November 8, 2018
Shortly after I first set foot on US soil in January 1978, New York City was blanketed by a snow storm. The kind where people where skiing up and down 5th Ave. Unprepared for the weather I went to Canal Jeans, a cavernous store on Canal St. near the lower Eastside that had a bargain bin/fleamarket section where you could purchase a used, moth-eaten, knee-length fur coat for less than the price of a new sweatshirt. Fur was not yet taboo and the warmest thing you could find on a severely limited budget.
Bundled in that monstrosity, woolen scarves wrapped around my head, I trecked north through winter wonder land, up to 57th St near Carnegie Hall, to check out the Russian Tea Room which had a significant reputation in the tourist guides.
http://www.russiantearoomnyc.com
I fit right in in that outfit, mothball smell and all, except that I did not have tightly curled bluish-white hair at the time but long blonde tresses. The waitress looked not a day over 100, which gave the the rest of those present a youthful appearance. Then 26, my age probably dropped the mean age in that room to around 79…..
Link below spells out the dress code for NYC restaurants in 1978….
All my budget allowed were a few mushroom-filled dumplings, which were divine. And every fall when mushrooms sprout and I am captivated by their beauty during my walks, I think back to those carefree times when the world seemed to be a place to be explored and conquered, observed and recorded. Come to think of it, I still do that. So enough of the nostalgia.
The mushrooms and fungi in our North Western forests at this time of year are little points of light,
popping up when you least expect them, guiding your gaze both downwards and upwards.
Some are like lacy ruffles,
others stodgy little fellows, some glow with moisture,
while the rest plays hide and seek.
Mushrooms have inspired composers to record “their” music:
and apparently they can save the world (poisoning certain people threatening the world not one of the suggested methods….)
Am I succeeding in taking your minds off politics today???
Eric Brody
I too have fond memories of the Russian Tea Room. I’d take dates there after concerts at Carnegie Hall in my youth. As they said… a bit to the left of Carnagie Hall. Later, after marrying and having a child, I returned with my wife and daughter to NYC in 1982 and decided to take them to the RTR. Dressed like Oregonians we were met by a haughty maitre’dess who, upon seeing our garb and my infant daughter, announced we could not be seated without a reservation in the mostly empty restaurant. In the days before cell phones, I walked down the block to a pay phone, placed my nickel or dime in it and called. I told them I was Dr Brody, (I am) and would like to come for lunch with my wife and daughter. I was warmly received on the phone. When we arrived, the look on the maitre’dess was absolutely priceless. I announced who I was and that I had a reservation. She calmly announced that “if the baby cries, we’ll have to ask you to leave.” My daughter nursed, I had my blinis and caviar (the cheap kind) and we left with a great “don’t get mad, get even…” story.
Deb Meyer
You definitely took my mind of politics! I love mushrooms in everything! They are beautiful to look at!
What happened to the fur coat?