Tuesday, June 1, and a quiet day for the boys but not for Bryan’s boss, Michelle Petersen.  She’s getting four root canals; is that possible?  Yikes!  We stay in contact with her, but she doesn’t need company later so it's off to Mexican at Maryann’s, then it’s bed at 10:30 while Bryan works on his new web page.

Wednesday, June 2 and the heat wave continues.  Driving music is Jack Bruce’s “Willpower” – a 20 year retrospective; it’s amazing to hear the breadth of his work, especially as most people don’t even know of the major contribution he made as bassist for Cream (yes, that’s his vocal in “White Room”).  My favorite tracks include "As You Said" and the more recent "The Best is Still to Come."

It’s a long day at work for Bryan since Michelle is only in town for the next week; yes, the courageous lady is at work the very next day!  So Bryan doesn’t get home until 8 pm.  Then it’s a nice dinner at Pangea (with pina coladas).

Thursday, June 3, I get a ticket on the way to work.  Yes, coming off the highway, I got annoyed at a truck moving slowly down the street and decide to pass him.  Yes, in front of a cop who at least is willing to meet me in court to drop the “points.”

For dinner it's sushi at Mie.  He’s getting quite good at ordering individual pieces.

Friday, June 4, Fr. Craig Wylie [rector of Trinity, Cranford - he hasn't made a diary appearance in awhile so I thought I'd reintroduce] comes by for lunch as we’ve had his wife’s computer fixed in NYC for him.  So he joins me and the workforce in a fine repast of bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches from the local diner!  Yes, I go all out when we have visitors at the shop.

I also take care of booking our flight to Europe this summer.  Plane tickets have gone up considerably and I’ve gained nothing by procrastinating; indeed, the price went from $800 per round-trip to $940 in two days!  I bite the bullet and buy the tickets.  That settles it; we’re going to Europe from Sunday, July 11 to Sunday, July 25.  Mainly to London, England but in the middle we'll take a train trip with a fabulous day in Paris, two in Amsterdam and Brussels for an overnight.

Driving music is Aaron Copland’s “Music for Movies” and “Quiet City” with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Ted Smith tells me that “the relationship between the Orchestra and St. Luke’s [the Episcopal church near Christopher Street] is that originally the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble (the forerunner of the Orchestra) was founded at St. Luke’s and performed there up until the fire [which almost totally destroyed the church].  This was probably the best thing to happen to them, since it forced them to go out into the world.”

Might I add that my thin relationship to St. Luke's dates back to the late 1970's when David Littler would take me there for Afternoon Prayer. This back in the days when he and the late John Hood shared a co-op on King Street.

I meet Bryan back at the apartment and we go off for martinis at Dick’s.  Since it’s Friday night, we pass up dinner and instead I catch most of the last episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Saturday, June 5, a very lazy day; the only thing I desire is a good steak and I’m willing to pay for it.  So we make a reservation at the Old Homestead, where we had dinner on Super Bowl Sunday (see January diary).  Bryan could have his huge shrimp cocktail; me a perfect piece of filet mignon.  But it was not to be.  We got to the restaurant at exactly 9 pm, the time of our reservation.  But they weren’t ready for us, and with no real place to stand we got disgusted pretty quickly and by 9:30 walked out the door.

Oh, oh, Saturday night and no place to eat.  We walk into Greenwich Village and wind up eating outside at Frascati’s Restaurant on Seventh Avenue (we were more on the side street).  Although the food wasn’t bad, it was somewhat bland (something that should not be said of pumpkin tortelloni in a sun-dried tomato and garlic sauce).  But the service was nice, and certainly the company was.

Sunday, June 6, it’s up at 7 am to get ready to our day trip to Woodbury Common along with Bryan’s boss Michelle Petersen.  Located about an hour north of the city, this is one of the largest outlet malls in the country with virtually every name brand in clothing and furnishings.  All three of us wind up with things we like, including some beautiful shirts and ties for Bryan.

