The Real Deal

It was another epic day in NYC on all fronts. The weather could not have been better and work could not have been more productive. The sun was brilliantly shining all day long. It felt that winter was a distant memory. And with the sudden rise in temperatures and upward reaching blooms in the gardens and on the trees, human spirits were lifted both in the workplace and in the streets. Great spring weather has such a positive ability to instantly and positively alter human interaction. I only wish that we could bottle up these first days of spring and hold them in reserve for times of need. Given the solemn overhang of the events in Boston, the East Coast needed an uplifting force today and the weather certainly obliged. The magical moments of spring in Manhattan were in full force today.

But as lovely as the sun was today, its warmth paled in comparison to the warmth ushered into my heart by finally meeting LeeAnne. In the words of my father, she is "the real deal"; a verse he often called upon to express his feelings when he had met a person who stood for the things that he valued in life. LeeAnne is exactly as she comes across on blip. She is bubbly and funny and polite and engaging and caring and entertaining and beautiful and intelligent and creative beyond imagination. She fully embraces life and I found myself embracing mine even more than usual as I witnessed her love of the here and now. She is entirely lacking of ego or pretense for these are traits that would only get in the way of who she is and what she stands for. There is no time or desire in her life to attempt to be anyone other than the wonderful person she has become. And, if one would desire to put a photo of someone in Wikipedia next to the definition of genuine, it likely should be an image of LeeAnne (that is if she would let you take her picture....but I am the same way so I cannot complain).

I have been a very lucky person over the last 36 hours to be in this magical place with two very special human beings, Kendall yesterday and LeeAnne today. These past two days will be forever remembered by me as I spent precious time with two very dear friends whom have climbed deeply into my heart. I am so very thankful to them both.

LeeAnne, thank you for your time and energy and I hope that your two weeks here far exceed your wildest dreams.

I caught this film crew getting ready to stage a film set in midtown very early this morning. The fellow on the left likely could be on either side of the camera as he reminds me of a young Woody Allen, right down to the dead-pan look. Perhaps they were filming the Zombies.