Last Goodspeed Story...
...but it really has nothing to do with Goodspeed.
When I was driving to CT at the beginning of October I happened to be on the phone with my mother when I got north of Manhattan. I said to Mom, "I am now further north east than I have ever been." Just as soon as I had said that I saw the exit for Larchmont, NY. I quickly said, "Never mind that........... now I am."
When I was coming along there was a milestone in our family. When you were eight years old (the minimum age to fly alone) you got to go stay with my Grandmother for a week.
It was 1988 and I was SOOO excited. My first time on an airplane and I LOVED IT!! I flew into JFK on a TWA flight that had stopped in Dallas for a short while. Then began one of the best weeks of my life!! We had a great time. It was when I truly fell in love with NYC and city life in general. Grandma took me everywhere. We saw all of the sites: Empire State Building, Twin Towers, Statue of Liberty and I saw my first Broadway show: The original 42nd Street.
She also took me to the local landmarks of the little village where she lived. We ate dinner at The Upstairs, fed ducks at the duck pond, saw Umbrella Point and she took me to hang out with her friends at the little pub where she hung out. This group of older (ancient to an 8 year old) New Yorkers would sit at the bar, drink a couple of pints and watch Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. I sat ON the corner of the bar sipping a grenadine and coke that the kind bartender "Smitty" had made for me. My most vivid memory of the pub was when Grandma whispered the answer to the Wheel of Fortune puzzle and told me to yell it out. I did and the older man in the group was PISSED OFF that an 8 year old got it before he did. Grandma laughed and laughed.
My Grandmother passed away several years ago and I only have this trip and a trip she and my Great Grandmother made to Oklahoma to remember her by.
When I was on my way back to DC from East Haddam, CT I got close to the George Washington Bridge... saw the exit and decided that I was going on a side trip. I got into Larchmont and called my mother and told her what I was doing. I was really just going to drive around for a little bit and get back on the highway.
Mom looked up Grandma's old address and I wrote it down figuring that if I passed the street I would try to find the old apartment. Mom mentioned that she had lived walking distance to the train station so I started heading that way. Sure enough I found the street and was searching for the numbers while still on the phone with my mother. All of the sudden my heart jumped. "Momma, I know this is it! I cant see the numbers but I KNOW this is it. I can feel it!" (PICTURED AT THE LEFT) I started circling around to get a better view and said to Mom that I wished I could remember the name of the little pub. THERE IT WAS!! Larchmont Tavern. All choked up I told my mother that I was going to go inside and have a few pints for Grandma.
In I went and sat quietly at the corner of the bar where I had sat eighteen years ago and drank a pint of LT Lager. This time I sat AT the bar instead of ON it... they probably would have frowned upon a 26 year old plopping his fat but on the bar. I started a conversation with the kind couple sitting next to me. The had moved to Larchmont about the time I was there to visit. 
They did not remember Grandma but after they left for the evening I started talking to the bartender and a few gentlemen at the other end of the bar. The younger gentleman remembered Grandma as he had just started frequenting LT's about the time I made my first visit in 1988. The bartender also remembered Grandma quite fondly. They both remembered Smitty with big smiles and thought that my little pilgrimage was really very cool.
When I was driving to CT at the beginning of October I happened to be on the phone with my mother when I got north of Manhattan. I said to Mom, "I am now further north east than I have ever been." Just as soon as I had said that I saw the exit for Larchmont, NY. I quickly said, "Never mind that........... now I am."
When I was coming along there was a milestone in our family. When you were eight years old (the minimum age to fly alone) you got to go stay with my Grandmother for a week.
It was 1988 and I was SOOO excited. My first time on an airplane and I LOVED IT!! I flew into JFK on a TWA flight that had stopped in Dallas for a short while. Then began one of the best weeks of my life!! We had a great time. It was when I truly fell in love with NYC and city life in general. Grandma took me everywhere. We saw all of the sites: Empire State Building, Twin Towers, Statue of Liberty and I saw my first Broadway show: The original 42nd Street.
She also took me to the local landmarks of the little village where she lived. We ate dinner at The Upstairs, fed ducks at the duck pond, saw Umbrella Point and she took me to hang out with her friends at the little pub where she hung out. This group of older (ancient to an 8 year old) New Yorkers would sit at the bar, drink a couple of pints and watch Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. I sat ON the corner of the bar sipping a grenadine and coke that the kind bartender "Smitty" had made for me. My most vivid memory of the pub was when Grandma whispered the answer to the Wheel of Fortune puzzle and told me to yell it out. I did and the older man in the group was PISSED OFF that an 8 year old got it before he did. Grandma laughed and laughed.
My Grandmother passed away several years ago and I only have this trip and a trip she and my Great Grandmother made to Oklahoma to remember her by.
When I was on my way back to DC from East Haddam, CT I got close to the George Washington Bridge... saw the exit and decided that I was going on a side trip. I got into Larchmont and called my mother and told her what I was doing. I was really just going to drive around for a little bit and get back on the highway.
Mom looked up Grandma's old address and I wrote it down figuring that if I passed the street I would try to find the old apartment. Mom mentioned that she had lived walking distance to the train station so I started heading that way. Sure enough I found the street and was searching for the numbers while still on the phone with my mother. All of the sudden my heart jumped. "Momma, I know this is it! I cant see the numbers but I KNOW this is it. I can feel it!" (PICTURED AT THE LEFT) I started circling around to get a better view and said to Mom that I wished I could remember the name of the little pub. THERE IT WAS!! Larchmont Tavern. All choked up I told my mother that I was going to go inside and have a few pints for Grandma.
In I went and sat quietly at the corner of the bar where I had sat eighteen years ago and drank a pint of LT Lager. This time I sat AT the bar instead of ON it... they probably would have frowned upon a 26 year old plopping his fat but on the bar. I started a conversation with the kind couple sitting next to me. The had moved to Larchmont about the time I was there to visit. 
They did not remember Grandma but after they left for the evening I started talking to the bartender and a few gentlemen at the other end of the bar. The younger gentleman remembered Grandma as he had just started frequenting LT's about the time I made my first visit in 1988. The bartender also remembered Grandma quite fondly. They both remembered Smitty with big smiles and thought that my little pilgrimage was really very cool.
posted by Q 5 Go at 4:11 PM
1 Comments:
Jess, I wish you could send MiMi a copy of this. It really brought tears to my eyes. You were Grandma's pride and joy...mine too.
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