No, this is not a pussy cat

It is a 17-pound snow leopard who needs a name. He is the son of mom Maya and orphaned snow leopard dad Leo who was sent to the Bronx Zoo by Pakistan, after a shepherd rescued him there.

(bronxzoo.com)

The Bronx Zoo has 10 of the 137 snow leopards in captivity, a successful breeding record that no other zoo can emulate. In fact, the Bronx Zoo is a mine of animal fertility and serves as a refuge for rapidly declining species.

(Source: zooborns.com)

Snow leopards, rhinos, tigers, and other endangered animals take part in  their "Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding program meant to maintain genetic diversity and demographic stability in zoo populations of threatened and endangered animals."

There are and have been many irresistible babies at the zoo

 

(Source: nbcnewyork.com)

and you are helping the good work with your entry and membership fees.

(Source: newswatch.nationalgeographic.com)

The fall is an ideal time to visit the zoo, with or without children attached, as babies born in the spring and summer often make their public debut in the fall and it is cooler.

(Source: kids.britannica.com)

When the zoo has a new baby, the birth announcements go out to everybody and the place is packed, so take advantage of the weekday lull to catch the newcomers.

(Source: newyork.cbslocal.com)

And while you're there, try to think of a good name for a baby snow leopard.

P.S. Did you know that 75% of the world's population of elephants has been destroyed within the last 10 years? Please lend your voice to the Wildlife Conservation Society's campaign to end legal selling of all ivory.

#retiredinnewyork
#babysnowleopard
#bronxzoo

Theatre Row and George Bernard Shaw

If you are one of the New York refugees who has trekked to Niagara-on-the-Lake in Canada to see their very fine Shaw productions, doubtless you have asked yourself why so few of his plays are mounted in New York. After all, this is the man who told us that "There is no love sincerer than the love of food." Happily, the Gingold Theatrical Group, named for the late great Hermione Gingold, has taken to reading his plays at the Players Club as part of their Shaw Project.

Now they have co-produced a full production of You Never Can Tell with the Pearl Theater Company on Theater Row directed by David Staller and it's Broadway quality at Off-Broadway prices. The Pearl is a lovely small house all the way west on 42nd St and if you like the classics you'll like what they do.

Up next are Sartre's No Exit, Sheridan's The Rivals and a new play by Terrence McNally called And Away We Go. Rory and I plan to attend all of them.  Although we paid about $25 per ticket through TDF during the previews their regular prices are not bad--$40 for members. The membership is $50 and despite Groucho's warning you do want to be a member of this particular club. And how nice is it to go to the theater on this quiet part of 42nd St with other small theaters offering new and unusual plays and musicals at old time prices.

Happily for us, Project Shaw is moving to the Upper West Side's Symphony Space for their next script-in-hand readings (you won't notice, I promise) which will be Don Juan in Hell from Man and Superman, Candida and The Devil's Disciple. Of course, always try TDF but their regular tickets are only $30.

(Source: Shaw New York 2013)

The Gingold Group is doing this to "champion human rights with the work of GBS as their platform." But if you're not familiar with his works, don't worry about their serious purpose--you'll enjoy these wonderfully funny and wise plays. As the great man says, "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing."

#retiredinnewyork
#theatrerow
#shawnewyork

Of OTBs (Other Than Bicycles) tandems, tricycles and recumbents

I am completely in sympathy with those of my friends who never rode a bike. I did and now that I am now attempting to renew my acquaintance with wheels, there's no doubt that it's harder than it was when I was 12. There is hope, however.

Remember, embarrassment is not an option. Riding is fun and good for us and if that involves something other than the standard two-wheeler, so be it. This is a painless and enjoyable way to exercise and see the world at the same time.

First the tandem two-wheeler. If you are lucky enough to have a partner who can take on most of the work and

keep you upright, the two-wheel tandem is a breeze.

