I’m writing from my hotel room in Times Square. Resting up before going to see the closing performance of Vanessa Redgrave in The Year of Magical Thinking. It should be a good show. Last night, we saw Curtains, which was excellent. A big, brash musical. Tonight should be a bit more subdued, which should make a nice contrast.

Today we walked from Times Square down to Grammercy, I guess, at the southern end of Manhattan. The main place we went to see was the birthplace of Theodore Roosevelt. Katie wanted to see it last year, but it was closed for renovations. This year, it was all open and for $3, one gets a tour of the house. It was fascinating! (I LOVE little tours like this, that seem to be about nothing but due to the enthusiasm of the docent turn out to be INCREDIBLY interesting.) I’ll admit that I know very little about Theodore Roosevelt’s early life and not much more about his later life. But this short tour (less than an hour) was really informative. I even went out and bought a recommended book “Mornings on Horseback” about his early life. Anyway, short summary is that I didn’t know how involved the Roosevelts were in early New York. I’m sure I’ll find out more about them as I get through the book. It’s funny, but I have read books on Eleanor Roosevelt, whom I greatly admire, but I never really thought to give any other Roosevelt in her family (not FDR’s side) a second look.

Anyway, I’m off to bundle up for the show tonight. It’s around 94 degrees out, but I have to put on long pants and a sweater because the theaters are so ridiculously cold.