By 6 pm we were at Dick’s for real American Ketel One martinis.  Then to Pangea where we both had bowls of gazpacho (having never found it in Europe), split an order of calamari fritti and then two orders of spaghetti bolognese (before we return to being mainly vegetarians).  It’s like being home, having our waitress Jennifer gossiping about Arnoldo and the like.

Sunday, August 2 … the good weather continues unabated and we take a lovely walk to SoHo and then Suzie’s Chinese on Bleeker Street where we have somewhat decent Mai Tai’s and somewhat mediocre food.

Later, we pick up slices of pizza at Viva Natural Pizza and a video of “The Wedding Banquet” directed by Ang Lee and regarding gay Chinese.  We also watch a Biography special on Steven Spielberg (and call Jeff Marshall).

Monday, August 3, I have lunch at the Rustic Mill Diner in Cranford with my mom, Uncle Emil (it’s his birthday) and my Aunt Annie (looking pretty good, considering the chemotherapy, in a Gloria Swanson turban to hide the baldness), my godfather Uncle Frankie and Aunt Rose, plus their grandson Patrick (six, but very well behaved).

By 2 pm, I hear that Shari Lewis has died; no more lamb chops for her.  Around 6, we stop for martinis at Dick’s and then, thinking we’d eat at John’s and see Donn (our “waiter boy”) we instead see him coming out of work early.  So the three of us go to Brunetta’s on First Avenue and their homemade white sangria.

Tuesday, August 4, I’m awakened by Bryan at 6 am.  It seems Rosebud has trapped herself outside the protective netting of the back porch!  Thank god, she figures how to get herself around to the side opening that she must have originally gone through.  If she were a lobster, she’d be dead!  Well, there’s no sleeping for me after that so I get up, followed by Bryan at 8 am.  Easy day; nothing happens.

Wednesday, August 5, other than some simple sushi for dinner; another quiet day.

Thursday, August 6, a little after 6 pm we eat at Pangea (B had an amazing striped bass over a cold melange of vegetables and unusual spices) and then a couple of drinks at Dick’s.  Jeff Marshall calls on the cell phone.  He and Alli are down to take care of their new band, playing at the Mercury Lounge.  But all we will see of them is an hour at the apartment, having martinis made with Martini & Rossi Bianco (see Europe diary).

Friday, August 7, Al Fricke, one of the patriarchs of our parish, has passed away on Thursday morning.  He had been battling cancer for the last year, but there always seemed to be another month in front of him.  I sing in the church choir with his daughter, Arlene, and went to school with her sister who passed away when we were young.  Bryan and I ate at Brunetta’s for dinner.

Saturday, August 8, I’m in the mood for linguine with small clams from Pangea, but instead we change plans and go to Dok Suni’s for Korean food.

Sunday, August 9, Bryan picks up coffee and sweets at Taylor’s and then I go to St. Bartholomew’s on Park and 50th Street for mass.  I’ve been meaning to go there for a while, as they have captivating ads on WQXR, but this is my first opportunity.  During the summer, they’re having special musical services, and this one is based on Palestrina’s Missa Brevis.  Quite good, and the rector gives a good sermon as well.  A gorgeous church makes this a good bet to return to.

Back at the apartment by 1 pm, then brunch at Pangea before picking up Scott “Dangerboy” Reich and his girlfriend Susan as we begin our day trip to Coney Island.  Sort of like Asbury Park with people!  We only stay for them to ride the Cyclone and walk through the booths before returning to the East Village.

It's drinks and snacks at 7A (on 7th Street and Avenue A).  And guess who else is there?  Eric Stoltz, that’s who!  For some reason, he’s got four peaches and goes to the sink at the back to wash them.  Hmmm.

Monday, August 10, I pick up our new “scenario” from Mod World on First Avenue.  You may recall the two transmogrified “Ken” dolls that we previously purchased from them.  This one has Ken in a bondage scenario, complete with little red light bulb.  Quite unusual!

Tuesday, August 11, another humid day in the Northeast but it’s cool at work!  And I have a nice long talk with Roberto Fois who will be handling the diocesan newsletter; I’m looking forward to working with him.  Then martinis at Jim and Jamie’s; they invite me to stay for london broil.  I leave around 11 pm and drive back into the city listening to Faure’s Requiem.

Wednesday, August 12, and wish Bryan a happy birthday; yes, he’s 29 today!  His presents from me included the trip to Europe (although he was a major financial contributor) and tickets to see Helen Hunt in Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” next week.  Around 6, we started going through the Europe pictures and then MaryAnn’s for dinner (where the waiters present him with a flan and sing “Happy Birthday”).

Thursday, August 13, we have sushi at Mie, the Japanese restaurant next door to Dick’s.

Friday, August 14 and Dangerboy’s for vodkas.

