Love in Manhattan

Just saw Manhattan By Woody Allen.
Woke me up.
Saw people just living, trying to make the social thing work in a tough city.

Well, now I believe Manhattan is a liveable city.
So I'm being friendly. And making friends.
And its working.
I can feel my hard cold image of the city thaw all around me.

So my friend drags me to the Blue Note for some jazz. Its some fun stuff. In a good mood I notice the waitress is the same one from New Years. And I mention it and she thinks I'm hitting on her, and I was really just trying to sound like a regular so she would accept my ID. It says I'm 25. Yeah right.

Anyway, she believes Im 25 and hits on me the whole show.
I suspected she did it wth everyone.
But not so. Just me.

So after the show she told me to come back in a half hour for her number.
I did,
and she turned around while just getting off work,
at the end of her shift,
putting her coat on, making for the door,
and she sees me waiting by the entrance,
eye contact, smiles,
very romantic.

After I find out I wont be wisked immediately by her to her apartment,
I admit that I am only 20. She is extremely surprised.
I guess I do look older.

I find out later she, L, is 26 yrs old.
She is black and waitressing while waiting for her big break as
an actress, her true career path.
and from Baltimore.

I am a White Jewish Male who goes to NYU,
Aged 20 years to perfection.
From Long Island.

We start talking, and I'm the academic and she's the one whose about feelings
and she brings up religion talk right away
and listen
for a kid my age I have dealt with a tremendous amount of existential philosophy.
And I have seriously thought out most any God question thrown my way.
So I impress. And I can laugh. Thank you Woody.

So she drives me to the station.
I invent a train I need to catch,
my excuse to not spend any more money on this evening
if it wasnt ending at her place.
She offered to drive me to Penn,
but we got there one minute after the imaginary time,
so I had to invent ANOTHER train,
a half hour later,
so for 25 minutes we chatted in her car. And I won her over.
We have a date tomorrow...
Good stuff.

And now I love Rhapsody in Blue.