Promises, Promises

Thursday, Dec. 16, 10AM
Promises, Promises could be the title of a video I've been working on with clips culled from the PEP meeting the other night regarding the PS 20/Arts and Letters District 13 school controversy over co-location and space.  As I said in my goodbye video to Joel Klein - school wars will be his lasting legacy.
I heard the word "choice" mentioned every 10 seconds and also heard promises, promises from PEP people and DOE officials about how much they want to help PS 20. I'll leave the rest of the commentary to the video when it is done - hopefully today - even though I am having a tough time doing much of anything once the daylight disappears. Last night after coming home from a matinee and dinner and with so much to do I watched Rohmer's "Claire's Knee" as part of my attempt to complete his entire series of "Moral Tales." A nice followup to the immoral tales at PEP meetings.

I was pretty tired  yesterday (Weds) - no, not from attending another bullshit UFT demo at Tweed (more on that later) which I mercifully missed due to family commitments.

Now, there is another moral tale. Here's the skinny:

Wife's brother and his wife are stuck with ferry tickets from Jersey - they bought a batch to go to Yankee games but one game was postponed - and they have until Jan. 1 to use it. Total would be $80, so they don't want to eat the tickets and suggest we meet them in the city for a matinee and dinner.

Tuesday
So Tuesday I drive my wife to downtown Brooklyn to the half price line on Jay Street and wait in the car. Now this is a major pain in the ass (Hamilton Ave bridge is up and it takes almost an hour) as I have to take her home and get back to downtown Broolyn for the PEP meeting later and in addition someone wants me to meet him at 4:30 to interview me for a documentary he is doing on closing schools. There is no line and she comes back with tics for "Midnight Quartet"- $70 a ticket - HALF PRICE? - and I get on the BQE while she calls to tell them. I'm in traffic around Atlantic Ave when the phone rings. They don't like Elvis or Johnny Cash. "Can we go back," from my wife. Jeez. I also think $70 bucks to see what is basically a review and not a real play is too much. They don't take back tickets but I practically make a U-turn on the BQE while briefing my wife on how to be nice - "BEG!" I tell her. And she does a great job - unheard of- they allow her to exchange the tickets for ------

PROMISES, PROMISES???????

You mean I have to submit to more Neil Simon after having lived with him for months for my role in "The Odd Couple" (WARNING - 3 more performances left to see me in both my simultaneous acting debut and end of career). Double Jeez. "Sean Hayes from 'Will and Grace' and Kristen Chenoweth" says my wife. "Who?" I never watched "Will and Grace" once. And while I liked Kristen in a few plays, no big deal. And my in-laws will probably hate it even more than than Elvis.

But I get a great excuse to miss the UFT DA and bullshit walk to Tweed and it will only cost me ---I can't even do the math but it will be worth whatever it costs.

So we get home around 1:30 and I head out to the PEP/meet with filmmaker at 3:30. PEP, blah, blah, blah. I get home around 10 and watch the first part of Claire's Knee).

Wednesday
Off to the city at 12:15. Train stuck in tunnel and get to theater at 1:45. In-laws freezing. Seats good - Orch row T on side- but cramped - bro-in-law is 6'3".

SHOW IS BEYOND GREAT. SEAN HAYES IS AWESOME. WORTH EVERY PENNY- GO BEFORE IT CLOSES ON JAN. 2.

Freezing walk to dinner at New Orleans style Delta Grill on 48th and 9th. Delicious gumbo and po' boys. Cost: around $70 a couple. Do the math. Cost in-laws over $200 because they didn't want to eat $80 worth of ferry tickets. But am I glad they decided to do this? I'd pay double to miss more UFT phony events.