The Routines Are Familiar, Just Like the Rituals

I am heading down to the city this week. On Wednesday I’ll board a Peter Pan coach and head into Manhattan. As I have done for the past 25 years or more, I’ll meet my mother Valerie Hartshorne at a fancy restaurant and afterwords we will proceed to a theater.

Like in years past I’ll have no idea of what the show is. But as we head under the marquee, I’ll either smile or groan with Vally by my side. I have a tradition of traditions….things I do year after year, places I visit and people I see regularly, like clockwork, at the same time each year.

My dad once told me that the secret to being happy is having something to look forward to. Something looming up on the calendar, something you’re eager to do and can’t wait til it arrives. That’s the secret. Because if there is something up on that calendar, then you have a great reason to soldier on, despite how you feel.

When I’m in NY, I’ll meet up with Bruce, my travel writer friend. Bruce said he was going to be busy the night we were going to meet. He drives a Hansom cab, ferrying tourists around in a horse carriage. I imagine that for wearing that tuxedo and big grin, he’s raking in a lot in tips.

Bruce is a funny fellow, so brutally honest, so go for the jugular, that you sometimes are surprised by what you tell him. Unsettling at first, like hearing too much about somebody’s sex life, yet after a while strangely appealing. Bruce has won some top awards and is a fine writer as well, so it will fun to see him and find out about what he’s been up to.