Sabbatical Day 18: The Long Plan

Working backward this time, it is Wednesday morning, and I am writing Tuesday’s story.

I finally slept. The apartment went up to 80F+ last night, so I put on the AC device and got it back to 70Fs. That is with the window open all night. I am still having time change issues as it still seems very early when I get up at 7ish and not very late at midnight.

I attended, as an observer, having resigned my membership in the Methodist Church when the anti-gay and racist traditional plan was passed at the General Conference, my Oregon church’s Charge Conference. I was 15 minutes late as dinner, and the subway trains ran slower than planned.

For those who do not speak Methodist, there is a meeting once a year where the local church has a meeting that is run by the Conference (the main church), and reports are reviewed, and once a year, votes are taken. The pastor’s pay is approved. The committee is filled (or not), and other admin items are covered.

This year my church was exposed to the deadly future evaluation process usually used to shut down a church. The report was not ready for the Charge Conference, no surprise, as the Conference seems suddenly backing away from the rather loud voice of my church and a lack of transparency. There were two questions on process and transparency (one from me) that were dismissed. Also, the Conference delegate running the meeting said that he needed to sanitize the report from some personal information. I bet.

It was a perfunctory meeting. I can’t vote as I am an observer.

Before this, I road all the 1 train back after having a nice, slightly expensive, dinner with Kat at the Blue restaurant near the Kat Lair. Kat had her first mussels and clams and scallops. It was fun; we just had starters for dinner.

Before popping down 9th, I stayed with Susie as she ate her dinner. She had three workouts today, and we learned that the program would like to keep her for three weeks. Meaning, I am not leaving NYC until November! That was a shocker.

I did card tricks with her for about an hour to practice with the new deck.

I road the B train to Columbus Circle from 33rd street in Midtown. I was on a search for the oldest magic shop in NYC, Tannen’s. It took me an hour to find it. It is across from the Empire State Building and a few blocks from the Chrysler Building. I thus circled the Empire State Building, it is enormous, trying to find the store.

It is not a storefront but on the 6th floor at the back behind a glass door in the 45 building across from the place to go to the observation deck on the Empire State Building. All the navigation apps just had me circling it as it was in the air from where I was standing! I was the only person not staring at the massive building.

The store was once room, painted in black, and just one room. A shabby elephant puppet and an old bathtub are the decore. Lee, the proprietor, was behind a counter with a pad to do card work on, and he helped me find a few books and a few perfectly ordinary card decks. One I gave to Kat at dinner.

I then chatted again with Lee, and he then showed me a simple trick that he then sold me; I will be practicing tonight for that one. I also learned that the bathtub came from Houdini’s house in New York.

The magic shop is for professionals, and I recognized some of the small tables and other items. Most of the things are kept in small cabinets with long and narrow drawers. The glass case had many stage magic items. Tempting, but I stick to card tricks and simple mentalism tricks.

There is also an original Carter the Great poster on the wall. Carter was the first modern magician and is the model for what most of us think of as a stage magician. I also saw various Houdini handcuffs in a frame on the wall.

I had lunch after finding the shop at Etc. This is a crazy place where all the food is to-go. The hot food is buffet styled (just say No to a buffet in a pandemic). I got an Italian-styled sandwich that I ate as I only had a bagel for breakfast.

I stumbled into The Complete Strategist gaming store when walking the wrong way. Surprised I went in. I looked for items I couldn’t get somewhere else, but they had primarily new stock. I managed to resist any purchases. The books from the Tannen’s were already heavy enough.

To get to Midtown, I took a complex set of transfers and got off at the wrong station at one point. So I got to listen to a guy playing the Sax as I sat waiting for the next train. He was sitting below an Alice tile shadow picture. It was fun to find one’s way in NYC.

Starting from the beginning of Tuesday, I managed to get to the hospital on time after starting a bit late at 8ish. The usual process of breakfast bagel, clean up, dress, 1 train, and all that.

Susie was walking and going to the gym dressed in street clothes right that morning. So that is when I headed out for the search for the magic store.