It's odd how some events tattoo themselves in crystal clarity in your memory.
On the evening of December 8th, 1980, my wife, Anne, our friend Kathy, and I were sitting in our apartment on West 87th Street, slightly bored. We decided to go out and find something to do. So we went out, despite the cold weather. We were intrepid New Yorkers after all, having arrived six years before from NC and Pa. Fearless city veretans, that was us.
We walked over Central Park West, flagged a cab, and rode to 5th Avenue and 32nd street to see the legendary holiday displays in the department stores in Mid Town Manhattan. We saw Lord & Taylor, Bonwit Teller, Tiffany's, Macy's, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's, plus hundreds of smaller shops in between. It was like peeking in at a hundred different fantasies of Christmas. I tried to take some pictures. Considering that I lost my light meter somewhere on 6th Avenue, shivering in the cold, and without a tripod, you can imagine how they turned out. We still have them.
Read More