Hold the elevator, Jessica’s on crutches. In Manhattan that doesn’t happen too often, tonight was no exception. After receiving first class supervision from a friendly doorman at one of New York’s finest hotels we followed a single woman in too much of a hurry to the elevator, she jumped on in front of us and pushed the button before we could step on.
Dinner was served on the 3rd floor an hour later. Jessica and I were in the company of friends, Karen and Peter Lawson Johnston, we all were interested in what the speaker Tom Brokaw had to say. Mr. Brokaw has spent the better part of his life reporting world events to the American public. Tonight he stood in the middle of a room full of Americans, talking about his view of our world today.As an introduction he touched on significant phrases that he’s heard over the past few weeks. The point that stood out for me came from his boss at NBC, the difference between historical economic adjustments and the present financial status….”think of it as a reset”. Of course the challenging times we face require a word from our new vocabulary, RESET.. has no boundaries.
Brokaw went on to focus on who we are and how we must change our view. On more than one point he reminded the audience that we’re “all in this together”. Over the past several years the common view has been singular “it must become more about we than me”. Of course he sited the “Greatest Generation” and how our grandparents made an effort to serve the people around them before they served themselves. He reminded this audience of sophisticated New Yorkers that it’s become time to once again become a CITIZEN.
As we sat for dinner the first course was pre set at the table, a salad of mixed arugula and beet sprouts over thinly sliced roasted red beets and a few wedges of yellow beets. The salad was finished with a simple vinaigrette. It could have been perfect, however over the top sat a sliced lobster tail.
Perhaps as our culture shifts from “me to we” the lobster tails might be better served on a dock, fresh from the kettle in all of it’s goodness. In a more relaxed society our fellow citizens might wait for the slower paced citizens among us as our grandfathers would have done.
Let’s slow down and hold the door.