What's this about "the bar scene"? This is a picture to conjure: a warm, beautiful early summer evening. A roof top bar where it's possible to have a drink and smoke without being made to feel a pariah [the woman I was with knows what she's doing and has decided to continue smoking. I am not bothered by smoke but am bothered by the no-smoking "police"]. The bar abuts the NY Public Library and looks out on Bryant Park. This is quintessential New York and it's lovely with big trees, a sizable rectangle of green grass and much, much bigger buildings around the park.
Two white haired ladies, quietly sitting on bar stools, having summery drinks and a light supper. Four bartenders working their trim butts off keeping up with the ever faster and more frantic orders as the crowd grows denser. The crowd is almost entirely 30- and 40-something "suit" types, far more men than women. Upon our arrival the crowd was sparse and not loud, within 40 minutes it had grown dense -- 4 or 5 deep and necessarily loud because that many people don't need to be rowdy to become loud, they simply have to make themselves heard.
A younger version of myself would have been extremely self-conscious as one of those two "older ladies". The current version of myself barely paid attention to all those guys except to notice that it was a Thursday night -- not even Friday, and the guys were apparently not there to pick up women, they were just drinking and chatting. We might have been more comfortable at a table in the smoking discouraged portion of the rooftop but I share Ellen's principles if not habits and believe people should be able to enjoy legal substances if they so desire. Just now Ellen is not living in NYC and I almost never am a part of this kind of scene [nor is she] but we did not feel unwelcome and enjoyed the evening. We both remember the slogan "Baby, you've dome a long way." We are where we are and that is good.
NOTE: Friends, I DO know that the flowers above are purple irises. I also have a photo of yelow irises but I don't like the photo much.
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