Finally, after more than eight hours of shopping, we left to go back to the city.  We get back to Michelle’s apartment in Battery Park (near the World Trade Center) around 9 pm and, along with her son Matt, have dinner at Wave, a Japanese restaurant at the base of her building.

Monday, June 7, back to work.  But not before my semi-annual dental check-up.  It must be well over a decade since my last cavity; I’m not complaining!

Another hot day, past 95 degrees, so I pick Bryan up at work.  But he’s also working late so that means after 7:30 pm and then drinks at Dick’s.  We get a light bite to eat at Pangea at 10 pm; panzanella (bread salad) for Bryan and an arugula salad with apples, pistachio nuts and feta cheese for myself.

Tuesday, June 8, and they’re planning for a record heat day. Driving music is Marta Sebestyen's American compilation "Kismet."  Another chance at a plug for world music if only to catch her "The Shores of Loch Brann/Hazafele" which is a combination of two Irish and Hungarian folksongs.  Around 8 pm, we meet Dangerboy at La Balconata.  Both he and I have the chicken orbino (breast with sausage in a cream sauce) that wasn’t as good as we remembered.  But the mozzarella stuffed prosciutto in pesto is always good and Bryan likes the European-style dipping sauce for the shrimp cocktail.

Wednesday, June 9, I’m up at 7 am and am into work correspondingly early.  It’s a slow day as I seem to be coming down with the flu; by the evening I know that to be true.  After a brief nap, Bryan and I try to have some dinner at Café Centosette but I barely touch my food and I’m asleep by 11 pm.

Thursday, June 10, I take the day off and spend most of it sleeping.  Bryan works all day and then we have dinner at Pangea.  I’m still not hungry but weakness may be my worst enemy as we go back home; me asleep earlier than Bryan.

Friday, June 11, much better, thank you after a day off; I get lots done even though Bryan has correctly advised me to leave after lunch.  Well, around 4 pm … so we had martinis at 5 (ok, mine was Evian) and then off for a quick bite at Sapporo.  We have eaten at this sushi joint on First Avenue near 9th Street before with Danger and Susan; since it’s 7 pm and relatively early, we actually get seated immediately.  Bryan likes their cold sake served in a square box with cucumber as well as a spicy asparagus roll and spicy eggplant (served in it’s own skin – oh, that’s aubergine to our British friends).

But two things spoil the meal somewhat; the quality of the regular sushi is not as high as Mie (our favorite – and closer – place) and at one point it seems as though they were discriminating against an older couple, who admittedly did look a bit “shabby.”  But it is the East Village after all and he could have been Einstein for all we knew.  Minor issues resolved (were we reading too much into it?), we finished and went back home.  As usual, we stay in on Friday nights, with me listening to Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Symphony Number 3 ("The Pastoral").

Saturday, June 12 … lazy!  Yes, the boys do not really rise to the occasion until after 6 pm making them true denizens of the demi-monde!  Yeah, right.  My over-working the day before leads to another day of the flu.  This means we miss a possible lunch in our area with my mother and my cousin Lorraine Dizzia; dinner in the West Village with my brother Mario and five of his women friends at an Italian restaurant; or the movie “Notting Hill” with Ted Smith and Jim Shewalter.

But we do go for an incredible dinner at the Flea Market (131 Avenue A, with open windows facing Thompkins Park).  I have tuna tartare prepared with avocado, followed by filet mignon in béarnaise with potatoes lyonnaise and a glass of nice champagne; Bryan has artichoke followed by steak tartare and a couple of glasses of good dry white wine.  The whole meal was only $74 (with the tip rounding out the rest of the big bill); quite reasonable considering the high quality of this French bistro.

By 11 pm our lazy bones have taken us back home; I actually fall asleep watching “Death Becomes Her” with Goldie Hawn, Meryl Streep and Bruce Willis.  I’d forgotten how good that film was; perhaps I’ll get it on DVD now that I’d really like to see it!

