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It was my birthday and I had a revelation

July 20, 2005 By pia

I was just going to leave yesterday’s post up for the rest of the summer, and change the date, but, uh, not only would I be doing something stupid, I would be aging way too rapidly.

THANKS ALL OF YOU FOR HELPING MAKE MY BIRTHDAY GREAT!

Thank you all; never had an Internet birthday before, and I recommend it. Wasn’t going to do, but it’s a great experience, and one that I hope to repeat many times.

Last night was so great! Yes, it really was. But before I get to that, I think being born in the midpoint plus a few days of July is incredible. When I was a kid, I had to have my school party in June because, yes, we didn’t have school in July. I would also have my personal birthday party for my ten or so best friends in June. Fave-sis and I went to sleep away camp for six weeks each summer. It always seemed to begin on July 21 or 22nd.

While I logically knew that my parents didn’t arrange this, it felt like they did. Or, more probably, my dad told me that they did, and I believed him. We would have our extended family party on my birthday with whatever friends happened to be home. Then in September we would have a private just the four of us adoption day dinner at my favorite restaurant, Patricia Murphy’s, in September. Patricia Murphy’s had a giant aquarium, and beautiful gardens. They also had women dressed in colonial costume who walked around giving popovers and sticky buns. I only cared about the popovers which I thought were magic.

Though I had been adopted in November, it was too close to my sister’s birthday, and my parents wanted her to have the full birthday experience without my big sisterly interference.

I have to admit that I still believe the entire summer is my birthday, and nobody can ever dissuade me of that feeling. Summer’s always been magical; it’s the time of the year that anything can happen as long as it’s fun and preferably near or on a beach. I will never outgrow the feeling that summer brings great adventures and promises of future happiness. I love seeing summer through the eyes of kids–real and grown up ones.

Yesterday was the first time I didn’t buy every paper or look up my horoscope everywhere I could on the Internet. Think that means I will have an uncharted year. Know it doesn’t work that way but leave me to my delusions please; or maybe my illusions; or my truth. Fave niece made me a card that she was so nervous would be late, it arrived three days early and asked three times if it had arrived on time. That alone would have made my birthday.

Yesterday was the most oppressive day of the year. It was so oppressive that the heat went straight into my nose, but last night, the humidity broke just a bit to make it tolerable. Had been thinking of going to Cafe Luxembourg, Compass or another very trendy neighborhood restaurant. But I was in a weird mood, probably brought about by going out too many times during the day. Didn’t even try to make reservations.

We were going to go to the symphony in the park, but at the last minute, I decided I really wanted to go to a restaurant. The thing is eating at a restaurant just really isn’t special anymore. Find that sad. Me cooking a meal would be very special, and something I will attempt to do sometime in the not too distant future. Used to be a very good cook. Too darn hot to leave the neighborhood! Which left any restaurant not in the Upper West Side out

But ended up at the all occasion, great for regular times, great for parties restaurant Nicko’s, which is about two or three blocks from my house–yes born in the boroughs people call apartments, houses. Very occasionally I slip into borough talk. Boiling hot is another. That doesn’t mean that the water is boiling; in New York, it means that the weather is. My third and final one is rich as a Rockefeller which is always used as a slightly sarcastic question when people (close to you) are spending money that you know they can’t afford:
“So, you think that you’re rich as a Rockefeller?”

Lucia and I are the charter members of the Society to Preserve the Expression Rich as a Rockefeller. Okay as far as we know we’re the only members but we do have an entire generation of teenagers saying it. Rich as a Gates doesn’t sound as good.

Nicko’s has an outdoor cafe. The side walk slightly slops, and there is a huge canopy over it. It wasn’t hot! It was just Lucia, Rafe, and two friends who will not be referred to, as they don’t want to be characters! I don’t find that offensive, however…Same people also say that my stories should be in a book, because they’re soooooooo funny.

Did I say that it was cool? We only ordered starters–ten of them–which turned out to be enough food for twice as many people who were there. Lucia and I each ordered the crab cake appetizer, thinking that they would be the usual tiny crab cakes. They weren’t. They were crab and shrimp with no filler and Divine as was the polenta with mushroom, artichoke hearts with peas, carrots and a heavenly lemon sauce. Everything was incredible, and I have enough left overs to invite people over for a left over party, though I think that would be tacky.