Tandems come in all lengths

(source: bostinno.streetwise.co)
and styles

(source: adelaidecyclists com)
although, this brings to mind a certain animal....

(source: mrssplapthing.com) and can be found for as little as $240.
Another possibility is an adult trike built for fitness, transport, hauling and fun. If you think these cycles are only for wusses, take a look at this:

(source: forums.bicycletutor.com)
and this,

(source: uncle-sammy.org)
and this

(source: tricyclesportandfitness.com)
and of course this.

(source: blackbirdbikes.com)
And then there is the whole world of recumbent tricycles

(source: atomic-zombie-extreme-machines.blogspot.com)
and tandems, with or without dog attachment.

(source: photoblognbcnews.com)

If you would like to try one before you buy, you can rent tandems at various places around town including Rent-a-Bike-CentralPark, Central Park Tandem Bike Rentals, Ride Brooklyn Bike Shop, Spokesman Cycles in Long Island City Queens, and elsewhere.

Adult tricycles can be rented on Governor's Island and at all Wheel Fun Rentals locations-- in Jacob Riis Park on Rockaway Beach Blvd in Queens, Canarsie Pier in Brooklyn, and Marine Park also in Brooklyn. So far, I haven't found any adult tricycle rentals in Manhattan but if any folks out there have, please let us know. By the way, many used adult trikes for sale go for between $150-$300.

#retiredinnewyork
#exerciseforseniors
#tandems
#adulttricycles

Go West--West Side that is

If you haven't walked on 9th Avenue recently, start high up on Columbus, say at about 86th Street,  and keep on walking, past Lincoln Center, until it becomes 9th Avenue.

The 9th Avenue El, as it was known, was the oldest elevated railway in New York and operated from 1868 to 1940. When it closed, times being what they were, it was not made into a high-line park.

(Source: new.mta.info)
Today, at the top of your walk, you'll pass old tenements transformed into a gentrified pedestrian walkway with elegant and expensive shops and restaurants.

(Source: nycgo.com)
 Dipping below Lincoln Center, you may hit one of the frequent festivals when Ninth Avenue pays homage to its historic cuisines with slightly better grade street food.

(Source: jschumacher.typepad.com)

And if it isn't a festival day, you can see the ethnic restaurants lining both sides of the street, reminding us that new generations of New York immigrants are still doing this.

(Source: michaelminn.net)
Once mostly Greek and Italian, the street now also offers Turkish, Israeli, Middle Eastern, Mexican, French, Indonesian and Asian cuisines.  

Stop in at Gazala Place between 48th and 49th streets for authentic Druze food and order the bourekas of the day for about $8, a baked or fried pastry made from phyllo dough and filled with cheese, meat, fish or vegetables. You won't regret it.

(Source: google.plus.com)
Continue down 9th past the Film Center and then across 42nd Street

(Source: michaelminn.net)
 but duck into a subway and avoid the madness between 6th and 7th Avenues.

#retiredinnewyork
#ninthavenue
#seniorwalks

Do You AARP?

What actually is AARP? Its acronym is so well known, you may have to think for a minute to remember that it is the American Association of Retired Persons, "a not-for-profit membership organization for people 50 and over." AARP and AARP volunteers are everywhere, including horse rescue farms.

(Source: blog.aarp.org)

You probably received an invitation about the time you hit 50 but may have thought, what has this got to do with me? answer--lots. For a mere $16/year for you and your partner/spouse, AARP will provide you with access to benefits such as health insurance, jobs for people 50+, discounts on groceries, restaurants and hotels, an excellent bulletin

(Source: freerepublic.com) and yes, an online dating service.

(Source: www.aarp.org)

How about a cell phone for $10/month? or special savings days at Duane Reade where you present your AARP card and get 15-20% off everything? If you are a confirmed coupon user, today's 303 free printable coupons are for you. They even provide a website on how to use their discounts discounts.aarp.org/howitworks/index/uSource/H09.

