PERSONAL NEWS #63

Saturday, July 9th, started out in the morning with a visit to my massage therapist and chiropractor in my neighborhood. After the 45 minute long treatment I felt wonderful and energized. That afternoon, around 2pm, I went to the NYC Tolkien/LOTRs group luncheon at Café le Fortuna on the upper Westside. I so enjoyed chatting with others who have a similar passion for Tolkien’s work, as well as love for the LOTR movie trilogy. The café has an outdoor garden in the back, with awnings, where one can dine el fresco. Those in attendance were Jackie, Syndi, Mike, Lefty, Carole, Becca, Josh and I. [photo below - Mike took pix] Some had a late lunch and those, like me, indulged in delicious iced liquid refreshment. Good thing we were under a large sheltered awning … as a brief nasty thunderstorm passed thru Manhattan.


Then it cleared up and was a lovely sunny day. Of the group, I was the only Boromir admirer and the others were mostly into the hobbits, Aragorn and Legolas. Actually, in the books I gravitate to Gandalf, but in the movies it’s strictly Boromir. When Josh showed up he brought a LOTRs board game with him and we spent 1 ½ hours trying to figure it out. After much head scratching, puzzled expressions and jocularity, we decided to attempt it on another occasion. I had such a fun time hanging out and we all exchanged email addys.

On Sunday, July 10th, I was invited to brunch at a fellow DoP members [Karen] apartment in midtown Manhattan. Due to the subways being so messed up, I arrived about 30 minutes late. [I curse NYC transit! Damn you!] Several DoP members were there including Carol along with hubby Gary, Joe with his wife Marie, and Ellen showed up with her friend Andy and dear Liz. Members of Karen’s family were also in attendance and even some of her co-workers. Donna, from the FOR Non-Violent Training, came and it was a pleasure seeing her again. On the kitchen table, which Karen turned into a charming buffet, were all sorts of yummy homemade goodies. Around the apartment were scattered delightful floral arrangements. As people left around 2:30pmish … we were handed little bags of candies, sort of like party favors.

Monday, July 11th, I hooked up with two other Yahoo "Bean Buffs" to view celebs arriving for THE ISLAND premiere at Ziegfeld Theater. [Weather was very warm and humid that day.] Main reason I was there with the “Buffs” [ie: Sara & Debbie] was to see the talented, handsome, sexy British actor Sean Bean. He plays another bad guy [Dr Merrick] role in this film. Sean showed up in a limo with his current girlfriend, actress Georgina Sutcliffe. [She’s an attractive young lady, but overall I can’t say I was impressed.] We fans of the movie’s many “stars” had to view the proceedings from across the street. Once all the “photos” were taken, Georgina went into the theater and Sean worked the line of reporters for about 25 minutes. From across the street we mostly saw him from behind and the occasional side profile. All of which are so dishy. Of all the celebs that showed up for the premiere, only one of them came across the street to shake hands and briefly chat with us fans. And that was the impressive Michael Duncan Clarke. The film officially opened on Friday, July 22nd, and I hope to view it the weekend of July 30th.

On Thursday, July 14th, I attended my third "support group" session at Karen’s place. A portion of the session was devoted to Carol and hearing about her amazing trip to South Africa back in June. Also at this session were Janet, Joe, Maria and Liz. As always I find the support group experience to be very uplifting and healing. Plus it’s a learning experience as I travel this path of awakening and spiritual enlightenment. Afterwards I hopped a taxi on up to upper Westside to join "NYCTolkien" meetup, which was already in progress. I joined Jackie, Becca, Katie, Stephanie, Katalina and enjoyed the refreshing delight of an iced Cappuccino with scoop of chocolate ice cream. Total yummers! One of the gals brought a Tolkien book, which was letters written between father/son during WWII. Totally fascinating! Shortly after 10pm some of the group left. Then it was just Becca, Jackie and I. We talked and laughed on a variety of topics, and finally left the café at 11:30pm. What a great evening.