Christmas 2000 was only the second Christmas that I could remember not being in St. Louis with Mom hosting.  That Christmas is filled with many awesome memories. My favorites were:

1.  Jill, Tom and I all met up with Mom in NYC so we could all drive to Joyce and Stan’s for family Christmas.  Mom had been in the city about nine months and was loving it!  She surprised us with tickets to the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Pageant.  It was amazing!!!  Living livestock!  And the Rockettes!

2.  Growing up I watched the ball drop on television many time always wondering what it would be like to be there in person, so Mom and I watched the ball drop in Time’s Square  ( which was of course was perfectly planned by Mom).  It was quite an adventure that fortunately was mostly indoors. Mom found a great restaurant walking distance from the spot where the ball drops so we were able to have a late dinner then walk down the street joining the crowds that had been waiting in the freezing cold for hours for the ball to drop.  We both loved it!!!

3.   Mom disliked my partially grown out bleached hair and offered to pay for a haircut at Oscar Bond’s salon.  While at the salon, it began to snow heavily.  When I told Mom that I wanted to head back to her apartment, her response was we’ll go home after we get soup filled dumplings at Goodies which was several blocks in the opposite direction of home and I was not wearing a warm winter coat or snow boots.  The dumplings were delicious but I was cold and my feet were soaked

The Background

Every year since 2009 when Macy's moved their July 4th fireworks to the Hudson River, Linda and I would grab our folding chairs and head for the perfect place to watch the big event live. In those early years it was Pier 1, which extends 795 feet into the river. Although the fireworks didn't start until 9:30, we met at the Pier at 5:30 to insure that we got a good spot to view the fireworkson the south-facing railing. Of course, to fill all that time, we brought a picnic of a 4-course dinner (if you count watermelon and chocolate chip cookies as 2 separate courses). It was a wonderful meal, a beautiful evening, and a spectacular fireworks show --  only one thing wrong: we should have brought 2 bottles of rosé!
We repeated the adventure each year until 2014 when our new mayor, an outer-boroughs guy, moved the fireworks so those in Brooklyn and Queens would have the best view. Not wanting to go to Queens or Brooklyn, for several years we tried spots in lower Manhattan, which left much to be desired. So we decided to bite the bullet and take 3 subways to get to Gantry State Park in Queens, which is a beautiful spot on the East River.

Linda Outsmarts the Police

As we got out of the third subway in Long Island City, about 6-8 blocks from the park, we saw that everyone was being stopped so the police could check bags.  They were probably checking for weapons (into which category umbrellas fell), but we noted, to our great dismay, that they were not allowing alcohol into the park.  This would not do!
Linda said to me, "we can't let them find our rosé" and went into her we're-just-little-old-ladies act.

Linda: Officer, I'm afraid we took the subway to the wrong stop. We're looking for the park where the fireworks will be.         
Officer:  You're in the right place. Just follow the crowd.
Linda: I can't even see the park. I don't think we can walk that far.
Officer: It's not so far, and you have plenty of time before the fireworks begin.
Linda: I don't know. Maybe we should just go home.
Officer: No, you'll see it'll be okay. Go ahead and just take your time.
Linda: Thank you, Officer.  

Needless to say, he never touched our bags with the two bottles of rosé!