Thank you, New York State. I have been alive long enough to remember that in NY, a person could be arrested for dancing with someone of the same sex; now in NY a you can marry the person you love, even if they happen to be the same sex. That is amazing.
I was once a New Yorker, & although I understand that it is a large & diverse state,I always think of NY State as NYC, the city that is the center if the universe.
I happen to like New York, I happen to like this town. I like the city air, I like to drink of it, The more I know New York the more I think of it. I like the sight & the sound & even the stink of it. I happen to like New York. I like to go to Battery Park & watch those liners booming in. I often ask myself, why should it be that they come so far across the sea. I suppose it's because they all agree with me. They happen to like New York. Last Sunday afternoon I took a trip to Hackensack, But after I gave Hackensack the once over, I took the next train back. I happen to like New York. I happen to love this burg. When I have to give the world a last farewell, & the undertaker starts to ring my funeral bell, I don't want to go to heaven, don't want to go to hell. I happen to like New York. I happen to like New York.
Cole Porter 1930
We were married in Vancouver BC, my 2nd favorite city, on our 25th anniversary of being a couple. We had decided that we would never have another wedding, after all, we are actually married. But, if he would have me, & if we don't divorce before then, I would feel very good about getting married again in NYC.
One of my very favorite memories of our 32 years together, was watching my husband's face as we emerged from the subway at 42nd Street, & stepped into Time Square at sunset, ablaze in neon & racket, on our first visit together in the city that never sleeps.
He is a favorite of mine. I am feeling it, & never more so than when I am trying to explain pop culture from the 20th century to my young wards- the group of 14 20-30 year olds that I hire, train, schedule, counsel & maintain as part of my job. Despite the fact that I am able reference to Green Day, Rhianna or Weezer, they just stare dumbly, vacant eyed, & with a touch of disgust, if I try to explain to them who Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, Iggy Pop, the Clash or Men At Work are in our cultural history. I am truly old hat, old-fangled, old-fashioned, out-of-date, outmoded, & outworn.
I wasn’t dismayed that they didn’t know who Bobby Short was. I didn’t expect them to. I am sure that few in my own circle know of Mr. Short. I just couldn’t get them to wrap their heads around the idea of nightclubs, supper clubs, or Café Society. I was just attempting to give them a jumping off place in today’s lesson.
Mr. Short liked to call himself a saloon singer, a moniker I would have loved to have lived with. His was my 1st choice for an avocation. His saloon, from 1968 until his death in 2005, was one of the most elegant in the country, the intimate Cafe Carlyle tucked in the Carlyle hotel on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. There for 6 months each year, in a room where he was only a few feet from his audience, he sang & accompanied himself on the piano. I saw him perform there 4 times in the mid-1970s.
Mr. Short transcended the role of cabaret entertainer to become a New York institution & a symbol of civilized Manhattan culture. In Woody Allen's films a visit to the Carlyle became an essential stop on his characters' cultural tour. He attracted a chic international fan base that included royalty, movie stars, sports figures, socialites & jazz fans. He also appeared in small roles in TV commercials & movies.
Mr. Short's hobnobbing with the cream of society overshadowed his significance as a jazz pianist, singer & scholar. He dedicated himself to spreading an awareness of the African-American contribution to New York's musical theater. In his list of great American songwriters, Cole Porter stood side by side with Duke Ellington, Eubie Blake, & Fats Waller who wrote- Guess Who's in Town?... Mr. Short's unofficial musical greeting.
Mr. Short had a bout of notoriety in May 1980 when Gloria Vanderbilt sued the River House on the East Side of Manhattan, which had refused to sell her a $1.1 million apartment. She accused the management of racial bias because of her friendship with him. The building's board said it wanted to avoid "unwanted publicity." A month later, she dropped the suit. Mr. Short generally stayed out of the fray but said, "I'm old enough to be sophisticated about these things." This phrase is my new motto.
