May 19th, a trip to the city

what a great day...cloudy and grey but no rain for the retired teachers city tour of Harlem....Up very early as we had to catch a bus at 8:30 am.  Went with my friend Marilyn...Our first stop was the Apollo theater in Harlem...We had a fantastic tour given by the theater's historian Billy Mitchell...Who told of its beginning in Burlesque to its amateur night Wednesdays that led to the discoveries of Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett among many others...and they are still having Wednesday night amateur hour shows today ..Then we had a walking tour of Harlem...and were on the sidelines of the parade honoring Malcolm X as today was his birthday...Lunch at Sylvia's...fried chicken, collard greens and cornbread...banana pudding cake for dessert...not on my diet but delicious...then we took a short bus ride to the cathedral of St. John the Divine..magnificent artistry..then off to see Grants tomb...where no one is buried as Grant and his wife's remains were interred in a twin sarcophagus which is above ground. A final stop at the famous Zabor deli-grocery and kitchen supply store...where believe it or not I bought nothing...and then back to the Island...lucky with the traffic we were home by 7:30...I freshened up and went to my weekly Mah jongg game with my life long firends...well most for over 25 years...we caught up as i haven't seen them since our return from Arizona...and we laughed  and laughed...best medicine..It was a #10 day....one in which I learned new things...saw interesting and beautiful things, shared in close friendships...and did no housework other than make the bed....