Sunday, June 13, we drive to my parents’ house in New Jersey.  My mother had baked an apple pie for us and I was going to retrieve it.  But when we arrived at my house, my father was on his way out and my mother was no where to be found; so we had a bowl of spaghetti with my brother (who then dropped off his dog and left) and almost missed my parents before they returned slightly after 3 pm.

But an apple pie and some plants from Dreyer Farms later, we headed back to NYC, returning around 5 pm.  We went right out and met Scott “Dangerboy” Reich and Susan Merlucci (our new “Susan Lucci”) for the 6 pm showing of Star Wars – Phantom Menace at the new theater in Union Square.  Critical comments notwithstanding (and forget about that silly Jar Jar; we were put off by the obviously Japanese Viceroy and the Jewish slave owner), the movie was a fun adventure.

Our next stop together was the Feast of St. Anthony on MacDougal Street in the Village.  I love these expanded street fairs with their gambling wheels (for cheap wine) and extra types of Italian food. I’m the only one who will sample the cuisine however, having a pork braciola sandwich.  And I’m the only one who will pay later when it gets me up at 6 am (ok, Bryan, you were right!).  We decide on real dinner and head over to MaryAnn’s on Second Avenue for Mexican.  Lots of tequila and food later, we parted company and were all home by 11 pm.

Monday, June 14, it's off to Atomic Wings for a sophomore visit.  And it’s good once again; this time we had twenty pieces of chicken prepared medium hot with Bryan asking for some very hot sauce on the side.  Along with perfect waffle fries, homemade coleslaw and a couple of sodas, the total cost was less than a twenty dollar bill.  And although the sauce repeats on Bryan for the next few hours, he’s very happy.

Tuesday, June 15, driving music is a rare cd sampler - "The Clash on Broadway - The Trailer."  We make more preparations for Paris; interestingly we seem to be spending more time on this day in Paris than the whole rest of the two weeks in England!  On the way back, the music is Ralph Vaughan Williams' Symphony #2 ("A London Symphony") with the London Symphony Orchestra under Andre Previn.  For dinner, Bryan and I have wonderfully spicy food at Dok Suni, the Korean restaurant on First Avenue; we wind up eating at the bar which turns out to be a lot of fun.

Wednesday, June 16, turns out to be an interesting day if only for its unusualness.  DeForest Kelley, "Bones" from Star Trek, has died (although he's looked dead for years).  Reuters said:

"Star Trek" actor DeForest Kelley died after a long illness.  His wife of 55 years, Carolyn, also a patient at the hospital being treated for a broken leg, was at his side.  He was known for two catch phrases addressed to Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the Starship Enterprise: "He's dead, Jim" and variations on "Damn it, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer."  Kelley also was the curmudgeonly foil to the Vulcan first officer Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, and often hectored Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner, about the humanitarian aspects of a given crisis.  "He represented humanity, and it fitted him well," Nimoy said. "He was a decent, loving, caring partner and will be
deeply missed."

Just after lunch, I decide to leave work and meet Bryan at work at 2 pm.  Although he can't leave, he can come down for a cigarette in Bryant Park.  I then take a leisurely walk down Fifth Avenue as it is one of those perfect NYC days.  I can't say things were very exciting after that with lunch at the Lunch Box, watching Star Trek: Voyager on television and then dinner at McDonald's.

Thursday, June 17, I mainly work on Ecclesia, the diocesan newsletter and then meet Bryan at homeand then off to Pangea for dinner.  They’ve got a great version of a Greek chicken soup with spinach which I had, while Bryan had the panzanella (Tuscan bread salad); then we both had the penne with tomato/caper sauce (his with tuna, mine with marguez sausage).

I also get a phone call from Mark Enos; he’s at his brother’s house (indeed, the house the boys grew up in) in Plymouth, Mass where Mark’s attending David's wedding.  Mark and his friend Craig (both in from Boulder, Colorado) will be in NYC on Sunday and stay overnight with us.

