Posts tagged ‘Daniel’
Columbia U. Graduation, Part II: Commencement
Columbia’s university-wide Commencement ceremony brought together the 5,667 undergraduates of Columbia College, SEAS and Barnard College as well as those receiving advanced degrees. It was a sea of blue!
Can you see Daniel? (image from columbia.edu)
The weather initially threatened a sea of rain like the day before, but instead opted for a menu of muggy which was only intensified in the crush of 30,000 attendees all jostling for space. Welcome to New York!
Angie and Chris joined us and Taylor came up from WDC for the briefest of visits. Thanks for braving the crowds and the humidity, guys!
Our cheering section! Taylor, Angie, Chris and the CE
After an impressive array of awards and honorary degrees were presented, the business agenda of the Commencement ceremony called for the Deans of the respective departments to “beg” the college president to confer diplomas upon the graduation candidates. This was done with much humor and bravado, thankfully, because it takes a very long time to hear eighteen different supplicants plead the cause of their students.
The Columbia U. MBA candidates help plead their cause at Commencement
In his keynote address, University President Lee C. Bollinger gave the graduates one particularly stirring bit of advice, which was to say “If you ever feel disconnected from a higher purpose, you must have the courage to change your life”.
CU president Lee C. Bollinger in 2010 (image from article.wn.com)
Looking back over Daniel’s childhood, there are so many people who have strived to keep him connected to a higher purpose, and I am grateful to all of them. He has always been uplifted by his family – his grandmother, who keeps him well-supplied with sweet rolls; his brother who has served, often without knowing it, as a role model; his sisters, who have doted upon him from near and afar; aunts and uncle whose encouragement is present even when they can’t be.
Brothers!
Then there are the friends who have been Daniel’s extended family – Dave, Pamela, Kirk and almost-sisters, Alexandra and Victoria. There are the angels who helped us with the day-to-day and cheered Daniel along from elementary school through high school: Jessica, Holly, Carly, Liz, Julia and Teri. And the mentors along the way: Mrs. Morgan and the teachers at El Montecito Early School; swim coach Ira Klein; and Laguna Blanca teachers like Dr. Schmidt and Magistra, who shaped Daniel’s love of literature and the Classics. And Daniel’s legions of friends, who are too numerous to list, but long-time pals Hannah, Christian, Michele, Valerie, Giulie and Cory come to mind as do Columbia friends Chris, Jeff, Peter, Mary, Christina, Fan, Tiffany…the list goes on and on.
Daniel’s graduation lunch: Tiffany, Fan, Daniel, Chris, Mary and Giulie
Of course, Daniel’s list might be different from mine, and the danger of listing anyone is to forget someone, but I know all these people - and more – have cared for Daniel through the years and helped make him the focused, grounded, impressive young man that he is today.
My wish for him as he leaves the classroom and enters the “real” world is to arm himself with the knowledge he has gained at CU; the encouragement of his teachers and mentors; the well-wishes of his family and friends; the unconditional love of his parents and the wisdom of Matthew 22:36-40. Look out world, here he comes!
Proud dad and the graduate
“…If I can make it there,
You know I’m gonna make it just about anywhere
Come on, come through
New York, New York…”
Columbia U. Graduation, Part One: Class Day
Milestone. Transition. Endings. Beginnings.
And lots of tears! I think they were all mine.
I foolishly told someone a few weeks ago that I didn’t think graduations were such a big deal. I was temporarily insane.
Because when your baby graduates from college, it’s a Big Deal. For him and for us.
Daniel arrived on the scene almost twenty-two years ago and has delighted and astounded us from the beginning. Big brown eyes, blonde curls and those trademark eyelashes that he and his brother share. Our Sweet Bookie was the family caboose; the candle on the cake. You never quite expect the baby of the family to grow up, I guess, but as of this week he is a graduate of Columbia University and heading out into the world.
Well, for the moment, at least, heading from Broadway and 114th to Columbus Circle, where he will hold court for a few weeks before a trip to Europe with friends Christian and Peter. In August, he will start working for an ad agency in the city where he interned during his senior year.
Hail, Columbia grad!
