One highlight of my visit to New York City was the opportunity to meet famous people….
Down The Road with the Original Buffalo Dale
Welcome back. As I said goodbye to New York City this past week, my notebook was full of interesting adventures, from the people watching in Times Square where “normal” does not exist to my tour of the fabulous Metropolitan Museum of Art where the display of Egyptian art and artifacts takes you back to the time of pharaohs and pyramids. In between there’s Broadway, the financial district where by the way there’s more gold stored here than in Fort Knox and the bustle of Central Park. Then there’s Harlem, Little Italy, Chinatown, Soho and Tribeca. I could go on and on but you get the picture.
Then there are the famous people you see walking the streets, just going about their daily lives. In just three weeks I ran into Billy Crystal, who seemed like an average guy getting older like me. Kristie Alley was lots of fun both on and off camera. Of course there was Matt Lauer, who shook hands with as many people as possible every day and had a smile for everyone. Cathy Lee and Hoda both have bigger than life personalities and were always ready for a photo as were most of the Today Show hosts. The band Kiss was interesting to watch as was Sting who seemed as cool in person as you might imagine from his performances.
I also had the opportunity to visit with many other people behind the scenes, whose names are not so well known. One of these was Rikki Kleinman. A lawyer by training, Rikki’s resume could fill a book. She is a legal analyst for CBS and also contributes to NBC, ABC, CNN and CNBL and she has also anchored her own network TV program.
I’ll catch my breath here because I’m not done yet. Rikki was named one of the five most outstanding female trial lawyers by Time Magazine and she is often profiled in magazines and newspapers. In addition she is frequently interviewed regarding criminal and civil law on shows such as 60 Minutes and 20/20. As if that weren’t enough she is an adjunct professor at Boston University School of Law and the author of numerous articles about legal issues.
Rikki has appeared as a guest star on television in NYPD Blue, 90210, Boston Legal and recently Blue Bloods. These roles come naturally to her for a reason. In her private life this accomplished woman is married to the Police Commissioner of New York City and believe me, I feel honored when she introduces me as her friend.
In person Rikki is soft spoken and easy to talk to. While we visited over breakfast in a neighborhood diner, her friendliness and lack of pretension was obvious. Despite her many outstanding achievements she is down to earth and could be your next door neighbor. Although she has been on the scene of world disasters, drug arrests and murder investigations, the mention of the recent death of Officer Dennis Guerra, which I wrote about last week, still brought a tear to her eye.
I’ll have more on Rikki and hopefully her husband Bill Bratton on my next trip. Till then remember that there’s nothing like a visit to New York City. Check it out.
On the local scene: have you ever wanted to attend a Dallas Cowboys football in a manner that few are ever able to? You and three guests will fly to Dallas by private jet where a driver will meet you and deliver you to a 5-Star hotel. You can check-in, get refreshed, and change for the game. When you are ready, the driver will take you all to the stadium where VIP club seats on the fifty yard line await you along with access to the private Founders’ Club with gourmet food and drink provided throughout the game. At the end of the day, a car will take you back to the hotel and in the morning, the jet will take you home.
Quite a deal and yes there’s only one party where you can bid for this trip. That’s Elder Care’s The Good, The Bad & The Barbeque on May 10th. This is just one of many unique auction items they will be offering so if you only attend one, don’t miss this great event.
Till next time, I’ll see ya down the road…..
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