“Start spreadin’ the news
I’m leavin’ today
I want to be a part of it
New York, New York.”

Well, technically, I leave tomorrow – morning flight, no time to blog – but that’s right! I’m taking my first vacation since summer 2019! Frankly, I’ve never been much of a travelin’ man, but there are two places that I love to go: New York and London. In fact, I had things all planned out (and mostly paid for) in 2021 for a trip to the U.K. and a stopover on the way back to the Big Apple; unfortunately, circumstances that will be obvious to most of you curtailed that vacation – and cost me a pretty penny!

So now I’m giving it another shot, after receiving another shot – of the COVID booster. I’ll be honest: I’m feeling anxious about the trip, which might explain why I’ll be the only masked man on Jet Blue tomorrow, as well as in half a dozen Broadway theatres. But I also understand that this three-year-long semi-isolation in my little house is wrong somehow and that I’ve gotta push through the fear and . . . yada yada yada. A lot of people have asked me, usually with a twinkle in their eye: “How’s retirement going?” Nobody tells you how easy retirement isn’t, especially when the world around you goes all cockeyed! Consider this trip an attempt to return to normalcy!

“Some folks like to get away
Take a holiday from the neighborhood
Hop a flight to Miami Beach
Or to Hollywood
But I’m taking a Greyhound
On the Hudson River Line
I’m in a New York state of mind.”

For me, New York means theatre (six shows this time, including a very special one where a former student of mine is making her Broadway debut), a trip to MOMA, pilgrimages to both the Strand Bookstore (828 Broadway at 12^th) and Otto Penzler’s Mysterious Bookshop (58 Warren Street) to see what delectable treasures I might find, and good bagels. I’ve been there so many times that I don’t feel the need to see and do everything. My hotel is right on Bryant Park, and I love grabbing some breakfast and eating, reading and people-watching at a table in the park. This time, I’m also making a trip to see my brother in Connecticut, where he has a big house by a lake. 

Clearly, between the plane, the lake, and the park, I’ll have a bit of reading time, and I decided to take a few books with me. We’ll see how much of these I actually complete, but expect a few reviews of some of Penzler’s American Mystery Classics after my return.

I will also be dropping my opinion of Once Upon a One More Time, Parade, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, Sweeney Todd, Some Like It Hot and Kimberly Akimbo to all you fellow theatre lovers. And if you’re jonesing for a little taste of Bradley while I’m gone, feel free to listen to my three-part guest stint on Death of the Reader, the Down Under podcast hosted by those merry pranksters, Flex and Herds. We are discussing the latest shin honkaku release, The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji, which I reviewed here recently. Flex challenged Herds and me to solve the case before we got to the end. If you want to find out how well we did, here’s a link to Part One to get you started:

The Mill House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji – Part One

And with that, I’m off to put the finishing touches to my packing. 

Wish me luck!