Nini (Supposed to go with photo below—goofed again)

The homeless, a few years ago a common sight in much of Manhattan, seem to have been shunted to the edges of the city. Recently, though, a classic homeless woman has appeared in my moderately upscale East Side neighborhood. As one would expect, she is small, frail, and white-haired. I noticed her shortly before Christmas, crouched on the curb in front of a Rite-Aid drugstore on Second Avenue. A few days later, I saw her again, this time in front of a nearby Walgreen's. After passing her that time, I felt guilty and regretted not giving her something. Christmas Eve was a few nights later, and I was meeting friends for dinner at a fairly posh restaurant not far from my apartment. Well aware of my own comfortable situation, I decided that if I saw the woman I would give her money; I even had some at the ready to hand her. But she wasn't there. A few weeks passed. Then about a week ago, on a very cold evening, I was coming home from the ballet, comfortable in a warm coat. There she was once again, in front of the Rite-Aid.

I started to take out some bills, as did a young woman nearby. We both gave the homeless woman money and discussed calling some city service about her since it was going to be a very cold night for anyone to spend on the street. I agreed to make the call as soon as I got home, just a couple of blocks away. I telephoned 311, the number for services other than 911 emergencies, and fairly soon reached someone from homeless services. A sympathetic-sounding woman asked me the person's location, saying that it was probably Nini, someone with whom she was quite familiar. She said that she would call me back to tell me what happened. The service has a few vans that patrol the city in order to deal with such situations as this. Not too much later, she called back. Yes, it was Nini, who, as was often the case, did not want to go with them. (They often receive calls about her.) The caseworker said that they were quite familiar with Nini's ways and that "if it gets too much for her, she'll go to Peter's place."   She assumed that I knew what Peter's place was. I thanked her and said, "We tried."

I thought that "Peter's place" might be just some friend's apartment. But I googled it and found that it was a drop-in shelter in the basement of a church in Chelsea, all the way across town. I never found out if Nini made it over there. She wasn't even wearing a coat but was wrapped in a thin blanket on that frigid evening. Well, we tried.

Nini

Essential Web Site Viewing

I'm still writing "Web site," as decreed by the New York Times Manual of Style, not that I agree with all of their requirements. So here's a great Web site/website for anyone planning to visit or relocate to London. Yes, that London: 

Abby Cronin – arts journalist in London: About Me

The fact that Abby is my sister has absolutely no bearing on this suggestion, you understand! The site can stand on its own without my shilling for it. However....

At Last—A Movie of Substance

Yesterday saw a film that’s not for the fainthearted. But it is for those who want a revelation of political, ethical, and moral issues of real substance. It’s from Romania, a country that’s just beginning to make itself known on the international cinema scene. The film is 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days—4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile in Romanian—by a young director, Cristian Mungiu. Presented mostly in real time, it covers a 24-hour span during which Otilia, a university student, helps her roommate, Gabriela, to obtain an abortion. The time is 1987, when the repressive Ceausescu regime had declared the procedure illegal. Gabriela, the weaker character, appears to have no clue about anything and relies on others to help her out of trouble. She isn’t even capable of making the necessary hotel reservation herself. Otilia has to do everything, including borrowing the necessary money; meeting up with the sinister abortionist, Bebe; and directing him to Gabriela. Meanwhile, she has to deal with her straight-arrow, mama’s-boy boyfriend and his irritating family without revealing what she’s up to. We are also reminded that the state controlled everyone’s life at this time: what you would study, where you would work, and so forth. We also get a glimpse of class snobbery, including urban versus rural. We come away with studies of human nature and society as a whole on many levels. Otilia learns much about men, both “solid citizens” and criminals; her strength of character and her sacrifices for her friend are the backbone of this remarkable movie. She does what has to be done, no matter the consequences. And we also are introduced to one of the most terrifying of villains, soft-spoken as he is most of the time. See it. Here’s the Internet Movie Base link:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032846/

If you’re not familiar with the great imdb, you’ll find almost everything you need to know about a movie, including large selections of external reviews and filming locations. There’s also the Broadway database, ibdb, where you can recall whom you saw play what part and when they did it:

http://www.ibdb.com/

"Crossroads of a Million Private Lives"

I couldn't quite believe seeing this headline in the Times yesterday. It was for a review of a PBS show in the American Experience series. I didn't think that anyone would remember the beloved old Saturday morning radio show Grand Central Station, with its memorable opening. Later, watching the program on my DVR, I waited for some reference to the "crossroads" line, but none was forthcoming. The headline writer, though, knew something! He or she must have been "of a certain age." The program was informative about the origins and building of wonderful Grand Central Station (or Terminal), but thoroughly unromantic. Here's the Times review:

Grand Central - Television - Review - New York Times

Nowadays, as much an Internet fan as I was a radio drama fan in my childhood, I Googled the great old show Grand Central Station, and, thanks to the miracles of modern technology, immediately found it with its fabulous "Day and night, great trains rush..." opening. Here it is. You don't have to listen to the whole rather simplistic and soppy story, but do take in that prologue:

Grand Central Station | Old Time Radio

As the informative Web site states, the stories often owed a lot to O. Henry, though not as good as many of his. 

The Canadian radio station CHML in Hamilton, Ontario, which, for some reason comes in—not always too clearly—at 900 on the AM dial right here in midtown Manhattan, broadcasts "those old radio shows" later in the evening (when they've finished with hockey or baseball—go, Toronto Blue Jays!). They're available on the Web, if need be. Also, iTunes has a selection.

Television, even in HD, does not stimulate the imagination the way old radio did, even if the programming was mostly quite unsophisticated by today's standards. NPR recently paid tribute to The Lone Ranger, who had a long life in comic strips, movies, radio, and television. They even corralled octogenarian announcer Fred Foy, still sounding pretty chipper, to do the famous "fiery horse." opening. You can probably find this on the Web, too.

Incidentally, if you listen to the entire Grand Central Station episode, you'll get some very amusing Pillsbury flour commercials. They sound almost like parodies. Pillsbury tried to find a rival for General Mills's Betty Crocker in the equally fictitious character (I guess) of Ann Pillsbury. The pie crust does sound good, though.

East River View

Whoops! Technical skill not up to snuff. Here's the whole East River shot. What a day!

Gotham Gems

For part of the year, the American Museum of Natural History installs its Butterfly Garden, a delicious find among the canyons of Manhattan. Other locales have similar installations; I've seen a wonderful one in Costa Rica. In this smallish, orchid-laden space, you can walk among the butterflies and moths, many of which will perch on you or your camera for quite a while. It's almost a shame to have to brush them off, gently.

Labor Day 2007 was one of those ultra-clear, apparently pollution-free days that are all too rare in NYC. It is sad to think that 9/11 was such a day, and I can't enjoy one like it without remembering. Perhaps that makes it all the more precious. This East River shot was taken last Labor Day.

Detmold Park is a small, narrow riverside park extending from Beekman Place south to just above the U.N. There are benches, tables, and an enclosed dog run. One must walk down a couple of flights of stairs to reach it. It's a reasonably peaceful retreat except for the traffic along the FDR Drive that separates it from the East River. The Queensboro Bridge, more familiarly known as the 59th Street Bridge, immortalized in Woody Allen's Manhattan, is visible here.

The New York Aquarium at Coney Island will be undergoing renovation along with rest of the famous recreational area. One bright day in the fall of 2007, Bernie was out enjoying the sunshine along with his trainer.