Saturday, August 15, Feast of the Assumption (does anybody recognize this anymore?) … Bryan’s rash, which has started earlier in the week, is getting worse; it will finally be self-diagnosed on Sunday evening to be shingles!

Not knowing this, we proceed to a semi-regular weekend.  After our normal lunch at the Lunch Box, we proceed to the Guggenheim Museum SoHo.

Then to Tower Records (another Faure Requiem with Kiri Te Kanewa, two discs with Leonard Bernstein conducting – Mahler's Third Symphony with the NY Philharmonic and a modern disc with him conducting his troupe through Roy Harris and Symphony #3, Randall Thompson's Second Symphony and David Diamond's Fourth).

For reading material we head over to Barnes & Noble where I pick up the new gay fave, Doug Guinan’s California Screaming which turns out to be a basic beach read.

At 10 pm, we have dinner at Pangea; I have an incredible Greek spinach/lemon soup, then linguini with little clams while B has calamari and a salad.

Sunday, August 16, we’re up for Taylor’s pastries (and Martha Stewart on tv) by 8:30 am and then to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine for 11 am mass.  Might I be trite and say, what a beautiful church?  And the sermon wasn’t half bad either!

Afterward, we took a walk around the Columbia University campus before heading down to lunch at 3 Guys on Madison Avenue between 74th and 75th Streets (expensive diner food, but good) before checking out a couple of stores (Villeroy & Boch, Bang & Olafsen) and then heading into the Whitney Museum around 3:30 for a little more than an hour.

After a drink at Dick’s we were back in the apartment with B napping and me reading my new book.  By the time he wakes up in pain, we realize (through the help of his boss Michelle) that his rash is shingles.  So I go over to Kentucky Fried Chicken for the both of us (nothing like comfort food when you’re not feeling well) and it’s lights out around midnight.

Monday, August 17, B spends most of the evening napping (while I watch Melrose Place, read, and talk to David Littler in LA), just getting up for the President’s speech at 10 pm.  BTW, I loved Bill Clinton’s speech and feel that a President has as much right to privacy as any citizen.  Bryan barely sleeps at all the rest of the night and even I get only a couple of hours of sleep.

Tuesday, August 18, we're supposed to go to Peter Luger’s Steak House with Dangerboy and Susan but we’ve rescheduled; so instead we rest all evening (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing).  Later in the evening, I pick up take-out at Pizzeria Uno and it’s lights out by midnight.  Thankfully, Bryan gets some sleep.

Wednesday, August 19, the first thing I do is attend a funeral.  There are two main family groups at Jezek, the Vitale’s (me) and the Nunez’s (Oscar and his brother Evangelista, called Cholo, both in their early 50s, and their sister Lydia’s son, Manuel, called Manny or Macho).  Over the weekend, Lydia, who was 55 and a bit over-weight, had a stroke and died.  So that left half the workforce out, but of course more importantly, Manny lost his mom.  The wake was Monday and Tuesday; the funeral was at the funeral home; I went in my car and my brother and father in his.  Even though the service was totally in Spanish, it was easy to follow; and the preacher who did the sermon was quite fiery and moving.

In the evening, Bryan and I drove up to the Vivien Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center to see Helen Hunt, Paul Rudd, Philip Bosco and others in Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.”  Quite incredible; a beautiful set and great acting.  At 11 pm, after the show, we drove to Pangea, but Bryan’s pain had gotten quite bad (the show took his mind off it, I think) and he went home in the middle of dinner (I followed after finishing my food).  Lights out at 1 am.

Thursday, August 20, Bryan returns to work, although he’s still feeling poorly; I’m shocked that he makes it a full day.  After work, I drop by Jim and Jamie’s house, Jim and I will go see Tom Pastor sing on Friday.

Friday, August 21, although B has managed to snag a doctor’s appointment for the afternoon, he never gets to go.  Suffice it to say, he’s not a happy camper.  By the time I get into NYC, he’s back home and resting.

At 5 pm, I meet Jim Lenney to go see his friend Tom Paster singing in an “Evening of Opera Scenes” up on East 59th Street.  I pick Jim up in the car at Washington Square Park and we have a nice scenic tour of the East Side before parking at 6 pm and going for cocktails at the Oak Room at the Park Plaza Hotel (along with some oysters for me and a seafood salad for Jim).  The drinks aren’t cheap but they are very huge; it leads to me dozing for most of the performance.

I drop Jim off at the bus station around 10:30 pm and head home.  Bryan is halfway through seeing a tape of “Sphere” (with Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone and Samuel Jackson), a fairly bad sci-fi movie.  We crash around 1 am.

Saturday, August 22, up around 10 am.  Our plan is to go to the emergency room at Cabrini Hospital so he can have his shingles looked at; before that we have breakfast at Cosmos Diner nearby.  We spend the middle of the afternoon seeing the doctor; at least the shingles are proceeding normally and not infecting.

