Goodbye NYC
sitting at the jetblue terminal waiting for my oneway flight to LA. mind buzzing. thrilled to be leaving new york, but not without a tinge of blue. i know there's so much i'll miss. for instance, only in new york can you meet wally shawn at ups, like i did this morning, as i shipped the last of my belongings west.
it was the perfect way to say goodbye: an exchange with a quintesential new york actor who i've respected and adored since i was in jr. high.
he was there to pick up his mail, at one of those little p.o. boxes on the wall, which of course struck me as strange to begin with. wally shawn? using a ups p.o. box? and then he pulled out a key ring with, i'm not kidding, several dozen keys on it!
me: that's an awful lot of keys to be carring around.
wally: well i'm sure your life isn't without its eccentricities.
me: i'm just saying, i never expected wally shawn to be carry around so many keys, like a janitor you look.
wally: (laughs)
me: i'm a big fan of yours, by the way.
wally: you're too kind.
me: from jeremiah to the princess bride, my dinner with andre. all of them, really. a big fan.
wally: honestly, you're too kind, thank you.
(we leave ups together, he holds the door for me)
wally: okay then, bye bye.
me: bye!
and i got in a cab and headed off for jfk...
