It’s Friday. You know what that means. It’s time for the musings of my friend, ID Collection’s Jim Williamson. Jim, take it away. As you will recall from my previous reports about trips to NYC, there’s always some form of drama. Delays, cancellations, freak weather events, or even a text from someone sharing a little too much visual information—they’ve all led to some rather interesting travel situations. So last week, as I made my way to the airport for a 9:30 am flight—already late because the alarm was set for 5:30 pm—I didn’t hold out much hope that I would make it to the city for the 8 pm curtain of The Heiress. Thankfully, Buddha must have been smiling on me (I’m thinking he didn’t get that change of address card). I made the (on-time!) flight. Even better: no screaming children were seated near me.
I arrived in NYC to a beautiful fall day, and I made my way to the taxi stand. A woman immediately approached me, offering a limo for “only $38.” As I looked her over and noticed the knock-off Michael Kor’s purse, I became suspicious. “What’s the catch, sister?” I asked. She replied that there was no catch, but “you will have to share with one other passenger and make maybe one stop,” she replied. Obviously, I kept walking.
But then I was approached by a gentleman clad in a suit. He looked like a driver, so that was progress. He, too, explained that his client was delayed, and he offered the same deal—sans the extra passenger(s) stops. Now in the past, I have actually had some luck with drivers who just happened to be free at that moment. Zurich, London, LA, and even in NYC during a rainstorm, I was able to get a ride back to the hotel in a sweet car with a stocked liquor cabinet and roasted cashews.
I told the man/driver that I wanted to see the actual car and some credentials for fear I might end up in a Pinto with bald tires. As we started to walk, who should suddenly appear but that woman with the cheap bag. Turns out, they were “friends.” I tried to beg off and made my way to the taxi stand, but they wouldn’t leave me alone! They followed me and kept trying to take my bags. Suddenly, I channeled a Brooklyn mother of eight. “You two need to get the #$% away from me or that knock off KORS bag is going to become lodged somewhere you may not like,” I said. That was the end of that story. I eventually made it to the hotel.
During the trip, we took in the Doris Duke exhibit of Shangri La, her former home in Hawaii. It is a truly remarkable vision for 1939 and obviously took a great deal of money to execute. We also did some light shopping followed by a long lunch at Bergdorf’s. We saw lots of V-I-People. I recognized a few athletes’ wives eating at the bar. I also espied a royal from Spain—she was very low-key but her excellent posture and immaculate grooming gave her away. I also saw a high-powered attorney who I could swear I had drinks with many years ago but whose name escaped me. She obviously couldn’t remember either. We just nodded at one another from across the room.
We also managed to catch Bab’s concert in Brooklyn. It was my first time to see her in concert, so I was very excited. Unfortunately, it was also my first time to experience acrophobia. Since I’ve never been afraid of heights before, it was a very strange feeling. It was almost like I was constantly falling downhill for hours. Nothing helped—not even beer. So for three-and-a half hours, I clung to my seat with sweaty palms, beating heart, and back pressed so hard against the seat I think my spine left an impression. Did it matter to my mate that I was freaking out on the inside? That would be a negative. He was lost to Barbra and spouted endless trivia he had memorized about each and every song she performed.
After the show, we returned to the hotel. When we got to our room, we were lucky enough to see our friend Nate perform with his band, Passion Pit, on SNL. Did we try to actually see the show live and in-person? We did. But no luck.
So there you have it. Celebrities, Bergdorf’s, fights with limo drivers, and a possible mental malady. Just another trip to NYC.