Friday, June 18, driving music is Aaron Copland’s Symphony Number 3 (Dallas Symphony Orchestra under Eduardo Mata).  From the cd booklet …

Copland’s Third Symphony (1944-46) brings together the two complementary stains of his musical personality: the abstract style of the earlier symphonies [and] folk song and New England and Quaker hymnody….  Copland’s “American style” is characterized by its lean, wide-spaced texture; the tunefulness of its themes; the sturdy, purposeful quality of its harmony; the open-faced optimism and simple sincerity of its expression – these sound as though they grew from the very native soil….  Serge Koussevitzky called it “the greatest American symphony – it goes from the heart to the heart.”

Saturday, June 19, we’re up at noon and off to this week’s street fair (on Second Avenue, from 14th Street near the Lunch Box to 23rd Street).  We grab a nap from 7 to 10 pm and then walk down to St. Mark’s Place.  We have dinner at Ristorante Settanta Sette at, surprise, 77 St. Mark’s Place; they’ve just opened and are still working out bugs.  For instance, the shrimp cocktail had ketchup as its dipping sauce, Bryan’s pasta in mushroom sauce was good but my penne casalinga (asparagus and tomatoes) was a bit dull.  And, it might be a bit too upscale for the area but we’ll see, and probably try it again in the future.

Sunday, June 20, get a call from Mark Enos, they’re not leaving until noon which gives us more time to do nothing; so we have brunch at the Telephone Bar and Grill, we're starting to think that the food is a fairly good trade-off for the bad service and the straight people (sorry).

Around 6 pm, we go uptown to meet Mark and his friend Craig at the Empire State Building, we decide to take a long touristy walk down Fifth Avenue and then Seventh Avenue after 23rd Street.  We have dinner at the Empire Szechuan Village on Seventh Avenue near 11th Street; Mark remembers John Hood taking us there years ago but the food was definitely not up to snuff.

Indeed, my beef in dried chili peppers not only tastes like cat but makes me sick overnight.  The other entrees are nothing to write home about; Craig has some sushi but even that wasn’t nearly as good as Mie.  Getting back to the East Village, we take a quick look into Dick’s (neither of them drink so we didn't stay) and with rain starting overhead we headed back to the apartment and lights out at midnight.

Monday, June 21, first day of summer is cool and drizzly; driving music is Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto because I heard it on the radio the other day.  Dinner is at Pangea; I have the excellent Greek chicken/spinach soup from the other night and spaghetti bolognese (and a nectarine margarita that just didn’t mesh); Bryan had their quite good tuna steak.

Tuesday, June 22, an absolutely gorgeous day in New Jersey; I decide to take the finished copy of Ecclesia to Trenton myself.  I’m out of the office from noon until 3 pm.  I don’t get to meet the woman who prints the newsletter, but I do see Angelin Pozo (Fr. Francisco Pozo’s wife and a wonderful woman) who collects all the information for me.  I also briefly see Fr. Druce, who gives it his imprimatur and some of the lay staff.  Then it’s back to the office for an hour before going into NYC.

Dinner is at Mie (they really do have the freshest sushi around); then back to the apartment.  Bryan works on his computer while I watch the Donna Summer story on VH-1’s “Behind the Music.”  Minor complaint:  If you go to their site, there's nothing about this show, which is their most watched show!

I also catch some of the current season of MTV’s “Real World” to see who’s gay.  This year it’s Justin, a 21-year old gay activist student at Harvard Law School (yes, that young and that smart), and Ruthie, a Hawaiian alcoholic (hey, they take her to the hospital on the second episode).

Wednesday, June 23, I spend most of the day on the parish newsletter and don’t leave work until 8 pm.  Why so late?  I’d received a phone call from Susan Merlucci (seen in an advertisement in this month’s Vogue!); she had one extra ticket for the Pretenders show at the Bowery Ballroom (where she’s a bartender).  She felt bad about not having two for us, or giving up her place, but I said that although I thought it’d be nice, it would be Bryan who would love to go.

So she reached him at work right before he left and a very excited Bryan had plans for the evening!  He says it was a great show and Chrissie Hynde looked great.  While he was there, I watched the PBS documentary “After Stonewall.”  We meet for dinner at Yaffa, the wonderful bohemian eatery on St. Mark's Place, around midnight.

