The man in the cap was explaining to the man in a hat how it all happened. The protestants were actually British and the catholics were the Irish. Britain got to keep the area around Belfast because it was the center of its industry when the revolution happened. "This is where they built the Titanic, you see."
"This is a bit like Paris, isn't it?" the lady in the booth next to me suggested. We looked at the two older men discussing some current events.
"Not only did she leave him for her boyfriend of seven years, she even took the dog. I mean when the dog leaves ya, that's pretty serious." The men had moved the conversation to more recent events in the city. The crowd at the counter laughed. There were more quizzes and questions about the history of the United States, about greek words, about the war. Nobody wanted the war in this diner on 101st and Broadway. It is hardly the forum anybody will listen to.
Eveline used to be a singer. She moved to New York in 1972, from Illinois. She used to be a professor there and a singer. When she decided to move to New York, her mother was quite worried. Why would this girl of 53 give up the security of an academic career and move into the big city? But Eveline had a voice, she had the teaching experience and she also had a brother who was willing to help her. He gave her an apartment on 55 West, he even bought her the original furniture that came with the place oh and a mink coat. "You are a singer, you might as well look like one," he said. She liked New York from the start. She sang in Tristan and Isolde, she had a subscription to the Metropolitan Opera for all these years. Her brother was taking good care of her. He was doing quite well. He even bought this football team... the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. She said that he would have been proud to have seen them in the Superbowl. She bought a house on 106th street and Riverside Drive in 1974. It was a real bargain. She bought it with three other singers. Her investment was not a little money, but a really ridiculously tiny sum compared to what even just her apartment is worth these days. The entire building was worth less in 1974 than her apartment today. She has many apartments now. Her own place has seven rooms, she has a view of the river. "I am just sitting pretty," she said. Last year she put her place onto the (real estate) market. Her other investments were not doing so well, and so giving up her main residence seemed like a good idea. She is glad now that she made this list with her son, comparing the pros and cons of the sale. She kept the place, of course. If she had to go to a retirement home, that would be a different situation, but she is doing quite well still, giving singing lessons. Her son started singing as well. It is a really good thing.
We spoke about the various personalities we develop as we grow older. She spoke about herself in a way that described a transformation of more than just one person.
She took some risks in her life. Some were bigger than others. All of them seem to have paid off.
She got her dinner to go. We know we will continue this conversation. Next time. After all are both regulars at the "Broadway Restaurant".
Oh, and what is the only State in the Union that borders to just one other state?