The tears started as soon as I saw him in his cap and gown at Class Day on Tuesday morning. I’m not normally a big crier, but as he strode toward us, two decades of memories rushed forth and the waterworks came on in a big way. I remembered Daniel as a baby, so yummy you just wanted to eat him up. Daniel as a toddler, alternately clinging to my skirt and chasing after his big brother. Daniel, the student, always willing himself to do his best yet always modest about his accomplishments. Daniel the soccer player, gymnast, swimmer; surrounded at every turn by friends and more friends. Daniel the pianist, practicing for hours, weeks and months to perfect a Beethoven concerto. And now, Daniel the graduate, who quietly shared that oh, by the way, he earned straight A’s last semester and an A on his senior thesis.
Can this be the same little guy who said psoon for spoon and psider for spider? The same one who regaled family and friends with jokes like this one: Q: “Why did the cat climb the tree?” A: “Because he felt climb-y”. (You notice he hasn’t chosen a career in stand-up comedy…)
Daniel’s happy to be done with school; the CE is happy to be done with tuition!
Between my tears and the pouring rain, Tuesday’s Class Day was a soggy one. Luckily, we were mostly under tents: the graduates in one in front of the stage and the families relegated to the side tents where they watched the ceremony on screens. You’re there but you aren’t there, yet I did manage to get this digital record of Daniel getting his graduation handshake:
It’s official!
All 1,024 graduates’ names were called, all the speakers had their say, and everyone was completely soaked by the time we had wandered in the rain to find our students. No one cared. These kids all worked incredibly hard to earn a place at Columbia and then they worked incredibly hard for the next four years for the privilege of wearing the blue caps and gowns with the crown insignia recalling Columbia’s origins as Kings College, founded in 1754.
Wet but worth it!
Devastatingly dynamic duo: Daniel and his roommate, Jeff
BFFS: Liza, Jake, Jeff and Daniel
We’re so proud of Daniel!
At Columbia U., one day of tears is not enough Next up: Commencement Day…
No more homework – ever!
Happy to be in NYC
Two weeks in New York are like six months anyplace else. Things move fast here! Especially the temperature – one day it’s squalling wind and in the low 20′s and the next day it’s a balmy 60 degrees. Leave it to NYC to have its own form of March Madness.
Baby, it's cold outside! Brrrr!
As always, this visit has been a magical melding of family, friends, feasts and fun. We’re probably bruised from pinching ourselves so often – can we really be so lucky as to live here part time?
We leap-yeared right in this trip with tix to see Venus in Fur, with its breakthrough role that set dynamo actress Nina Arianda on a collision course with Broadway. The synopsis I read promised “an intellectual adventure and an often funny encounter between an actress and a playwright”.
(image from thetheatresource.com)
The synopsis conveniently forgot to mention that the leggy star spends most of her time on stage wearing a garter belt and thigh high boots or that a passive-aggressive Hugh Dancy finds himself in emotional and physical bondage to this alpha Aphrodite.
Oops. No one told us!(image from meetsobsession.com)
It may not have been what we expected, but it was most definitely memorable, and playwright David Ives navigates the terrain of relational power shifts at a dizzying speed.
A few evenings later, we toned things down a bit and saw Death of a Salesman with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield.
Andrew Garfield and Philip Seymour Hoffman play Biff and Willy Loman (image from justjared.com)
Still in previews, this production is not quite yet on steady ground. Both actors seem perfect on paper for their roles yet, to me, seem strangely miscast on the stage. But guess who shines? Arthur Miller! The play may leave you in despair; there’s misery a-plenty for anyone who has been a parent or a child, so that covers pretty much everyone, but “attention must be paid” as this is a timeless work.
Lee J. Cobb, George C. Scott, Dustin Hoffman and Brian Dennehy have also played Willy Loman on Broadway.
I hope the two current stars will find their footing and that the powers-that-be will tighten up Act II. Our review: it was “liked, but not well-liked”.
We were especially excited to see our favorite “off-Broadway” stars, namely friends and family. Angie and Bobby had us over for a scrumptious lunch of chicken and dumplings. It was a perfect meal to help us acclimate to wintry weather.
Angie was kind enough to share the recipe, so I have it if anyone wants it.
Thomas, Grandpa and James
And we’ve hit the jackpot with multiple Daniel sightings:
Daniel!