Thursday, June 24, I’m up at 7 am to get ready for my doctor’s appointment with dr. diamond - this is my fifth year with her; my t-cells have risen to 190 and viral load is still undetectable.
And everyone still wants me to gain weight!

Dinner at Café Centosette.  His gazpacho isn’t as good as last time but our specials are good and the strawberry layer cake (much like a wedding cake) is great for dessert.

Friday, June 25, and it’s the Pretenders on the Today Show.  Bryan is right; Chrissie Hynde looks remarkably good for her age. After dropping off him at work, I see a huge amount of traffic facing me on Fifth Avenue (which is sporting its bright lavender line for the Gay Pride Parade on Sunday).  What to do?  A Zen moment to be sure, so I pop in the Grateful Dead’s Live/Dead and start right off with Dark Star.  The traffic immediately breaks up and, honestly, I get to work seeing virtually not another traffic light or jam!  Plus a reminder that those guys could really play some rock’n’roll.  And for those who remember the four sides of the vinyl edition, and the lengths we went to try to splice it back together ... the whole concert is now on one cd, one long piece.  Just perfect.

I finish up much of the parish newsletter before leaving work.  Getting into town early, Bryan and I plan to catch “An Ideal Husband” (the Oscar Wilde-derived movie with Rupert Everett) at the Angelika.  We get our tickets and then go around the corner for Mexican food at Gonzalez y Gonzalez.  We’ve eaten here before; it’s loud and crazy but the food and drinks are actually quite good.  For instance, Bryan had an amazing crabmeat stuffed calamari appetizer.

Shortly before 8 pm, we got the check and got back to the theater; but by the time we entered the screening room (for that’s the size of their “theaters”) there were only scattered seats.  And not being willing to settle for bad seats, or sitting apart, we abandon the theater!  So we ate the price of the tickets ($9 each) as I promised Bryan that I wouldn’t make a scene.  So we were back at the apartment by 9 pm and I promptly fell asleep watching tv!  I awoke around midnight but just decided to give up; I ran out to the store for Bryan but then went back to sleep.

Saturday, June 26, we take the easy way out for dinner and go to Pangea.  And, believe it or not, that's the highlight of Saturday ... talk about the Sabbath!

Sunday, June 27, Gay Pride Day.  We meet Joe Fiore and David Feight (along with a friend of theirs) for brunch at East of Eighth, a very gay-ish restaurant on 23rd Street (yes, just east of Eighth Avenue).  Our traditional place, Woody’s, is where we all had brunch when we first met David; but they have deemed it too far away from where we will go to watch the parade.

As we enter the restaurant, we find out that our English friend Rupert from Dick’s is a bartender there during weekend brunch; that was a surprise (and a nice one as he slipped me a large glass of Ketel One!).

Around 1 pm, we head over to the reviewing stands at 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue; we’ve watched the Gay Pride Parade from here the last couple of years.  It’s the perfect spot as you can hear all the floats announced.  By 2 pm, the heat has gotten to us and we leave Joe and David.

We had planned to go over to the Guggenheim Soho, where they are showing Andy Warhol’s The Last Supper but the heat gets to us and we abandon all hope and enter the air-conditioned womb of our apartment until after 7 pm.  The we walk over to the West Village, passing in and out of crowds of gay men and women as there are parties, both public and private, all around the area.

We wind up at Nadine’s – Greenwich Village (99 Bank Street) where we are meeting Bryan’s bowling teammate, Steven Helmke and his lover Joel.  Now, we’ve never met his lover and have teased him for ages about our disbelief in his existence.   So it’s a very pleasant surprise to meet a really great guy when, indeed, he does show up!

Now some background:  Last summer, Bryan and I ate at Nadine’s with Danger and Susan after the Eddie Izzard show (see diary entry for June 30, 1998).  At the time I mentioned “the low quality of the food, the inattentive service” and, to be quite honest, it wasn’t much different this time although not quite as bad.  Certainly not enough to cause a scene over.

