Sunday began with the sun shining brightly and the winds blowing through my hair as I met my daughters to go to Manhattan for a delayed birthday celebration.
Many months ago, when I heard George Clooney was appearing in “Good Night, and Good Luck” on Broadway in the role of my news hero, Edward R. Murrow, I bought tickets.
Elizabeth, Samantha, Tracey and I went for brunch at the unique Quality Bistro on 55th Street (owners Alan and Michael Stillman also own Smith & Wollensky and multiple other restaurants). To my delight, the restaurant’s menu featured a platter of creamy cream cheese presented by the waiter from a large urn on a rolling table surrounded by lox, onions, capers and a crispy everything baguette. We also ordered caviar presented on a small bun with a glass of champagne. What a way to begin our special day!
We clutched our coats as the winds blasted us as we made our way to the theatre.
The 114-year-old Winter Garden Theatre was packed with people filling the 1,526 seats anticipating George Clooney’s return to live theatre — he last appeared in June of 1986. His Playbill bio says “buckle up!”
Based on the standing ovation from the audience after the one-and-a-half hour, no intermission show, his performance exceeded expectations.
The show is based on the time in history of the Joseph McCarthy hearings and the bravery of Murrow to call out the fascist senator’s role in ruining people’s lives and turning our country upside down.
Clooney gave a riveting performance and the relevancy today made the decades-old story come to life.
I kissed my girls goodbye as they made their way home and I went to visit my dear colleague Dan Rattiner and his wife Chris, who had her second knee replaced two weeks ago. She is having an amazingly successful recovery from a painful operation, which I also had six months ago
From there, I made my way to my friend’s birthday celebration, the beautiful, kind and generous Catherine Loevner.
The dinner party was held at the stunning Maison Barnes, a private party room next to Café Boulud which offers an elevated culinary experience crafted by the renowned Chef Daniel Boulud on the Upper East Side.
It was a cherished day of family and friends — one for the memory books!
On a very different note, earlier in the week the world mourned the loss of the beloved Pope Francis and the remembrance of the Holocaust victims.
I had been invited to hear Israeli Consulate General Ofur Akunis at a Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) program and candle lighting by writer/activist Edna Khalily.
It was a moving moment for me when I lit my candle at the Old Westbury Hebrew Congregation ceremony on Long Island. Being the mother of four children, I lit it in memory of the millions of innocent children slaughtered and the devastation of the parents whose children were torn from their sides. And, of course, I remembered the hostages who died and those struggling to survive in their captivity.
I have never gotten over the experience at the Holocaust Museum in Israel, where there is a dark room with sparkling lights representing every child lost. A memory embedded in my heart and mind.
On another note, when I heard that dear Brooklyn friend Vincent LeVien was attending the Pope’s funeral, I asked him to share his experience:
My family and I had planned for months to fly to Italy to witness the canonization of Carlo Acutis, and we were all set to do so, but the day of our flight was the day that Pope Francis passed away.
As a Catholic, I was upset because Pope Francis was our Holy Father, but he was also someone I had the honor of meeting four times over the years, including when he came to New York for his Apostolic visit in 2015.
I have worked at the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn as their Director of External Affairs for the past 14 years, but I built many of my connections with the Vatican and the Diocese of Assisi through my involvement with Gary Krupp and the Pave the Way Foundation. That’s how I was able to transform this trip from celebrating the sainthood of Carlo Acutis to looking back on the legacy of Pope Francis, humbly witnessing his grand goodbye in the same audience with everyone from President Trump to Prince William, President Macron, and President Zelenskyy.
Love to you, my dear readers.