Daniel and friends Liza and Chris after brunch at Artisanal
We enjoyed a lunch with bibliophiles Sunday and Josh, and got to meet their adorable little Shih-Tzu, Marlowe. And I was thrilled to have dinner with friend and recent NYC transplant Teri – we were so busy catching up that I forgot to get a photo, but I can tell you that the city agrees with her. She looked absolutely stunning and she’s enjoying her new life and job here in the city.
The CE rode the Acela down to WDC to visit Taylor for a weekend to complete our East Coast family circle:
Tay Tay!
And that was just the first week! More to come…
Best bet: a full house!
It’s beginning to look a lot like…chaos. Other people (who are they, anyway?) have orderly little Christmas holidays – they string popcorn garlands and go caroling and order those high-ticket fantasy gifts from the extravaganza known as the Neiman Marcus Christmas book. (Because you see, only people with last names like Neiman and Marcus use the word ”Christmas” anymore - go figure!)
For $75,000 you could escape to this "dream folly" yurt from Neiman Marcus when the spiked eggnog runs out.
Oh, and speaking of fantasies, permit me to brag just a bit here. Son Daniel just scored a coup (not a coop, unfortunately, he doesn’t really resonate with my chickens) by organizing a holiday employee event for the agency where he interns that was so spectacular it attracted the attention of the Wall Street Journal.
The "Amazing Race" concept made for a festive replacement to the traditional ho-hum office party. (image from Wall Street Journal)
Employees were sent on a fantastical ”Amazing Race” mission throughout New York City to fulfill a long and creative list of directives. “Hug something fuzzy” was one (Daniel’s idea, of course!). According to the WSJ, “The Chandelier Challenge was the brainchild of agency director Richard Christiansen, his twin brother and managing director Geoffrey, and their intern, Columbia University classics major Daniel Gutsche, who figured out the logistics.” Yes, that would be the brilliant and accomplished Daniel who is graduating in May and who is eminently hire-able. Spread the word!
What could be fuzzier to hug than Elmo? (image from Chandelier Creative)
Instead of basking in all his well-deserved glory, however, Daniel is currently marooned here at home trying to get some sleep with nephews Thomas and James in the room next to his. Taylor is here, too. And the CE’s sister, Gail, with her bf, Paul, who are staying (wisely) at PG’s. Tina, John, Evie and Viv will arrive (cleverly) just in time for Christmas dinner. Let’s see, that makes for a couple of pairs and at least four of a kind. If we were at the poker table, I’d be feeling flush but as the hostess I think I’m just hyperventilating. I’m hoping Santa will show up, but I know for certain that our family would never have made the cut for Norman Rockwell.
This family we're not...(image from sweethomequiltco.com)
A few family snaps:
Lunch at the Palace Cafe is one of Gail's favorite traditions when she and Paul visit.
Bobby and Angie are always happy to see Chloe.
Blonde chicks: Angie and Luna
A gaggle of guys: the CE, Thomas, Taylor, James, Daniel and Bobby
Jamesy!
Gail, the CE and PG
My favorite Christmas present: having my boys home!
It’s getting crazier by the minute here and the only thing of which I am completely certain is that the 29-lb turkey in our fridge is not going to cook himself. So much to do and I’m so far behind. But having everyone here is most definitely a winning hand, so I’m going all in – see you on the other side of Christmas!
Chloe loves her Christmas present from Katherine!
Happy Thanksgiving!
We’re here in NYC with a front-row seat to the parade. The CE was up bright and early to collect Thomas and James for their annual parade date.
7:30 am and counting!
8 am: wrestling in Grandpa and Nana's apartment
8:30 am: trying, unsuccessfully, to topple Uncle Taylor
9:15 am: looks like the parade will be here soon! (polloplayer image)
Here it comes! (polloplayer image)
It's officially Thanksgiving! (polloplayer image)
Jamesy has the best seat in the house
Cee Lo Green is a crowd favorite (polloplayer image)
Thomas is lucky Uncle Daniel is so strong!
The Aflac duck (polloplayer image)
We know we’re in good company because Mark Wahlberg is in our lobby this morning watching the parade with his family. But even he is not as famous as this guy:
Buzz! (polloplayer image)
Hope you’re having a great day!
…And they’re off!
