As you read this - I'm on a plane back
to Montana from Manhattan. I spent
a day in the city that never sleeps for
business. And given my rather isolated
home base, even a short stop requires
a full day of travel to/from. So before
any of you city folk bemoan your lack
of visitation rights, let me assure you
that I was fully booked the entire time.
Hence all work and no play definitely
makes Greg a dull and rather elusive
boy. To reinforce said trip was literally
here (NY) today, gone (MT) tomorrow!
Which bodes the obvious question -
why didn't I stay longer?! Frankly
I really didn't want to spend more
than the minimum in Manhattan
during the summer months. Not
only is the city steamy - it's rather
fragrant in a not so good way. Yet
summer was not the primary reason
for keeping things brief. This jaunt
came up so late that it made little
to no sense for Frank to tag along.
Rather than spend a city weekend
solo, I rushed home to my honey.
To be totally honest - I rarely miss
New York. It seems that over the
last year I've mellowed and hence
seem to prefer the simple life. My
day in the city was if nothing else
hot and humid. Running about in
a suit made it all the more awful.
The only benefit of my brief visit
was that Bergdorf's was running a
sale and I bagged a pair or two of
fabulous shoes. Otherwise, I found
little to nothing alluring about my
brief sojourn in civilization.
Speaking of footwear, I experienced
something sadly lacking in Montana.
I had my shoes shined by a bonafide
shoeshine expert. Post pampering
my tootsies, I trotted up the avenue
perfectly buffed with a renewed air
of confidence. Out west, the more
dust or dirt on one's boots the better.
Thus I rarely get an opportunity to
take my Italian footwear for a walk
on the wild side. Yesterday with
temperatures/humidity over ninety,
I still got to cool my heels in style!
One thing that I miss and got to enjoy
revisiting are crisp, white, perfectly
pressed table linens. From breakfast
to lunch to dinner, every meal was
served with an elegance that I sorely
miss back on the range. Add polished
silver, crystal, flowers, and french
vintages and for a few brief hours
I was in once again heaven. If for no
other reason said meals reinforced
that the little things count. Hence
upon my return I plan to properly
set the table and pamper my man!
As I mentioned on Monday's blog -
I do miss the people watching one
can only enjoy in Manhattan. Yet
those on the street looked familiar.
Given they were tourists, no wonder
they looked like they were ready to
mow the lawn rather than shop the
length of Fifth Avenue. Those who
claim gay rights are destroying our
country ought to take a look in the
mirror. I would argue that "casual"
is slowly killing our civilization.
Do us a favor and dress for success!
One thing is certain - I'll always be
a city slicker. Fortunately one can
still keep up with the Joneses via the
web. Therefore I felt if nothing else
perfectly turned out as I hit the hot
pavement. Dressed in the ensemble
du jour I looked like a native in my
skinny cut, grey tropical weight suit.
And while I wore socks, hopefully
my pocket square indicated I knew
what I'm doing. Proof that you can
take a boy out of the city... but not
fully extract urbanity from a man.
They say you can't go home. However
sometimes one needs a shot in the arm
to be reminded of what's important. It's
odd to return back to the scene of one's
prior crimes. While I felt perfectly at
home, it wasn't home. Hence all I truly
wanted was to be back where I belong.
The longer we live, the more we realize
that it's not where you live but how you
live. Many things beyond location and
accoutrements facilitate bliss. So as I
head back west I'm reminded once again
that home is where the heart is.
