To me, it’s bittersweet as we all head back to the “real world” after the holiday celebrations of Chanukah, Christmas and the New Year.
My “break time” included party after party with many dear friends and family.
Stanley Schuckman, a renaissance man, philosopher, real estate investor, broker extraordinaire and a dear friend was surprised by his caring children for his 80th birthday celebration at Colbeh in Great Neck.
What a sweet moment it was when the door opened and he saw cheering friends and family singing Happy Birthday. I thought he would collapse in shock! He turned and walked out, taking a few seconds to recover before reopening the door, leading to hugs and celebration. His pure joy at seeing each person was written all over his face and it took him an hour to make his way around the room greeting them.
After eating the voluminous dishes, Stanley took to the stage and made a few powerful remarks to us and his beloved gaggle of grandchildren.
His philosophical message resonated with me. He explained to the audience of loved ones that “when you make one person happy, you make two people happy; you get joy when you give joy.” It reminded me of an old favorite song, “Make Someone Happy,” from the 1960 musical “Do Re Mi,” written by the brilliant team of Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The words reinforce the concept of how much you get when you give. A profound lesson from a man who deeply cares about people and is devoted to the importance of family. And there they were, the family he created spreading the joy they received from Stanley back to him.
What a great night!
I relish each day and New Year’s Day brings such anticipation for a new year and that’s why I like to celebrate with a party.
Thankfully, the sun shone Jan. 1 as my guests arrived for the champagne brunch deliciously put together by Colette from Colette Cuisine in Westhampton Beach.
This year was special for me because I got to meet more neighbors on my block. We had a crisis that brought us together when someone bought the corner lot of our street and tried to build a massive house out of character with the community. My next door neighbor Jay Scansaroli helped to organize the newly named “Linden 11” homeowners to fight and bring our complaints to the Southampton Town Building Department. Fortunately, the board members agreed with us and ordered the builder to create new plans and stop work until the new plans are approved by the board.
The good part of the battle was that I got to meet more of my neighbors and celebrate New Year’s Day together. From something bad, good has come!
Then, I had the joy — thanks to Risk Strategies’ Michael Sean Grant — to see the latest rendition of the classic show, “Sunset Blvd.” It’s about Norma Desmond, the silent screen movie star trying to make a comeback but remember this name!
Nicole Scherzinger, the star and brilliant show-stopping performer, makes the show a must-see. Nicole’s brilliant performance of the reimagined Andrew Lloyd Webber musical from director Jamie Lloyd took me by surprise. The stage and costumes are stripped to the core, with Nicole barefoot, wearing only a thin-strapped black silk bias-cut dress. And the creative use of video recording flashes of the performers on an enormous screen captured me.
It wasn’t what I expected, but the magical and powerful performances made me “ohh and ahh.” Simply hearing Nicole’s voice echoing through the large St. James Theatre is worth the price of entry. For me, being enthralled by performers is what makes theatre great!
To finish off the day, I had dinner at the popular and distinctive Lidia Bastianich’s Becco. As it turned out, the Douglas Manor resident has a partner, Billy Gallagher, who is a friend of my friend Joan McNaughton, who was welcomed there and given a corner table. We shared Becco’s bottomless pasta dishes that are refilled through the night.
The next night, I saw former CEO of the Daily News Marc Kramer and his wife Donna, who is involved with the Glen Cove Holocaust Museum, for a delicious dinner at their favorite restaurant, DiMaggio’s Trattoria in Port Washington.
Great friends, great theatre and great food — what a wonderful way to welcome the new year.
Love to you, my dear readers.