We gathered Wednesday night for two big good-byes: Victoria leaves tonight to start a Masters program at USC. And Daniel and his long-time friend, Hannah (they met when they were 3!) left Thursday morning on a two-week trip across the US to Boston. They made it to Arizona by Thursday evening, and to Alamosa, Colorado Friday night. I didn’t hear from them last night so they may have been without phone service (or, as I lay awake for hours worrying last night, either lying near-death in a culvert or being held hostage by marauding drug lords, take your pick…)
They’ve started a hilariously well-written (no, I’m not biased because I’m his mother) trip blog at
We feted them all with (what else?) a spaghetti dinner al fresco Wednesday evening. Which means that French chef Ashleigh made an Italian dinner for our German/Irish/Scandinavian family and hers (French/Irish as far as I know) with guests Hannah and her brother John (French/English?) Alexandra (Scandinavian/French) stopped by to bid the travelers farewell. Gotta love what passes for the melting pot around here.
Alexandra and the Tart (100% Coton for her- one of the few purebreds in the group)
Granny made a batch of her famous sweet rolls for the road. Yum!
Alexandra and Ashleigh; stirring the pot
You can't leave until Dizzy gives his permission
spaghetti!
The cook gets a hug from her mom, Marie-Christine
Michael savors a bite
At table.
Victoria heads off to grad school at USC next week. Please don't tell the Tart she's leaving!
Ashleigh picked apricots off of our tree for the clafouti. Divine!
Did I mention it gets cold here? John warms up in Daniel's old swim parka
Re-run: spaghetti for a breakfast send-off, another family tradition
"Thanks, Dad, for EVERYTHING!"
John and Hannah
It's never easy to say goodbye to Chloe
Safe travels to all of you! We love you and will miss you! xoxoxo
All Grown Up: The Party
The CE and I decided that despite all the pressing responsibilities here at Chicken Central (that’s a joke; we have no life) we really didn’t want to miss Daniel’s 21st birthday party. So we hopped a plane on short notice (thank you, Ashleigh and Paul and Victoria, for covering for us!) and headed to NYC for a long weekend.
We laid low in Soho since the plan was to surprise the Birthday Boy at his party. Walked up to The Spotted Pig on Friday to meet our contact there, Nina, and make sure everything was ready for the party.
The Spotted Pig
There was apparently quite a bit of discussion about WTW to Daniel’s celebration, with words like “fierce” and “sartorially” being thrown around in otherwise normal sentences. The CE and I fretted a bit about how to dress but quickly realized – hey, we’re old, no one cares how we look! There ARE benefits to aging besides the senior discount, as it turns out!
Daniel managed to be genuinely surprised to see us without sacrificing an iota of his debonnaire demeanor, which is saying quite a bit considering that he was simultaneously hoisting what I’m told is a “pimp cup”(these were not big back in the 70′s…) It was great to have our family all together and get to see Daniel’s friends, too.
Kind of a Snoop Dog meets Ed Helms thing going on here...
The CE and the birthday boy
The food was great, the room was great, the evening was great, and I hear that it continued to be great long after the oldsters had doddered on home. I know it meant a lot to Daniel to have his friends and family all there to help him celebrate. Thanks for joining us!
Our menu for the evening
That's TSP's very own and awesome Nina on the right
Taylor and Angie
Pouring the champagne
Daniel's high school friend, Christian, flew all the way from Berkeley to toast Daniel on his 21st
Our four all together for the baby's big birthday
I was trying to not be overly intrusive with the camera so I didn’t get as many photos as I would have liked – if any of you partygoers out there have some you can forward to me, I’ll update this post. Thanks!
Someone’s all grown up!
It just doesn’t seem all that long ago that Daniel looked like this:
But somehow, the years have flown by.
Happy 21st, Sweet Boookie! Have a great celebration! And, as always, I love you bigger than the sky!
xoxoxoxoxo
Re-wind Pt. 1: the Merry, Merry Month of May NYC
Computer glitches and Nyquil fog have conspired to prevent a timely travelogue update. But here, finally, are some pix from our NYC trip:
Daniel and his friend, Nicole, stopped by our apartment after finishing their last final. They look pretty good for having had no sleep.
