The coolest part of the day these days is early morning. It dropped down to 76 about 6am. Are you up in the cool of the morning?

Safe no, less harmful definitely. The tobacco is not treated with chemicals to make it burn "clean" like cigarette tobacco is (which is why a pipe tends to need to be relit at intervals), and you don't inhale as deeply - but still contains tar and other carcinogens.

"Burn clean"? I'm not sure what that means R. Did you smoke cigarettes ever or cigars? Which smoking is most pleasant? Pipe? I don't get smoking of any kind but I think if I were to smoke it would be a pipe. Why do you never women smoking pipes? I shall ask. Thank you for your reply! :)

Cigarettes only if I was in a hurry and needed a "fix" - it takes time to enjoy a pipe. Cigars once or twice - never really got into that. Cigars make cigarettes look cheap. VERY expensive. 

Is the making of cigars more complicated R? Do they use a "better" grade of tobacco? Our son used to buy them through the mail and he'd give me the cigar boxes. I have a few. Why? Because the artwork on them is beautiful. I guess a lot goes into it. That was years ago. I am looking at one now. It is "La Vieja Habana" and "Brazilia Maduro" "hand made" and imported from the Drew Estate.  Does that mean anything to you? Thank you for your reply and Happy Thursday! :)

Probably something to do with the "posh" factor. Luxury tax. There are also pretty heavy tariffs on exports to and imports from Cuba.

I like that! "posh factor". I cannot recall ever buying anything that included paying a luxury tax. I guess that is posh isn't it? Thank you for your reply m'dear! :)

We're definitely early morning preferers. Getting up when it's dark and seeing the sun come out? Pretty nifty. Thank you for your reply E. Jim takes Melatonin each night just before we go to bed. I prefer to take my chances. I don't like taking pills. :)

Lovely! Nothing like a sunrise to lift your spirits and a sunset at the end of the day to wind down with so to speak. Thank you for sharing that L! :)

Unfortunately, I can't see the sunset from my apartment because there are too many tall buildings in the way.

Well you can in your mind's eye sweetie. When you were younger did you ever go to the beach? Was there a favorite beach you and your friends would usually go to for "getting away from the city"? Have you ever visited The Hamptons L? It seems so posh and fastastic. How about Coney Island? Was it a favorite fun spot once upon a time? Whatever we used to enjoy "back there" I wonder if it is gone forever? I know some of the people are but the ways of life the values what we used to look forward to. What do we look forward to now? I'm going to ask. I'm in a "mood" today. Maybe I'll work myself out of it! Thank you for your reply! :)

When we were kids, my sisters and I would take the train from where we lived in upper Manhattan to Rockaway Beach.  I'm sure we went to Coney Island, but not often.  Every summer. my paternal grandparents rented an apartment in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn to get away from the heat of the Bronx and we visited them there on some Sundays.  My dad preferred a pool to the beach, so more often than not, we went upstate to Anthony Wayne Park where they had a big pool.  I have visited the Hamptons.  A former senior partner in a law firm at which I worked had an annual summer party for everyone in the firm at his Hamptons house.  We could come as early as breakfast, he had lunch and then barbecued for dinner.  It was a very nice gesture and much appreciated by the employees.  I also had a friend whose brother owned a house in the Hamptons and we stayed there for a week one summer.  It was lovely.  When I was 23, some friends and I rented a house on Fire Island for the summer.  I didn't drive back then, so one of the gals I worked with and I would take the train out on Friday after work, and my then-boyfriend would come out to spend the day on Sunday and we'd drive home.  One of my sisters and her family rented a house on the Jersey Shore one summer and I spent a week out there.  The house was gorgeous and it was literally feet from the beach.  The house was round and you had a beautiful view from wherever you were sitting because it was almost all glass.  Boy, you've had me make a very pleasant trip down memory lane.  Thank you. :)

Thank you so much for going into such detail about your experiences L. I've only just seen those places in the movies. There was one called "Brighton Beach Memoirs". Of course Seinfeld and Sex and the City was all about New York. There was a lovely movie years ago. "A tree grows in Brooklyn". I've heard about the Jersey Shore and even heard of Rockaway Beach. There is Damon Runyon who writes so well about the characters he met." New York New York. A heck of a town the Bronx is up and the Battery's down. The people live in a hole in the ground". I don't know if those are the actual lyrics.  Breakfast at Tiffany's. Broadway. The Empire State Building! Fashion Week. The Statue of Liberty. Times Square. Just learned recently that the New York Times was published there and that's where the "Times" comes from. I did not know that. Also a Wall was built somewhere around there to keep people out and that's how WALL STREET got its name. I think New York City is overwhelming to an outsider. There is so much there. So much to take in. I appreciate the first-person view sweetie. Can't beat it! Thanks again for sharing another part of you! :) ((hugs))

 

We have an enormous amount of interesting places to see and appreciate.  I've lived here my whole life and haven't seen it all.  Museums, Broadway theater, Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge - all easily associated with my City.  New York is faced-paced, so if you can't move along - get out of everyone's way. :)

Normally yes. But now? Aren't many of those places closed? Nothing that calls for crowds is open is it? Thank you for your reply L! :)

The Museums are opening at 25% capacity and you have to order a ticket to enter prior to your arrival.  I think the theaters are still closed.  You can still walk across the bridges without restrictions.  I'm not sure if the Observatory at the Empire State Building is open.

I wonder how long it will take your city to get back to "normal" or is that is no longer going to be possible? Thank you for your reply L! :)

I expect it will take quite a bit of time.  Even if the virus diminishes to the point where things can re-open, there are any number of businesses, even ones that have been well-established for decades, will not have survived.  Lord & Taylor, Bonwit Teller, Century 21 have all gone under.  Business that have survived with so many employees working from home will downsize their physical footprints creating a gut of real estate space.  Platforms like Zoom and other multi-conference platforms will negate the need for people to travel for business meetings, unemployment will likely remain high.  Our City leaders don't have a fresh idea to increase income which will enable the City to flourish.  Amazon has twice tried to establish a footprint in the City and both times have been rebuffed by people too short-sighted to see how much revenue they would bring into our coffers, not to mention the thousands of good-paying jobs it would create.  At this point, I can't see that Amazon would ever try again and I wouldn't blame them.  

I read about Lord & Taylor closing. Wasn't it the oldest department store? The face of America will be very different in the "after". Comparing to the "before" will be depressing so maybe we shouldn't do it. But it's hard not to miss what we no longer have that we always took for granted we would. I think there's question there. Thank you for your reply L! :)