It’s been a busy week. Saturday night supper  was at La Lanterna Di Vittorio on MacDougal where lasagna is king. Afterwards, we wandered across Bleecker to McNulty’s on Christopher. McNulty’s, as every New Yorker knows, has different, delicious coffees and teas. The shop is stacked with similar goodies from all over the world and it reeks of coffee. It was like stepping back into the seventies.

On Tuesday, I visited friends on the very west side, had a delicious, cosy meal in front of their Christmas tree and fireplace. We went to Boxers for an after dinner drink. Boxers??? Not the place where gay waiters serve you wearing swimming shorts? Yes, indeed. I was hoping for some naughty stuff. It was so innocent. 

On Friday, I attended a talk along with four million other people (3,999,995 were women) at The Grolier Club. It was 500 Years of Women’s Work. Lisa Unger Baskin walked us through parts of her collection which are beautifully displayed at the Grolier. It dates from 1478 to the Twentieth Century. The permanent collection is at Duke. The one at the Grolier runs until February 8.

Now for a stern note. Governor Cuomo wants third parties to increase their number of votes if they’re to remain on the ballot. I belong to the Green Party and received this disturbing letter from the Green Party. Howie Hawkins, our presidential nominee, is quoted. 

If you thought Bernie Sanders was the only one facing the wolves this election season, let us inform you that he’s not.

It’s become pretty obvious that there’s all-out war against Bernie Sanders, and the DNC’s picks for the committees that will oversee nomination convention business certainly underscores this reality. And now with Barack Obama threatening to “go public” on his opposition to Sanders, you know the fix is in.

Last week in an open letter, Noam Chomsky, Barbara Ehrenreich, and other progressive luminaries insisted that Howie Hawkins and the Green Party vote Democrat for president in battleground states.

They condescendingly describe Green votes as a self-indulgent “feel-good activity” as if Green votes are not votes for urgent climate action, real social and economic justice policies, and peace policies.

Don’t they see that the Democrats have joined the Republicans in supporting pro-corporate economic policies and pro-war foreign policies that have generated growing inequality at home and endless wars abroad?

As Howie said, “The left cannot outsource fighting the right to the Democrats.”

Howie points out that the Democrats have helped to normalize Trump by joining with him to overwhelmingly support military budget increases, the US Mexico Canada Trade Agreement (NAFTA 2.0), and the prosecution of Julian Assange and persecution of Chelsea Manning.

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a Windsor School teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who  accuses her of lying? Her father who’s fled to Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner was stabbed. He feels remorse over screwing up an important case. His corrupt boss is a trustee of the Windsor School. His girlfriend married his boss. And his daughter quit college. 

The Mystery Writers of America (MWA) had its first 2020 meeting on Wednesday.  Help Chart MWA-NY’s Future!  was one of the themes of the evening. The other theme was to thank Jeff Markowitz, the outgoing chapter president and to welcome our new president, Erica Obey. MWA is filled with different writing events: reading aloud, being mentored, mentoring, speaking on library panels, selling books. Jeff was always accessible whether it was a problem with the website or trying to find another member. He attended most events and was always upbeat and supportive. Many thanks, Jeff. 

Last Monday I went to the Frick to attend Recommendations for Active Shooter Incidents. Officer Stephen Gibbons gave a detailed description of what makes up an active shooter. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defines this person as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.”

The part of this description that fascinated me was confined area. Of course. Don’t most of us live in or near cities? Officer Gibbons gave examples of preferred locations: malls, plants, nail and hair salons, movie theaters, schools, places of worship. The officer’s advice, if involved in one of these incidents and if it’s possible, is to leave immediately and call 911. If there’s a barricade, locate an area with ballistic cover not just visual concealment. If there’s confrontation, use improvised weapons and work as a group. Since I write crime novels this was a field day for me. Even so, it was chilling to learn how active shooters will continue to shoot until stopped. 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a Windsor School teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who  accuses her of lying? Her father who’s fled to Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner was stabbed. He feels remorse over screwing up an important case. His corrupt boss is a trustee of the Windsor School. His girlfriend married his boss. And his daughter quit college. 

On Sundays a friend and I  often have breakfast at Caffe Reggio. Afterwards she goes dancing. This is at 10 a.m. on a Sunday morning. Who isn’t curious about dancing at 10 a.m.  So I joined her.  We went to a building across the street from the Jefferson Market Library.  Yoga was on the second floor. We attended 5Rhythms Sweat Your Prayers on the fifth floor. After paying $20 each we entered a floor through room with windows overlooking Sixth Avenue. I’m guessing there were about 250 people, a cultural mix ranging in age from 20 to 80. Everyone did his, her, them thing.   Rules: bare feet or ballet slippers, no talking. Armed with a towel and a water bottle parked on a window ledge, I joined in. The recorded music gets faster and the dancing is livelier until it reaches a crescendo. It then slows down and repeats itself. People swooped, jumped, ran, around the room.  I lasted an hour and a half. It was fun and it was exercise.

Later in the week we met at Guitanos on Christopher for a drink and a few laughs. It’s cosy and dark. In a few months It’s  moving way down the block to Charleston Street. I hope it maintains its atmosphere. The music is mid-twentieth century big band, Satchmo, Sinatra. The food is Italian American and is tasty in a down home way. 

Graphic Lessons: What do a thirty-four-year old, a nine-year-old and an eighteen-year-old have in common? Murder. 

Millie Fitzgerald applies for a Windsor School teaching job, faints on a  dying man in the school kitchen, deals with a troubled nine-year-old and with the eighteen-year-old niece of the murdered man.

Graphic Lessons: Nine-year-old Dana is the only witness who overhears a person fighting with George Lopez, the soon to be stabbed Windsor School kitchen worker. Who can she tell? Her mother who  accuses her of lying? Her father who’s fled to Singapore? She tells Millie. 

Graphic Lessons: NYPD Detective Steve Kulchek is assigned the murder case at the prestigious Windsor School. What’s bugging him? His partner was stabbed. He feels remorse over screwing up an important case. His corrupt boss is a trustee of the Windsor School. His girlfriend married his boss. And his daughter quit college.