First Things First

News of a vaccine to keep the Coronavirus away (or not as lethal) is everywhere, and I am paying attention. It's rolling out slowly and most of us aren't getting them yet unless you are a health care worker or living in a skilled nursing or assisted living setting.

But they are rolling out. There are also some cautionary tales. I'm watching, I'm waiting, but also hoping.

I've been pretty much on lockdown since March. I do get out, of course, but I haven't been to any restaurants (except for takeout) or concerts or theater for months. I haven't gone out to see a movie or gone to a party or met up with friends for coffee or a meal. 

I miss my life, and I know you do too. I don't want to whine about it because I know too many people who have been sick and too many others who are caring for them. And we, including me, are no where near out of the woods yet.

What I do want to say is that 2020 made me stop taking my life for granted in a million, zillion ways. And as the year gets closer to ending, I want--need--to dream a little. So I'm thinking.

What is the first place I'll go when lockdown is truly over and when I don't have to worry about this virus anymore? 

Maybe I'll see if my darlin' wants to go to a bed and breakfast to celebrate. We'd go to a little town on the river, maybe stop at a bar for pizza and play some rounds of pool. Maybe go to a town not so far from here with a beach where we can swim. Then go to a restaurant afterwards.

Theater and movies, check, and all this is great. But where do I really want to go?

I've always wanted to go to Prague and we need to figure that out. But in the meantime, one of the first things I want is to get on a plane for New York and see my family and friends.

And.

The Rainbow Room. Opened in 1934, hopefully still open in 2021.

Will it survive? It better. At 30 Rockefeller Plaza, 65th Floor, entering at 49 West 49th Street (how cool is that)? Will there be a band? I'd want music from the 1930s and I'd want some sort of dress they'd have worn then too. Something Fred and Ginger-ish. I'm going to find a cocktail I've never had before and have at least three of them (six)? Maybe some champagne.

There will also have to be some tea time at the Plaza Hotel. A walk through Central Park and we'll have to get down to Bleecker Street for a Hazelnut ice at Rocco's--my Beat Street character Ruby recommends we do that first.

But then, she hasn't been to the Rainbow Room and neither have I. So that's my first stop when all this virus stuff is done. Though it can't be just a restaurant--it has to be just like it was. 

Which also means there has to be a band -- otherwise it's a deal breaker. Because if I make it there--you know? Gotta dance.

Gown image: Bea Serendipity / Ghee