look closely you can see his face, right in the middle of this picture, behind the person wearing the pink cap.

     Daughters #2 & #3 were on the edge of this crowd, opposite the crowd the sons were in.  I was completely away from all crowds ...... across the street.

Tom's car.  Big whoop.

 The garbage truck that came and blocked the view of everyone on my side of the street.  It got pretty ugly for a couple of moments.  :)

      Nice sign, doncha think?

 America's finest ...... suffering from a large dose of "power tripping", and being quite rude to innocent people who just want to catch a glimpse of Tom.
Or so I've heard.

      This is Peter Scolari, who started out with Tom on "Bosom Buddies", back in the day.  He was also in the play.

   

     Can you tell from the reaction of the crowd that Tom has exited the theatre?

      And suddenly, there he is, signing autographs.

      This is the program that Son #1 handed Tom, who then signed it.

     And this picture was taken by one of the sons, who were a lot closer than I was.

     Son #1 is totally horning in on this picture, even though it's not his camera.  He's the person just behind Tom on the right side.  Rudely putting his face into that girl's photo of Tom and her.  RUDE!
Way to go, Son #1!!

The two sons decided to go back to the theatre the next night, to see if they could get closer to Tom, and maybe get a picture with him.
Never let it be said that my children cannot accomplish whatever they set their minds to.
Ever.
   
     Tom Hanks and Son #3:

Son #1 and Tom Hanks.  Tom had to switch Son #1's eye phone to the camera-facing-backwards mode.  Yes, he's that nice.  :)

Thursday night we went to see "Matilda".  It was mostly a last-minute decision.  We had read quite a few reviews and stories about it, and it seemed to be a really good show.  So I looked to see if we could get tickets.  And we did.

This is what the set looks like before the show starts (or so I'm told).  It was the coolest set I've seen in a long time.
This was supposed to be a "library" ...... and there were Scrabble tiles everywhere, spelling out words and names that had ties to the play.  It was one of the best sets I've seen in a long time.

The show was great.  Everyone seemed to have a really good time being in it, and watching it.  I know we did.

Today I walked across the park and went to the St. Patrick's Day Parade.  It was huge, as always.  I think that it starts around 9:00 a.m. and goes until at least 3:00 p.m.
Irish men can drink a lot of green beer during that time.
Quite a lot.

OK, my eyes are shutting.  It's time for me to go to bed.
Now you've been filled in on our week.
Tell me about yours.
:)