Enjoy online games? go to games.aarp.org/ for some free downloads to sharpen your brain.

You will also get very polite, personalized service on travel reservations plus a few bennies for AARP members.And there are valuable tips for those of us who want part or full time work.

If you have been absolutely baffled by the various medicare options (could you take a test on Parts A, B, C, D and supplemental?),

(Source: slate.com) you will like their explanations of the differences.

The AARP website at www.aarp.org can be your first stop for all things senior and retired. Importantly, AARP advocates for all of us with Washington and the individual states. Its presence is everywhere including the Mall of America in Minnesota where AARP teaches health reform.

(Source: minnesota.publicradio.org)

The AARP Foundation concentrates on four priority areas, hunger, income, housing, and isolation, and works hard to secure our social security and medicare programs. It is the face of the huge and growing percentage of America's retirees and elders and represents an increasingly recognized economic resource. Join the other 37 million folks who together act on behalf of all of us lucky enough to be living longer.

If you have used other AARP benefits that you'd like to share, please join in.

(Source: staruks.net)

#retiredinnewyork
#aarpbenefits
#seniorbenefits

Destination--Italian pastries, pastas and cheeses

When I asked Rory, my husband and partner in these retirement frolics, where he'd like to walk, he answered without hesitation "Bleecker Street" and I knew why. It is because Rocco's, one of Greenwich Village's finest Italian bakeries, is on Bleecker Street.

It seemed like as good a goal as any for our walk and, even if we had been there many times before, it still gratifies. There I found the best iced decaf cappuccino ever

 and Rory brought home a fine selection of cookies.

We took the #1 subway to Christopher Street, walked to Bleecker and traveled east across 6th Avenue. Bleecker took us to Macdougal and from there we continued east on Houston, south on Broadway, and east to Mulberry. We then walked south on Mulberry through Little Italy's line of Italian restaurants, then took Mulberry to Canal and finished up going west to Canal and Broadway to pick up our subway.

Along the way, we passed some of Greenwich Village's and Little Italy's remaining Italian food landmarks including Ottomanelli's meats, there since 1900,

John's Pizzeria, on Bleecker since 1929,

Raffetto's pasta, established in 1906 (their fresh pasta is available uptown at Zabar's on Broadway at 80th Street--Zabar's, of course, is worthy of its own post),

Piemonte Ravioli,  there since 1920, 

and Alleva Cheeses, a New York institution for over100 years.

                                          

For our purposes, however, we will concentrate on the big three bakeries: Caffe Roma, Ferrara, and Rocco's plus Di Palo's specialty store.

Here you will find the exquisite Italian cured meats known collectively as salumi and including the thinnest sliced prosciutto ever, plus countless Italian olive oils, vinegars and of course cheeses.

We love their homemade ricotta and mozzarella, and their many pastas, including fresh fettuccine and raviolis. Ask them to grind their Parmigiano Reggiano for you.

If you have followed this path, you're very tired now and you need a break. Stop briefly at the venerable Ferrara's on Grand Street, there since 1892, and have a pastry,

By the way, if you are looking for something special (and you should try to find a reason to order this), Ferrara's will deliver its Sicilian Cassata or cannoli cake to anywhere in the five boroughs.We did and we have never regretted it.

(Source: Ferraracafe.com)
Or drop in at our other favorite, Caffe Roma on Broome Street, less touristy and offering the same great pastries it has had since 1891 plus a fine variety of espressos and cappuccinos. Try the lighter Italian cheesecake made with ricotta instead of cream cheese.

Greenwich Village and Little Italy's original populations have migrated and much of their original ethnic savor is gone, but with these landmarks in mind, you can find and recreate the wonderful tastes of the past. The prices are still low and the food as good as ever. Take a long walk and enjoy them. It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it.

Did I miss your favorite? let us know.

#retiredinnewyork
#newyorkitalianpastries
#bleeckerstreet
#littleitaly
#cafferoma
#dipalos