As I sat on a bench outside the Natural History Museum on 77th St, a woman walked out, getting heavy on her 5-or-6-year old daughter:
"Why is the best question. Keep asking 'why?' and I will be very happy...Why of the why of the why..." she rambled hazily (I quote directly) as her daughter moseyed ahead, apparently half as interested as I was in this woman's cryptic philosophy (which was very little).
But it didn't stop her from continuing, "...sometimes I don't know the answer..." at which point the little girl was almost out of earshot, and, fittingly, so was I. (Louis C.K. might have found this role reversal of the annoying kid and the annoyed parent amusing.)
In other news, the title of this post is derived from the shape of today's route, a short Upper West Side loop up Broadway, merging into Columbus Ave, then across 77th St and back down Amsterdam Ave. The route up Columbus has the brilliant decor of the "very handsome" Park Belvedere tower, where 4-bedrooms start at a hot 16.95 - that's in $US millions.
And now, this segment's Street History Lesson - it's a double feature. The first, shown in the opening image, is Leonard Bernstein Place on 65th St (pictured above). Two signs that you're a badass: 1. a street is named after you; and b. the street sign is a different color. And Lenny, God rest his soul, was indeed a badass, and perhaps the greatest American artist, if I may be so daring. Listen to the first movement of his first symphony for a taste:
The second street I found intriguing was Josh Rosenthal Way, named after a figure a bit more obscure than Bernstein. Rosenthal was a prominent finance executive and former Truman Scholar, and one time developer at the Met. He was senior vice president at Fiduciary Trust when he was killed during the September 11th attacks of 2001.
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