Trix & Jack's Fabulous NYC Adventure: The Grand Finale

New York Funky Skyline

And then there was New Year's Eve... After Trix, Jack and I enjoyed dinner at Brooklyn Heights Thai restaurant Lantern Friday night, I awoke early Saturday—New Year's Eve day—feeling shaky... and then crampy... and then weak & dizzy... and realized this wasn't destined to be a quickly passing moment of discomfort.

While the day was intended to be a rush of more NYC hyper-activity with Trix & Jack, including miles of scenic views from the Empire State Building's observation deck, a beautiful walk through Central Park and a stop in Union Square to pick up Leonard, before returning to Brooklyn for a swell New Year's Eve party in Park Slope, BK... I was ultimately laid up on the sofa, growing sicker by the hour.

You know, I don't think I could have imagined a more apropos finale to a year that has pretty much tested every iota of my emotional and mental stamina... and now, thanks so much, my physical wherewithal. In a word, this sucked.

Thankfully, Trix & Jack did see those sites, waiting in line at Empire State for less than an hour, gamboling through miles of Central Park—while proving themselves masters of New York's public transportation. Poor Leo came over in the afternoon, while I dozed and thrashed about on the sofa. A good time was had by none.

Ultimately, the four of us spent the night watching TV as everybody else in the world waved their arms and grinned in collective celebration as New Year 2012 unfolded.

Meanwhile, at 11:15 p.m., the shrimp & broccoli that had given me food poisoning finally excised itself—just in time to completely obliterate a much-needed fresh start. Really there's only one way to sum this one up: 2011 blew chunks! Here's to new beginnings, for god's sake.

The next morning, Trix & Jack made their retreat back to Virginia, hopefully focused on the countless wondrous memories we created together. Honestly, I hope it's a trip that Jack will never forget... As they rallied south on Amtrak, I sat on the sofa... and just cried. *
New York Funky Skyline #2 and below, the original...