Looking Out My Back Door

Can you stand a little more about 2009?

It was a very good year indeed. After the summer ended (and I got to see Frankie Valli, Pat Benatar, The Donnas, and Deborah Harry for FREE at Asser Levy Park in Brooklyn!), then began some business travel. I spent a third week based in Hampton Beach, NH for my "New England Press Tour" with sales rep Jerry. Stayed again at the wonderful Oceanside Inn, welcomed by host/owners Deb and Skip (I highly recommend it -- www.oceansideinn.com), and took a side trip (20 minutes away!) to the outlets just over the border in Maine. After calling on clients, Jerry, his lovely wife Kathie, and I were rewarded with lavish dinners in the Hampton Beach area and also in Portsmouth. I'm talking New York-style establishments, not roadside lobster roll stands, though I'm sure they're good. My favorite is The Library in Portsmouth, which is also a cool town in which to shop and bar crawl. As long as you're not driving!

A major highlight of the Fall was, of course, THE YANKEES! What can I say about winning World Series #27 that I didn't already drive people nuts with on Facebook? A marvelous season, highlighted for me earlier when Maggie, Patricia and I went to the Stadium on 9/9/09 (a thank-you from Maggie and Kevin for doing that kick-ass reading) and saw DEREK JETER tie Lou Gehrig's record for most hits by a Yankee. Could anyone's first visit to our new cathedral in the Bronx have been better? Doubtful!

Another business trip with Jerry, this time to the suburbs of Chicago, where we had another successful round of visits (and a few more great dinners!), then it was Thanksgiving time. My aunt/sister (hey, she's only seven years older!) Patricia put on her usual Martha Stewart-type spread, attractive even to non-turkey fans like me. Cousin Matt and I attacked other diners (20 or so) with flying wine corks, so it was fun all around, unless you were in our sights.

On December 12, I went with friends Sharon and Gary to see our pal Danny Burstein in his Tony-nominated portrayal of Luther Billis in the classic musical "South Pacific" at Lincoln Center. Wow. What an amazing production. It was spectacular, and you have until August 14 to catch it at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. I recommend that you do. (Danny moves immediately into rehearsals for "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown," where his co-stars will include Patti LuPone, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Sheri Renee Scott, and other notables -- don't miss it!) Another thing that made that night extra-special was hanging backstage with Danny and having a very informal tour of the stage.

I found out that same day that my "father" (I prefer "sperm donor") had been killed in an accident with his truck that morning, likely due to impairment from alcohol, but it didn't really bother me much. He'd been out of my life (his choice) since I was 15, so his physical departure from this world was a non-event. Now that I'm officially an orphan, maybe I'll head over to London and join forces with The Artful Dodger and his crew, where we "gotta pick a pocket or two." (J/K!)

The year 2009 came to a close with nearly two weeks off from work, a great Christmas Eve with my Italian/Irish family, Christmas with more family, and New Year's Eve with my Ouziel family. What better way to bring a great year to a close?

posted by Hopster @ 10:03 AM