The Breakers, Newport, RI

Ellie and I dashed off to Newport to drive around the manses, beautiful relics of the gilded age. There are SO many mansions in Newport along the bluff it is like a planned community, but with gianormous, one-off mansion. You can tour them like wineries. We went to one of the most glorious, The Breakers, which was the Vanderbilt's wee summer getaway.

It is so ornate and fabu one can just imagine the dresses and parties and upstairs/downstairs of it all. The headset tour does an excellent job of evoking this gilded age for the camera-toting jeans and t-shirt pedestrians who amble through the place today.



Front lawn looks out to the ocean. Perfect for parties.

Family Feud - SETTLED

I like to play this up, but apparently Tot has been trying to get Ellie to the Redwood Library in Newport for years and today it happened. I was on hand for this historic moment when son-in-law and mother-in-law came together in peace and harmony on the steps of this amazing institution.

Today's historical event was only one in a long line of history making days in the life of the Redwood Library. To steal directly from their website:

The Redwood Library and Athenæum is the oldest lending library in America, and the oldest library building in continuous use in the country.


(fire pulls have been added)

Now that is impressive. And what is also impressive is the name "Redwood" is in Tot's family line and he was on the board of this institution and is still active. It was a thrill to be shown around the place by him. We saw Gilbert Stuart's and the original library collection and well as an impressive Dying Gaul sculpture.



I am so glad Ellie and Tot will always have this place to share with each other.

Providence, RI

Brown U
John Brown's house. Private tour.

Tot drove us around the state capital and we saw Brown University and the famous Rhode Island School of Design where the Talking Heads went to school. Ellie nephew is the head of the Rhode Island Historical Society and he met us and took us around as well. It pays to be hooked up and connected!


Sarah, Mary, Tot, Ellie and Bud, head of RI Historical Soc.

My favorite thing of all was when Mary stopped this student Sarah (far left in photo) because she was wearing a "Horace Mann School" t-shirt as this was where Ellie went to school when she was a kid. Sarah is now pre-med at Brown. We had such a delightful conversation on the pavement wonderfully charming co-ed! And it takes Marys of the world to make that happen. She reminds me of my dad that way. Good for them! And Mary is hooking Sarah up with a doctor to intern with in Jamestown.

Moral of the story:

It always pays to wearing writing of some sort on your clothing!

Community Prep, Providence, RI

Tot, Mary's excellent husband and bard/wry wit of Jamestown, took us to Providence to visit the Community Preparatory School where he serves proudly on the board.

Here is their
Mission Statement
While serving students from across Rhode Island, Community Preparatory School's primary commitment is to minority and low-income students from Providence. The school's goal is to help its students succeed in college preparatory high school programs and to become community leaders. Moreover, the school is committed to developing and sharing its vision, programs, and resources with the local neighborhood as well as the broader educational community.

We got to tour classrooms and meet the students. It was so mind-blowingly excellent and progressive. The kids were so polite and genuinely nice. I was very impressed.

We stood and observed in a math class and I had tears roll down my cheeks. This blew me away. I guess from serving a month recently on a grand jury where it felt like there was no hope, here we were standing in a room that was chock FULL of hope. I cried because I was hopeful and that was amazing.

Kudos to Tot and the staff and faculty at Community Prep.

Rhode Trip!!

Ellie and I drove to Rhode Island to celebrate her and daughter and my friend Mary's birthday. We stayed in Mary's town of Jamestown. It is right on the water and is stun-ning! We had a fantastic meal and GREAT cake made by a local baker.

Jamestown as seen through mesh.

Mary's excellent cake.

Mary and Ellie

The whole gang.

My Song for Today

ARTIST: Stephen Sondheim
TITLE: Agony
Lyrics


[Into the Woods]

Did I abuse her or show her disdain
Why does she run from me
If I should lose her how shall I regain
The heart she has won from me
Agony, beyond power of speech
When the one thing you want
Is the only thing out of your reach

High in her tower she sits by the hour
Maintaining her hair
Blithe and becoming and frequently humming
A light-hearted air
Ah
Agony, far more painful than yours
When you know she would go with you
If there only were doors
Agony, all the torture they teach
What's as intriguing or half so fatiguing
As what's out of reach

Am I not sensitive, clever
Well-mannered, considerate
Passionate, charming
As kind as I'm handsome
And heir to a throne?
You are everything maidens could wish for
Then why "No"?
Do I know?
The girl must be mad
You know nothing of madness
'Til you're climbing her hair
And you see her up there as you're nearing her
And all the while hearing her
Ah
Agony, misery, though it's different for each
Always ten steps behind, always ten feet below
And she's just out of reach
Agony, that can cut like a knife
I must have her to wife

High in a tower like yours was but higher
A beauty asleep
All 'round the tower a thicket of briar
A hundred feet deep
Agony, no frustration more keen
When the one thing you want
Is a thing that you've not even seen

I've found a casket entirely of glass
No, it's unbreakable
Inside, don't ask it, a maiden alas
Just as unwakeable
What unmistakable
Agony, is the way always hard
She has skin white as snow
Did you learn her name, no
There's a dwarf standing guard
Agony such that princes must weep
Always in thrall 'most to anything almost
Or something asleep

If it were not for the thicket
A thicket's no trick, is it thick
It's the thickest
The quickest is pick it apart with a stick
Yes but even one prick, it's my thing about blood
Well it's sick
It's no sicker than your thing about dwarfs
Dwarves
Dwarfs
Dwarves are very upsetting
Not forgetting
The task's unachievable, mountains unscalable
If it's conceivable but unavailable
Ah
Agony, misery, woe not to know what you miss
While they lie there for years
And you cry on their biers
What unbearable bliss
Agony that can cut like a knife
Ah well, back to my wife

NINE the Movie

Tonight on the stage on 57th Street in New York were three Oscar-winning actors, an Oscar-nominated Director and a guy who won a bunny drawing contest in grade school. What wattage!

I had the good fortune to be able to interview Daniel Day-Lewis, Rob Marshall, Dame Judi Dench and Marion Cotillard after a screening of the movie NINE. Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz and Kate Hudson were scheduled to show, but could not make it. Still it was an amazing night and they were all courteous, game and great. Because of the subject matter of the film I asked the all their "hooker names" (your first pet's name + the street where you grew up) and they all complied so well! Marion's was all in French of course!

Rob Marshall is modeled after a guy I want to be: calm, nice and so smart.

Me, Daniel Day-Lewis, Rob Marshall, Judi Dench, Marion Cotillard

But the best part of all was having my own Fellini cast of characters here tonight who have shaped my life in New York to share the evening with me. It was just great knowing they were there. A perfect evening of mega stars and mega pals.

All I needed was a Vespa and some Italian hunk in sunglasses waiting for me outside to take me a casa.

Pat, Sean, Sue, Ellie, Me, John.