We finished dinner just as the fireworks began in the park. Couldn’t see them. Had we have been in my apartment there would have been a great view of a tiny stream of fireworks from the exact center of my couch, but we weren’t.

As we were standing in the center isle of Broadway; I bit my lips in a certain way, did some movement with my elbows and hands, and had a revelation. I am Elaine; more honestly I’m a combination of every character on Seinfeld.

Suddenly life became clear to me; I epitomize the Upper West Side YUPPIE (haven’t heard that one in awhile, have you?) to many people on the Internet. When I said this to my friends, they all nodded in unison.

Sheet. Love me, hate me, but never think of me as a stock character. Please?

Today is Carlos Santana’s birthday. I have always loved his music, and can’t think of a better person to almost share my birthday. More than most people he shows that second acts are very doable, in this amazing country. Yeah, Cancer’s do have a great love for home and country.

Oh my birthday, part two will be celebrated this weekend with fave sis and fave bro in law, in a very beautiful town on Long Island, Bellport, where Isabella Rosellini lives. Do stretch out my birthday as much as possible. Think everybody should. Birthday’s are special, and a hell of a lot better than the alternative.

Filed Under: New York Stories Tagged With: New York Stories

« Lucia and Pia walk up Lafayette Street and can’t even do that without one of us getting into trouble
it's a beautiful day; so why did I dream about Woody Allen? »

Comments

  1. Lauren says

    July 20, 2005 at 9:53 pm

    My birthday is September 2nd. That’s the worst! It was usually three days after school started and no one was thinking about birthdays… they were thinking about “YAY! SCHOOL!” and they were all still trying to figure out if they remembered me from last year or not. 🙂 I wish I was a March baby, or something early. I hated being the youngest!

  2. montois says

    July 20, 2005 at 11:03 pm

    humidity is a bitch eh?

  3. mrsmogul says

    July 21, 2005 at 12:18 am

    Cafe Luxemburg! I was last there with my ex, not the gay denyig one but the one after that LOL.

    Everyday should be a birthday celebration!

  4. Bone says

    July 21, 2005 at 1:01 am

    I always thought of myself as sort of a Jerry/George amalgam, more Jerry when it comes to relationships, more George in most everything else. But truth be told, my friends probably view me more like Kramer… a hipster dufus.

    Glad you had a good one. Multiple birthday celebrations are the best.

  5. Dave says

    July 21, 2005 at 3:14 am

    What caught my eye was that you have “ten or so” best friends.

    You’re so lucky.

    I’ve got two.

    Whatever you do, keep them.

    And happy belated b-day.

  6. Pia says

    July 21, 2005 at 3:31 am

    That was in elementary school. Now I have two and consider myself very blessed, plus a whole lot of people I’ve met since blogging who I adore very much

    and some more “real life” friends who I also love, but they somehow fall into the “we’ve known each other for so long we’re family” category–not that my two best friends don’t.

  7. windspike says

    July 21, 2005 at 4:02 am

    Hey Pia,
    Happy B-DAy (belated) and I wish I was in NYC to help celebrate – minus the heat and humidity of course.

    Blog on sister.

  8. Jackie says

    July 21, 2005 at 6:39 am

    I am happy that you had a happy birthday!

  9. trine says

    July 21, 2005 at 3:04 pm

    Glad you had a good day pia, and thanks for the card! it made us laugh lots of sparkleS!

    I have all my best friends in NOrway, but going there SOON to see them so i am very happy too!

  10. Ally says

    July 21, 2005 at 5:31 pm

    I’m glad you had a happy day! Also, fascinated by the idea of celebrating ‘Adoption Day’. I will definitely bear that one in mind … thank you :).

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About Me

I live in the South, not South Florida, a few blocks from the ocean, and two blocks from the main street. It's called Main Street. Amazes me too.

I'm from New York. I mostly lived in the Mid-Upper East Side, and the heart of the Upper West Side. It amazes me when people talk about how scared they were of Times Square in the 1970's and 1980's.

As my mother said: "know the streets, look out and you'll be fine."

What was scary was the invasion of the crack dens into "good buildings in good 'hoods." And the greedy landlords who did everything they could to get good tenants out of buildings.

I'm a Long Island girl, and proud of it now.
Then I hated everything about the suburbs. Yet somehow I lived in a few great Long Island Sound towns after high school.

Go to archives "August 2004" if you want to begin with the first posts.

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