The Glorious Day of More Cupcakes

What a really nice day…I think we’re finally recovering from our brief grumpy stage and are truly enjoying being here. Knowing that this is our last Sunday here (you will notice this theme for the rest of the week, I’m sure), we got up and headed out for brunch. As we again meandered through our neighborhood, I felt relaxed and happy that we were here. The weather has cooled off again (enough that Jason can wear the jaunty scarf we bought at a street fair yesterday…he looks really cute and will soon get another cat call, I’m sure), and the downpour last night has left the spring blooms shining.

We scouted out a few places that were reviewed in Time Out New York, but stumble upon a place that I had read about before coming to town. The breakfast (a term used loosely, as we were eating at noon) was really good, and I felt ready to find the street fair that we had wandered with Frank a few weeks ago (I have a few touristy things I’d like to pick up before heading home on Saturday). The fair isn’t in the same place, and we head home feeling unfulfilled. The only thing that will make me feel better is a Magnolia Bakery cupcake. I realize that I’m developing a serious cupcake dependency problem when I’m embarrassed to admit to Lesley on the phone that I’m waiting in a line that goes halfway round the block for a box of four cupcakes. And my fears are reinforced when I finally reach the cashier and I have exact change – he gives me the sheepish grin of someone who recognizes an addict. It’s all worth it when I enjoy my treat back at home.

The sugar is enough to get us going again, and we head out to the film festival. As we are too early to get door sales tickets, we wander toward the Hudson River and discover the Irish Hunger Memorial. It is an incredible little structure – it is an angled modern cement structure on one side, but once you walk through, you end up on a path that takes you up a small grass and stone-covered hill that overlooks the river. It is amazing to me how much pride is taken in each little project in this city– this tiny development is incredible.

We returned to the door sales line, only to be pleasantly surprised when a rather flustered but kind-looking man gives a group of us free tickets to the show. Once we reach the theater, the man who gave us the tickets is introduced as the writer, producer, and director of the movie we are about to see, which just makes the experience that much more powerful. The movie is a documentary about John Dobson – the developer of the Dobsonian telescope – an easy-to-build telescope that gives the everyday Joe that chance to view the galaxy -- and the Sidewalk Astronomer movement. He’s in his 90s and is obviously a brilliant, interesting, and very funny guy. The movie is filled with his ideas about physics and astronomy, and J and I leave with our head full of “noodlers” as J calls them. We decide to walk home along the Hudson, and spend the whole walk discussing the universe and matter and energy and space and time. It’s enough to send me out on a wine and food run just after we reach home.

We had planned to attend a free event at the Julliard Theater at the Lincoln Center – dance students were giving a final production before graduation. With utmost disappointment, I discover that we needed to be there an hour ahead to get tickets (which seems odd considering that the event is free), and we settle into our usual roles of J working and me eating.

Unable to accept that we will spend our Last Sunday Night (caps will be used to reinforce the tone of voice that J uses when saying this term) in the apartment, we head out to the film fest to catch another movie. This time, we are lucky enough to get seats in a packed sold out show called “Brooklyn Connection.” This documentary shows a man from Kosovo who is outfitting the Kosovo Liberation Army by working in and buying supplies from within the United States. The footage is both fascinating and unnerving, and I am again slapped in the face by the very small window I look through to the world. Throughout the movie, I become a little nervous about the explosiveness of this material – I find myself wondering how likely it is that someone in the audience is Serbian or is simply offended by the content. I am surprised at myself for beginning to feel uncomfortable that there is no security at the theater. At the end of the film, the director and crew answer questions, and the discussion quickly becomes heated. There are many Albanians in the audience who don’t feel that the movie fairly explored the moderate perspective and others who are obviously involved in the efforts to fund the independence of Kosovo through military means if necessary. Without going into any more detail, suffice it to say that the passion of the people on both sides quickly became apparent.

As we walked from the theater to the subway, we were again spinning as we tried to wrap our heads around both the movie and the very strong reaction to it. To add to the feeling of tension, we noticed –for the first time in three weeks of riding – that the NYPD had sent representatives into the subway (I’m assuming for the filmgoers’ safety). It was strange, but somehow having them there just made it feel like there was something to be worried about. I’m sure it was just the timing of the movie and the tension in the theater combined with their presence, but J and I were both on edge as we made our way back home. Finally back here, I know that despite my exhaustion I will have a hard time falling asleep as my brain tries to deal with a day filled with the creation of the cosmos and the fact that you can buy a gun from your local ammo store that will shoot down a helicopter…then again, how incredible to be able to see such amazing movies that cause my eyes to open. I’m definitely going to need a few more cupcakes to figure this all out…