Live from New York........

Edit: I discovered that if you double-click any of the names in this post, you will get the Wikipedia listing for them. All except for mr. kenju, of course....LOL

The Stanner Alumni Association Hall of Fame dinner and award ceremony; held at the New York Athletic Club in March. The high school is Mr. Kenju's Alma Mater, Archbishop Molloy in Queens, NY. The top photo is Tom Westman, an alum of the school, who won a million dollars on the CBS TV show Survivor, when he was a NYC Fireman.

The name "Stanner" is a contraction of Saint Ann's, which was the name of the school in earlier years.

Second: Louie Carnesecca, former coach at both Molloy and St. Johns University.


And last, but not least, Mr. Kenju, accepting the award for his undefeated team (32-0..... 1957-58). The man behind him is holding the plaque that was presented to members of his team. I will show it to you soon.

I Met a Survivor!

Go here to read all about Tom Westman:

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor10/survivors/bio/tom.shtml

Tom attended Archbishop Molloy High School, the same as mr. kenju (but much later) so he was there on Thursday night for the Hall of Fame Ceremonies. When Miss kenju#2 and I got back to the NY Athletic Club after seeing the show, we were invited upstairs to the tap room, for an after-party. I felt a little self-conscious since I was not dressed for a party, but it turned out okay, because most of the other women were not dressed up either, except for daughter #1, who looked beautiful. (no I cannot show a photo of her - she won't let me.)

Mr. kenju knew what a fan of Tom Westman's I had been when he was on Survivor. He played with integrity and intelligence, or so it seemed at the time. So at the first opportunity, he dragged Tom over to me and introduced us. Tom was very gracious and friendly, and we discussed Survivor for a bit. He said that most castmates in the previous Survivor shows do not stay in contact with each other, but his group is in touch, and some of them have even visited NY and stayed with Tom and his family. He said something to the effect of: I now have a whole group of 20 somethings as friends.

He told me that he lost 30 pounds while he was on the show. Previous to the show, he had been training for a marathon, and was in the best shape of his life when he started on Survivor. Imagine being in great shape and then losing 30 pounds. Since that time, he has put on 20 of the pounds he lost. I thought he still looked great, but he says he needs to lose it again.

After Tom won Survivor, he retired from the New York Fire Department, and now works as a financial planner (I think that is what he said). And that was my little brush with fame last week!

Tomorrow, I'll show some pics and tell you about our Friday in New York.

NJ and the Big Apple, Part 2

We saw The Drowsy Chaperone, billed as the funniest musical on Broadway. It was in the Marquis Theater; in the Marriott Marquis Hotel. I have included the photos of the cast, taken from the playbill. The gist of the plot is: a guy who lives alone and is devoted to musical theater, re-lives an earlier Broadway show named The Drowsy Chaperone, by listening to the old LP record of the music from the show. As he listens, he imagines the action of the play, which is acted out in his apartment, and he narrates.

"Playbill.com: The Drowsy Chaperone is about a theatre fan called Man in Chair telling us about his favorite old show, and giving behind-the-scenes dirt about the performers who created the roles back in 1928. You and your fellow actors are really inhabiting two roles. The Chaperone in the silly musical about a wedding is played by a diva of the Golden Age of musicals…Beth Leavel: My character is informed by this woman who inhabits her — her name is Beatrice Stockwell."

If you are interested in reading more about it, go here:

http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/7942

And for more info on Beth Leavel, a native Raleighite, go here:

http://www.meredith.edu/mcnews/beth-leavel-wins.htm

Some of you will remember Georgia Engel (third from right on top row) from her days on Mary Tyler Moore and other television shows. In this play, she is the essential Georgia, and you are reminded of her character on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. This show is very funny and I do recommend it. One character is particularly amusing to me: Danny Burstein (second from left on top row) plays Aldolpho, a larger than life Latin Lover (with a capital L)! Every linehe said had me convulsed with laughter, much to miss kenju#1's dismay.....LOL

We bought our half-price tickets, and had 90 minutes to spare before the show, so we went into the Marquis for dinner. If you go to NYC, do go into the Marriott Marquis. It is a very interesting location, and they have several restaurants; the one on the top revolves and gives you excellent views of the city while you dine. We chose a smaller, less formal cafe and sat down. Not far from us was an older couple, who were chatting with their waiter. He asked them where they were from, and they answered Raleigh, NC. I laughed and marvelled at the coincidence, but I didn't go to their table and tell them. Mr. kenju would have!

As we left the theater, we heard a band playing. In the drive-through at the Marriott, the West Virginia University marching band was playing. They were happy because they had won their game in the NIT that night. I mention this for Jennifer at Open Book, a very proud WVU grad.

After the show, we walked back to the NY Athletic Club, to meet mr. kenju, daughter #1 and My BIL. The party wasn't over, and we were invited upstairs to the tap room, to meet old and make new friends. Guess who I met?

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor10/survivors/bio/tom.shtml

I'll tell you about that tomorrow!