Zero years always make me more contemplative than ever. Forty years ago I first met my wife while we both worked for the Phoenix Public Library. August 21st will be the 40th anniversary of our first date and the 20th anniversary of the day we drove out of Phoenix for what we thought was a two year stay on Long Island that is still going on.
This year we would have had lots to do in a "What our year was like" holiday message. Went to Pete Seeger's 90th birthday at the Garden and saw Joan Baez, Bruce Springsteen and Arlo Guthrie among many others. Went to the US Open and saw the young man who went on to win the entire tournament. Got tickets for the first game of the World Series ever played at Yankee Stadium. Served my first year of my job at the New York Law School that made me a daily commuter to Lower Manhattan.
Donna had been irradiated as a baby in a brief period of time when doctors thought radiation was the answer to a number of health problems. Babies who had that treatment turned out to be at high risk for thyroid problems later in life. This fall Donna's thyroid was tested and found to be so full of irregularities that she was urged to find a surgeon and remove her right thyroid. Scary enough. Then it gets worse. While taking a catscan for that operation they discovered that she has a 3.5 centimeter benign tumor on the back of her brain. It had not caused any symptoms. If they hadn't found this by accident she would have found out the hard way.
This led to months of visiting neurologists, brain surgeons and long talks with the insurance company. The plan now is that she will have the thyroid surgery in early February. Afterwards, she will get a new MRI and see if the tumor has grown. If so, it goes in the spring. If not, she may still have it taken out at the earliest time possible. One of the top surgeons in Manhattan met with us for a second opinion and reassured us that this is fairly routine, although there is a one in five chance that she will experience some vision irregularities after the surgery. Also a one in twenty chance that there will be more serious complications.
It's going to be an interesting year.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Hot and Cold Heaven
Tuesday's are the days that I may eat out rather than bring in leftovers to heat up in the staff kitchen. Today my lunch consisted of an avocado half, Caesar salad, roast pork, fried chicken wings, General Tso's chicken, blackberries and pasta salad. Because the weight of this was 1.08 pounds, the bill came to exactly 8 dollars and because it went over a pound I got a free bottle of water. Most of those items if ordered as an a la carte item in a sit down restaurant would run twelve dollars, even in Tribeca. Welcome to the world of Manhattan's hot and cold buffets. They may exist in other boroughs
, but I've never seen them.
When I started work here a year ago, the first "Hot and Cold" to win my heart was at the Chambers street exit on the A and C line. They are one of the cheapest at $6 a pound with a can soda thrown in if you go over a pound. Then I found a rich vein of them on Broadway - From Leonard Street to Duane Street there is one every block. At the moment, the one that I most prefer is Roma, just south of Worth. They are $7 per pound but their meats are superior. Just north of Worth is the Variety Foods - the newest addition. North of Leonard is Fancy Foods, a long-standing tradition. Their only problem is that they don't serve avocado halves. Several of the Broadway places don't label their foods much or at all. Two blocks to the west at Church and Duane, Bouley is the class act in all of this. Theirs is 10 per pound but they have entrees like Long Island Duck and beet with walnut salad. If you're going there, be sure to hit the place before noon. For the other Hot and Colds, be warned that they start phasing down after 1:30 and the offerings after that can look pretty unappetizing to say the least.
There are Hot and Colds in midtown and uptown as well. If you are in town for a brief visit, I'd strongly recommend these to a Prix Fixe 35 dollar lunch in midtown.
You'll thank me.
, but I've never seen them.When I started work here a year ago, the first "Hot and Cold" to win my heart was at the Chambers street exit on the A and C line. They are one of the cheapest at $6 a pound with a can soda thrown in if you go over a pound. Then I found a rich vein of them on Broadway - From Leonard Street to Duane Street there is one every block. At the moment, the one that I most prefer is Roma, just south of Worth. They are $7 per pound but their meats are superior. Just north of Worth is the Variety Foods - the newest addition. North of Leonard is Fancy Foods, a long-standing tradition. Their only problem is that they don't serve avocado halves. Several of the Broadway places don't label their foods much or at all. Two blocks to the west at Church and Duane, Bouley is the class act in all of this. Theirs is 10 per pound but they have entrees like Long Island Duck and beet with walnut salad. If you're going there, be sure to hit the place before noon. For the other Hot and Colds, be warned that they start phasing down after 1:30 and the offerings after that can look pretty unappetizing to say the least.
There are Hot and Colds in midtown and uptown as well. If you are in town for a brief visit, I'd strongly recommend these to a Prix Fixe 35 dollar lunch in midtown.
You'll thank me.
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