After a damp and dreary weekend, Rory Dog and I enjoyed a long walk in Central Park this morning.
As we were making the final turn toward home, we passed the Subway shoppe on Columbus Avenue and 84th. Its bright decor caught my eye, a contrast to the earthier tones employed by the coffee shop, barber shop, nail salon and grocery store on that block.
It seemed cheerier and more welcoming.
Funny…I’m not sure it’s getting the same reception from the neighbors.
You see, Subway used to be one block away at Columbus and 83rd. When it closed its doors, I heard the locals rejoice…like a crack palace had finally been shut down.
Chain restaurants get that kinda treatment around here.
Remember Fox Books in the movie You’ve Got Mail? Big, bad Fox Books moved in the Upper West Side, and people picketed in outrage. Eventually local store The Shoppe Around the Corner had to close.
David didn’t defeat Goliath in that story. (But Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks got together..so that was nice.)
When Subway reopened its doors less than a year later just a couple of blocks up the street, folks weren’t too happy.
Me? I think the chain restaurants that are successful tend to be successful because they have a good product. So we shouldn’t poo poo them because they are doing something right.
No one in the neighborhood seems to mind the 10 Starbucks.
That’s right — 10.
Posted in Books, Business, Celebrities, Commentary, Cooking, Dogs, Entertainment, Family, Food, Foods, Health, Home, Humor, Life, Movies, Philosophy, Restaurants, Shopping, Walking
Tagged books, bookstores, Business, celebrities, Central Park, chain restaurants, commentary, David and Goliath, dog walks, Dogs, entertainment, family, food, Foods, Fox Books, Health, home, Humor, life, Manhattan, Meg Ryan, Movies, New York City, New York City Central Park, New York Upper West Side, philosophy, restaurants, Starbucks, Subway restaurants, The Shoppe Around the Corner, Tom Hank, You've Got Mail movie
Tom Selleck, Ted Danson, and Steve Guttenberg played roommates in New York City. While Ted Danson’s character is out of the country, an old girlfriend leaves a baby at their door that she says is his, and the other two guys are forced to take care of her.
Something’s a’foot
Last month Jennifer Aniston’s 15-year old Welsh Corgi-terrier mix, Norman, died of old age.
“He’s just a person in a dog suit,” she once said.
I get that.
This week the tabloids were full of the news that Jennifer got her first tattoo. What did it say? Was it new boyfriend Justin Theroux’s name? Or some mid-life crisis bit of philosophy in Chinese characters?
None of the above. The ink on her right foot simply says “Norman.”
Now, I’ve never even remotely considered getting a tat. I’m notoriously commitment — and needle — phobic, and permanent body art requires both.
But a tattoo dedicated to my dog Rory? Perhaps his name in the simple sans serif font that I favor? Or a tiny artist rendering of his amazingly expressive face?
Oh yes, I could commit to that.
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Posted in Celebrities, Design, Dogs, Entertainment, Family, Friends, Humor, Life, Love, Relationships
Tagged body art, celebrities, commentary, dog on movie set, dog walks, Dogs, entertainment, family, fortune cookie saying, friends, Humor, ink, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Aniston's dog Norman, life, mid-life crisis, movie set, Movies, person in a dog suit, philosophy, Relationships, tat, tattoo, tattoo on foot, Television, walk on beach