I Bet It Was Quicker For Dorothy To Get To Oz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   What a day off I had, yesterday, darlings!!!!!!!!!  It started with a highlight--a Cujo sighting, on my way to the 77th Street subway, in Brooklyn.  He was so adorable and lovable, and big and strong!  He gave me sweet doggie kisses from his terrace, and when I moved to the driveway, to call my beloved Monsieur, to let him know Cujo was out, he followed me, right to the side of that railing!  I just love Cujo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     Touted by Tartt--Donna Tartt, that is!!!--I had heard about The Corner Bookstore, way uptown, on the corner of Madison Avenue and East Ninety Third Street.  Not an area I am seen in too  often, if at all!!!!!!  The selling point, at least initially for me, was they shelve all their copies of books published by New York Review Books Classics together, which I like. So, with them having just reprinted "The Other," I decided to venture uptown, to see what I might have missed.

                                      Well, what a journey, girls!   Almost two hours!!!!!!!!!  I started from 77th Street in Bay Ridge, changed at Atlantic for the number 5, which took me to East 86th Street.  I had to switch to a 6 local from there, because the 5 goes to 125th Street from 86th!!!!!!!!!!  And, of course, in between, there is all this walking to do, in order to get to the correct platform.  I almost wonder if I would not have been better walking up 86th to 93rd Street.  I might have saved time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                        I came out of the ground, at East 96th and Lexington, which I had no idea was so hilly up there.  I trounced over to Madison, where I felt, for a time, like Blythe Danner, with all  these designer outlets and make-up shops available.   Just what you would expect, from the Upper East Side.  And I am pretty sure Blythe has a New York place up there, somewhere.  But, suddenly, I felt I was in the world of Caleb Carr's "The Alienist," or "The Castle Of Otranto," because, all of a sudden, I am walking along the side of this huge, castle like fortress.  There was so little room between me and the street I felt like I was scaling the wall!!!!!!!!!!  How out of place, creepy, and surreal!  No wonder I don't get up here, too often!

                                         When I entered the store, I found two lovely young men working--men of my orientation, darlings, you better believe it!!!!!!--and they explained that the building I passed had at one time been an armory, and some schools in the area use the outside of it for a play space!  Go figure!  But the two young men were charming, right out of an E.M. Forster novel, though why they did not offer me tea and a seat on the divan I could not understand.  There are divans there, for reading, darlings, but after the journey I
undertook to get there, I wanted to get back to where I felt civilized and comfortable.

                                             Oh, the store!  Well, it is small, charming, and beautifully laid out. If you are in
the area, or live there, it is an excellent place to go; especially if looking for high quality, literary fiction.  But I have to say the New York Review Books Classics shelf was decidedly overrated.  I thought there would be rows, floor to ceiling of them; instead, I saw only two bays.  Not quite the selection I had imagined.  Nevertheless, I found a couple of items, paid, and left.  I then decided to take a cross town bus, travel down to Three Lives, where I am much more comfortable, and check the merchandise out there!

                                               Well, getting cross town on the bus at 96th and Madison is like taking the subway from one borough to another!  Pushing, shoving, and, let me tell you, those cane wielding old ladies are the nastiest!  When I become a Bitchy Old Queen on the buses of this city, with my shopping bags, and screaming about Socialism, these biddies--though they would be my contemporaries by then--had better not mess with me!!!!!!!!!!!!  Honestly, I am telling you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                   I felt so relieved, when I got on that subway, at West 96th Street.  And, when I came out of the ground, at Christopher, I felt like I had returned to the real world!!!!!!!!!  The saying is true; you live in New York City long enough, it is nothing more than a series of small towns, each with its particular flavor!!!!!!!!!!  But some flavors I prefer to others!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                    I walked into Three Lives and felt so good!!!!!!!!!!  Toby was there which is always wonderful.  I took a good look at their stock, and let me tell you, while they don't shelve the
New York Review Books Classics together, I saw titles there I did not see uptown, and overall, I would say I saw more titles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                       All of which helps to validate my being a creature of habit!  So, I am sticking with Three Lives and what I know!!!!!!!!!!  The adventure I had was one I needed to experience, but not ever again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                                          I mean, even Professors Challenger and Summerlee found their way out of "The Lost World!!!!!!!!!!!!!"