Later in the day, we just poke around (even going to K-Mart) before having drinks at Dick’s and dinner at Flamingo East on 2nd Avenue.  The food there is great and we haven’t really had a good sit-down all week.  Scott “Dangerboy” Reich joins us a little after 10 pm for a drink there; he’s in pain from having been pummeled at a Beastie Boys concert the night before.  By 11 pm, we’re back home and asleep by midnight; many vodkas finally give Bryan a good night’s sleep.

Sunday, August 23, my father’s 75th birthday celebration.  There are 180 of his friends and relatives there; most of whom I haven’t seen for over 30 years, and likely won’t again.

Monday, August 24, is my mother’s 74th birthday; my brother and I both send her arrangements of flowers which look beautiful when I stop by the house after work.  I’m back at the apartment around 6:30 and find Bryan napping; he only wakes up while I’m watching “Melrose Place.”

We never really get going as he’s still in a lot of pain, so I wind up going to Pangea by myself (and have a very good spicy Moroccan tomato soup and decent strip steak).  When I get home, a little after midnight, he’s back asleep and sleeps soundly the rest of night.

Tuesday, August 25, we pick up Dangerboy and Susan for our dinner at Peter Luger’s Steakhouse in Brooklyn.  We drive over, have a vodka on the rocks (except for Susan, a Jameson’s fan) which is the size of a water pitcher, and sit down to dinner.  Yes, it’s steak for four along with their incredible creamed spinach and roasted potatoes following shrimp cocktails (Bryan is the big winner here as he gets a couple extra from each of us).  By 11 pm we’re on the way home (Bryan drove as I got quite the buzz from the bottle of Chianti Classico Riserva) and it’s lights out by midnight.

Wednesday, August 26, it’s gray outside as Hurricane Bonnie prepares to arrive.  After work, Bryan and I drive to FedEx to pickup a beautiful leather photo album for our Europe trip; it’s huge!  Then, since we’re near the piers, we have dinner at Florent on Gaansevoort Street which cheers B up immensely (he’s still aching from his sores).  I have a superb cold tomato curry soup and linguini with shitake mushrooms, chicken and spinach while B goes wild with the fried chicken special (double-battered with garlic mashed potatoes).

Thursday, August 27, we’re making plans to go to San Francisco!   While at work, I get a post from Dangerboy; he’s just seen Madonna coming out of a limo … wow!

Friday, August 28, we’re confirmed for San Francisco for Halloween weekend!  Cool!  In the evening we meet Uncle Ralph Taylor at Café Torino in the West Village (we seem to always eat there with him).  We split some perfect baby clams in tomato sauce, calamari and then a platter of spinach gnocchi in pesto along with a couple of bottle of pinot grigio (we’d previously had a cosmopolitan at the bar, so it definitely hit me!).

Saturday, August 29, we head off to New Jersey for the wedding of my god-child Anne Marie Bruchesetti to a nice man named David Chelak. The wedding itself is at St. Bartholomew’s in Scotch Plains, the same church her parents (my first cousin Artie and Delores) got married in 36 years ago!  Bryan and I stop over at Jim and Jamie’s before the reception, which is at the Bridgewater Manor in Bridgewater.  We get there for cocktail hour around 6:30, seating is around 7; we’re at the cousins’ table with Carol and her friend Russ, Patty and her husband Gary, and Mario and MaryKay.  We all have a nice time and fun conversation (and Annie’s dress is just beautiful, even considering Carol and Patty managed to break the zipper during the reception - for a fun memory); Bryan and I leave around 10:15 and drive back into the city and straight to sleep.

Sunday, August 30, a beautiful day for a drive so we pick up Michelle and head up to Woodbury Common, about an hour north of the city; I believe it’s the country’s largest outlet mall … even if not, it certainly is huge!  I hadn’t planned to buy anything but I wind up with most of the goodies!  At Bally Shoes, I get a wild pair of tuxedo pumps for Albert’s wedding in October, at Cole-Haan both Bryan and I get shoes – his are wild knit items, at Vans he replaces his current sneakers with an identical pair, at Brooks Brothers we both get khaki shorts and I luck out with a beautiful dark brown leather jacket - originally $350 but marked down to $250, plus an extra 10% off for signing up for a credit card, Bryan gets a great trench coat in an unusual shade of green from London Fog, and Michelle buys him four gorgeous crystal martini glasses from Mikasa to go with the bar set he got from Jeff and Alli.  We didn’t plan on anything; we wound up with everything!   And a nice ride as well without much traffic.  We dropped Michelle off around 9 pm and went for dinner at Pangea (we wanted pina coladas).

Monday, August 31, I pick up the fixin’s for martinis at home.  Big martini glasses make big martinis so we have quite the buzz while watching Melrose Place and then having dinner at John’s Italian (where Donn gives us quite the break on the bill) and then drinks at Dick’s.

And that ends August.