Only in New York: the CE was hankering for some deli food, so we stopped into Lansky's on the UWS for giant bowls of matzoh ball soup
After lunch, we stopped into the American Folk Art Museum http://www.folkartmuseum.org/ which is a small space with a big quilt exhibit and an eclectic gift shop. I wasn’t prepared for the sight of the quilt that hangs in the lobby: it is a National Tribute Quilt that bears the names of every person who died in the 9/11 attacks on our country. A very emotional experience, and well worth it, but bring kleenex! Here is a detail from the quilt:
3,466 blocks in six panels, the project was created by the Steel Quilters of United States Steel Corporation.
Separate panels commemorate the passengers on each of the downed flights on 9/11. Here is the block in memory of Todd Beamer, hero of Flight 93. The text echoes his brave last words, "Let's Roll!"
On a cheerier note, we were so lucky to spend Mother’s Day with three of the four kids and all four grandkids. Precious memories!
We had such a wonderful Mother's Day! Ang got a reservation for us all at a kid-friendly place on the UWS called the Arte Cafe - it was perfect for our group! All the little ones were on their best behavior and we had a great time.
John was out of town on business, so Tina had her hands full. The CE was happy to have some Grandpa time.
And my baby boy showed up to make the day extra special!
Taylor couldn't join us but he sent these beautiful flowers!
Bobby and James
Thomas
A very happy Mother's Day for me
A walk in the park: Evie with her popsicle in Central Park, where we took a walk and rode the carousel after brunch.
One day we took a cab down to Soho for lunch. We walked around the neighborhood afterwards, and stumbled into a MOST unusual shop called Evolution. http://theevolutionstore.com/ Their Google hit descriptor reads “framed insects, animal and human skulls”. With apologies to Cindy Adams, I just hafta’ say it: Only in New York, kids!
The skeleton crew is definitely on duty at Evolution
Hydrangeas in the West 60's
PG flew into the city after a trip to visit the Siesta Keysters in Sarasota. She and the CE had a nice meal or twelve, and took in a few shows and the ballet.
PG at La Grenouille, where we had an AMAZING dinner
The. Best. Souffle. Ever. La Grenouille is our new favorite restaurant in NYC.
It was another great visit to NYC, and, as always, we can’t wait to return…hopefully soon!
Busy taking a bite out of the Apple
Spring in NYC! What a glorious time to be here!
Last time we visited the trees were bare - love the change of seasons!
As usual, the days are just packed. We’ve been to two plays, both of which have convinced us we have a long way to go before we can consider ourselves “theatre people”.
We suffered through War Horse, which has gotten rave reviews but, for us, was an exercise in torture – ours and the horses’. Animal lovers may want to skip this one. Kind of wish we had said neigh to WarHorse.
The horse puppetry is truly amazing, but the experience was in no way what we would call "entertainment"
And, unfortunately, watching Edie Falco yap like a dog on all fours in House of the Blue Leaves also left us barking up the wrong tree. Ben Stiller, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alison Pill also star, but apparently one needs to be more sophisticated than we are to appreciate this John Guare revival.
Ben Stiller and Edie Falco in House of the Blue Leaves (image from nydailynews.com)
One thing we do know how to appreciate is food, of which there is always plenty in NYC. Had a great meal at Dovetail on the UWS with friends the other night and a wonderful lunch with Tina at The Modern yesterday.
W. 77th at Columbus. Go!
The CE and Tina at Rockefeller Center after lunch on a beautiful spring day in the city.
A very sweet food event occurred on Thursday when Jamesy celebrated his 3rd birthday with cupcakes at school:
Happy Birthday James!
And, of course, nothing makes me happier than dinner with Daniel, who took a break for studying for finals to join us last night:
We’ve taken some long city walks, one from the Columbia campus back to Columbus Circle, and I have the blisters to show it. We had a “small” celeb sighting on the way, passing Peter Jacobson (Taub from House) in a crosswalk on Broadway.
House is right. Taub is short.
We stopped in to see the Pompeii exhibit at Discovery in Times Square. Well worth the visit, but would not recommend it for children.
Incredibly well preserved artifacts from Pompeii are on display at the Discovery galleries in Times Square.
A beautiful Fresco found in the ruins of Pompeii.
Also saw these Zodiac heads at the Pulitzer Fountain next to the Plaza Hotel. They are the work of detained Chinese artist A.I. Weiwei:
And now must run…another day, another lunch reservation…
Tomorrow is May 8: Call your mother!