Afterwards, we walked down to the piers where the big dance was being held and to the Lure for a drink.  By then it was 10 pm and we took our leave of Steven and Joel.  They were staying for the fireworks and I think Bryan and I were just ready to pack it in.  We stopped by Dick’s and then to sleep.

Monday, June 28, I go to the office to finish the parish newsletter.  But before I leave for work, I see the most amazing sight on the Today Show.  Al Roker always goes out to talk to the crowds and will almost always talk to a guy who wants to propose to his girl.  So it’s nothing special when he walks up to a guy carrying a sign that reads “Jill, will you marry me?”

But when Al says to go ahead and ask her, he simply says “Jill, I have something I have to tell you.  I'm so happy that I love Rich!” and plants a big wet kiss on his boyfriend standing next to him.  On live national television.  Or as Al laughingly added, “See, that wouldn't do that onWill and Grace !!!”  [PS ... there's a full report by the perpetrators, Richard Spedale and Brian Thornton, in the July 15 edition of Lesbian & Gay New York]

It’s MaryAnn’s for Mexican.  The food is as good as ever except for the most minor problem.  For an appetizer I decide on chili con queso.  Now, as far as I’m concerned, that’s a cup or bowl of “chili” which around here beans or ground meat or both in a tomato sauce.  What I got were nachos; that’s right, a bunch of nacho chips with melted cheese in a bowl which sat in a pool of refried beans.  And although B and I got in a bit of a tiff about it, I had to tell the waiter my feelings (of course, I tip well so I’m authorized to do it!).

Tuesday, June 29, around 1 pm, I joined Bryan for lunch at Confetti Pasta on 38th Street.  This is the restaurant where you get in line, pick your toppings (meat, veggies and things like capers, onions, sun-dried tomatoes and olives), then your sauce and type of pasta.  They cook it all up in front of you; along with a choice of Caesar or garden salad, and garlic bread or rolls, the cost is less than ten bucks a person.  Quite tasty!

Then I walked all the way back to the apartment in the stifling heat.  But with nothing else to do, and not feeling in the mood to do much else, it’s a relaxing walk.  For dinner, we went for Italian at La Balconata on 6th Street.  While there, Vicki, the owner, shows us a nice review she got in a local weekly paper; she says it’s already helped business.  I happen to think that the reviewer was just as taken with her as the restaurant, which only could have helped her.  Here’s what he said about her:

“Your hostess, devoted owner Vicki, is a raven-aired, dazzlingly beautiful young woman reminiscent of the young Irene Papas.”  And of our favorite dish, “Consider fettuccine padrino – achingly fresh hot noodles in a fragrant sun-dried tomato and creamy cubes of feta cheese, great chunks of tender black olives, and torn hunks of lightly breaded and sautéed chicken breast meat.”

Yes, I think he was as in love with her as the food; well, good for her!

Wednesday, June 30, I stop off in Cranford on the way to work; I have a chance to see my mother (I do see much less of her now that I’m living in NYC, plus miss the family dysfunction).  Work is short and I get back to the apartment around 4; when he gets home, Bryan has a surprise for me – a limited edition watch by Swatch.

For the Fourth of July, they have released a special watch devoted to the lighting schedule of the Empire State Building.  B knows of my weird interest in this so this is a very special watch to have!!!

After resting, Bryan and I have dinner at Sassy’s Sliders on First Avenue; for those who don’t know, Sassy’s (a small chain originally started by two lesbians who recently sold out for big bucks) is an upscale White Castle.  That’s right, they have pretty much the same menu but imagine tasty veggie burgers substituting for the Castle’s “beef” – although you can also have their very good beef burgers as well.  And the fries give one a choice of cajun, garlic or sweet potato among other menu items.  Naturally, it’s very cheap – more food than we can eat is less than $14.

We go back home and I lay in bed and watch the History Channel documentary on the Panama Canal before falling asleep around midnight and thus ending June.