Traveling Work Fun

Yesterday’s entry got me thinking of some of the magical moments I have had while traveling for work. There were cities I would go to and think, Boy I wish Rick was here to see this. I would call and tell him what beautiful vistas I was seeing or how great the locals were and wishing he was here with me sharing it all. That was the hardest part. Because as much fun as I had I always wished he was there to share in the fun with me.

I was in Manhattan to close on this contract I had been working on for months. I finally got the signatures & the handshakes and it was a done deal. I was walking back to my hotel on cloud 9. This was a biggie and I did it. I was also thinking that instead of having room service and watching TV I would go out and have a nice meal to celebrate.

I wasn’t leaving until morning and I was giving myself permission to not sit in my room working on the laptop while eating another damn hotel chicken Caesar salad.
I went back to my hotel and got changed. I began to walk to this restaurant I had seen earlier. When I got to the door I saw the sign that said they were closed for renovations.

I was bummed because once I saw that place all I could do was think about having a steak and a glass of wine. So I began to walk and now I am really hungry. I came to this corner where there was a diner so I figured what the hell. A diner was still better than room service. I went inside the diner and there was this small fragile-looking woman standing in front of me like she was the hostess. She was a stereotype with a cigarette hanging out of the side of her mouth and it went up and down as she spoke, “You with the AFL CIO party?” Her voice was so raspy and harsh.

“No, I’m not” I answered.
She said, “Okay then just sit ova there.”
She pointed to this booth towards the back but alongside the windows.
I took a seat and thought well this is great for people watching. I was right on the corner of Broadway so I had a great view. Someone came over and took my drink order. I was shocked I could get a cocktail in a diner but I was thrilled as well. Then a woman walks in that was tall and blonde. I noticed that the Raspy One asks her the same question and the blonde answers the same as me. Raspy One tells her to sit down in the booth in front of me.

The blonde keeps turning around and talking to me.
“How does she keep that cigarette from falling when she’s talking?”
“I know, I couldn’t stop starring at that. It’s like, Look Ma no hands.”
“Do you think there is actually an AFL- CIO party here?”
“They probably just don’t want a lawsuit because who knows what is going on here!"
Finally, I say, “Are you eating alone or meeting someone?”
She says she is eating alone so I suggest she join me.

We introduce one another and the blonde one’s name is Sue.
Sue tells me that she just moved to town.
“Where did you come from?” I asked.

“I lived in Northern Virginia”

I say, “Hey I live there now”

“Why are you in NY?”

“I’m a lawyer and I worked in (insert name of famous Politian) and when he left his position in D.C. I no longer had a job.”

“So what made you move here?”

“I got a GREAT job and my fiancé is working in Connecticut so this is closer. Today is my birthday and I was sitting in my new apartment surrounded by boxes and I just kept thinking, I’m in the greatest city in the world and I’m unpacking on my birthday. So I decided to go see a show and get out even if I was celebrating alone. Hey, why don’t you join me?”

“Well I don’t know that I can get a ticket let alone sit with you.”

“Let’s go give it a shot after we eat.”

“Sure why not!”

“What show are you seeing?”

“Chicago.”

Okay, I don’t love musicals but what the heck.
We ate our dinner, shared a piece of cheesecake to celebrate her birthday, and off to the theatre we went. I don’t recall the name of the theatre but it was just across the street.
We went up to the box office and she told them she wanted to see if I could be seated near if not next to her. The man looked at her ticket and said he would check. In the meantime I am paying for my ticket and I said, “Hey it’s Sue’s birthday and you can’t let her not have what she wants on her birthday now can you?”

“You’re in the balcony and it’s not a full house tonight so you both can sit next to one another. Happy Birthday, Sue!”

Everyone that was behind him in that window was saying happy birthday and all were being so nice, fun and friendly. Pictures were taken etc.  So we head up to the balcony for our seats. We get seated and realize we should probably use the restroom before the show starts. When we come back we decide since it’s not full up here why not sit down in front here in the balcony. So we moved down front. Then a young man who we saw earlier who was standing behind the man at the ticket window came up to us. He said, “Hey you guys moved….”

He went on and on. Finally, I said, “Were you looking for us just to yell at us?”
He laughed and said, “Oh no I wanted Sue to have this.” And he handed her a CD of the musical we were about to see and it was signed by the cast for her birthday.

He said, “Now don’t you two dare move again okay?”

“Okay,” we said in unison. What was that about we wondered?

This was in 2000 when the lead was played by Bebe Neuwirth (who you may know from Fraiser/Cheers) The show was GREAT. I was hooked. (ok still prefer non-musicals but this was very good)

After the show the theatre lights came on because it was Broadway Theatre Aids Week or something along those lines.
They were auctioning off things from the show. The first bid was on a hat and the starting bid was $400.00. I looked at Sue and said, “This is so out of my league” and we laughed. Although we couldn’t bid it sure was fun to watch.

Just as we were thinking it was all over the cast all lined up and said they had one more thing to do and they asked the audience to join them. The house lights went down and then a spotlight came on Sue. YES, Sue sitting next to me as Bebe says, “It’s Sue’s birthday today everybody, let’s sing her a tune.” And the cast and audience sang Happy Birthday to Sue while the spotlight was on her. She was scarlet red. She looked at me and said, “Did you do this?”

“Yea, Sue me and Bebe are old friends. C’mon!”

After we all sang she got applause and the lights came on.
Now as we grab our coats and begin to leave the theatre we are chatting about how we can’t believe that just happened. People are all crowding around us to say happy birthday to Sue. As we get downstairs more well wishers and pats on the back. It really was fun.

We get out to the street and she says, “Can you believe a few hours ago I was feeling sorry for myself all alone in my apartment and then I meet you and then this show and all this fuss? Wow I don’t think I’ll forget this birthday for a while.”

“You? I will never have a birthday to compare!”

We each had to get up early the next day. She had meetings and I had a train to catch at 6am. So we gave each other a hug and said our goodbyes.

I got back to my hotel and called Rick. I woke him up. I was so excited about what a great night I had but he asked if I could be as excited later tomorrow. I understood it was around midnight after all.

So there is another one of those things that just would happen when I would be on the road and met great people and the fun that would ensue. I had so many great nights in NYC while working. Even during a blackout and having to climb 27 flights of stairs in a hotel stairwell with luggage in heels in humid August heat ended up being a helluva good 24 hrs. Started out scary and ended up fun.

Sadly there were days that weren’t much fun for me and hundreds of others like 9/11. Thankfully I am here to tell you all the good ones.