As crew limo rides went, the one from LaGuardia to midtown Manhattan reigned supreme, A++ for the thrill of running the gauntlet with crazy Queens drivers as the energy and lights fantastic of Manhattan rose majestically ahead. This ultra scenic drive felt sparkly new every single week, and the journey’s enjoyment was ever more excellent when our friend Rexford, the wryest observer to ever walk the earth, was along for the ride.
Sprinkling the landscape along the Big Apple way were billboards promoting LeFrak City, a mammoth 4,605-apartment development in Queens with a slogan that gave Rex such glee, each and every trip:
LeFrak City: Live a Little Better
With a slight smile and raised eyebrow, Rex would praise the brilliance of developer Samuel J. LeFrak who pledged an upgrade to one’s fortunes while never over-promising: your life could be a little better over at our place.
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This past December, Annabelle crept in the door from NYC In the wee hours of the 19th, just after I’d had surprisingly painful hand surgery with the flu added two days later. Annabelle was thrilled to have landed in some mighty happy holidays here at the house.
In the days leading up to Christmas, Annabelle sat knitting in the armchair on one side of the living room while I dwelled in a heap on the opposite. Here we fell into watching the classics—Elf, Hairspray, Grease, Love Actually, It’s a Wonderful Life, Christmas Vacation, and When Harry Met Sally. The newest films in this entire lot came out way back in 2003, and it slowly dawned on us that we were visitors in a bygone world.
It’s easy to forget all those years where everyone had home phones wired to the wall, where morning radio, the newspaper, and the 6:00 news gave you everything you needed to know each day. Surprises and chance meetings were always in play, cell phones were around but they weren’t very smart, bulky computers lived on desktops in homes and offices, and Facebook was just an idea percolating out there in someone’s head.
When Harry Met Sally (1989) brought back the days of when someone broke up with you they were well and truly gone, their life, movements, and fortunes instantly a mystery. Running into your ex somewhere by chance was a big big deal (and merited a breathless call to best pals when you got back home to the phone attached to the wall).
Life now is very different with old friends, new friends, and people you will never ever know all out there for your viewing pleasure on social media. For the good or not-so-good, vanishing into oblivion these days is a real trick as a particle of most anyone can be found online.
Between features in our little film festival, Annabelle and I got into 2025 Christmas cards, which led to sharing updates on all sorts of folks we know, have known, or kinda know. We rejoiced in triumphs and successes, lamented hard times and sad situations, and were disheartened by tales of fine people whose lives are sort of a mess, for one reason or another. Our review covered lots of territory, meandering across days, hours, and meals.
What we came to recognize is that life is one crazy imperfect road, with success, comfort and wealth not always guarantees for happiness. It’s so easy now to assume that the gorgeous tableaux that one sees online are perfectly indicative of sublime and enviable lives. Sometimes it's yes, sometimes, not so much.
There is always the temptation for me and for others to compare lots in life with the splendor found on colorful screens. (I can always find folks who are smarter, prettier, younger, thinner, more successful, and having a bigger ball in this world than I am).
Towards the end of our solving all the world’s problems, Annabelle and I remembered a category of significant people: folks we know and have known who never ever caught a break in life, who worked hard in easily overlooked jobs, yet who made huge differences in the lives of others. With little effort, I can name quite a few, and I’ll bet you can come up with your own all-star list. I don't have to look far to see their gifts in our lives, and it's always nice remembering the ones who are gone.
The visit Annabelle and I had to 1989 and beyond eventually wrapped up with our agreeing that people worthy of admiration aren’t just the ones we love and follow for trips, weddings, fantastic news, and wonderful achievements. We must include the many whose lives were and are solid examples of kindness, diligence, and the everyday longing to live a little better. While some may not be found online so much, if you keep your eyes peeled, you're bound to find a good few out in your world.
~~~~~
It's been a minute since those New York limo rides, and an impossible 29 years have passed since our friend Rex left us. Oh, but we always remember his flair for the clever and making ordinary limo rides fascinating. I'm thankful for Rex making a big deal about one Mr. Samuel J. LeFrak on every single NYC trip. Who knew that Mr. LeFrak's pretty good idea for a marketing slogan would still be meaningful today, lo these million years later.
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