Last week Bob and I whisked away from sunny Orlando to see New York City at Christmastime. I’m not a huge fan of that city’s large crowds, but there are things there that you can’t find anywhere else, especially at Christmas. They know how to do it up right and bright.

We had a few things booked, and it’s a good thing they were not too highbrow, because I forgot my eyebrow pencil. The last decade has realized a drastic decrease in my use of makeup – I guess, for me, that’s part getting older and part chronically dry eyes. The plus side, over the last several years, I’ve saved so much money on make-up that we could take this trip.

My one make-up hold-out is eyebrow pencil. I’m a pale, white woman. I tell Bob that I wear eyebrow pencil so I can be seen (not in the woke way). If it snowed while we were there, I was concerned that I’d get lost in white-out conditions and Bob wouldn’t be able to find me, especially since I wore a white coat. I mean, what was I thinking?

It didn’t snow, but it did rain. That did not stop us from doing all the things. Uber was meant for rainy days, and we took one to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Walking in the rain around Ground Zero fit the mood.

There is a somberness there that I have only felt a few times before – once while going through the Holocaust Museum in D.C. and once while we visited Dachau concentration camp in Germany. Ground Zero is a place that, if possible, you must see for yourself as it cannot be adequately explained. As we walked through the museum there was a respectful silence despite the thousands of people passing the memorials, displays, pictures, and stories. I’m glad this was an early stop on our trip.

I confess that we had a few highbrow activities planned, and that was concerning due to my lack of eyebrow pencil. But I was determined not to buy any. So, I went bare faced and they let me in!

Radio City Music Hall orchestra before the show

We had tickets to see the Rockettes for their 100^th anniversary and Christmas show. I loved it! The music, the costumes, dozens of Santa Clauses, high-kicking ladies, the Christmas story complete with live camels. Glorious! It’s a special thing for me as a Christian when I see and hear Bible stories presented in non-church settings. That’ll preach! The Bible says in Isaiah 55:11 ^“so also is my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It shall accomplish all I want it to and prosper everywhere I send it.”

There is a thing in NYC called the Broadway Direct Lottery. You enter online between 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM for cheap tickets for the next day. I won twice. I know! We went to a matinee of Aladdin and an evening performance of Six (six wives of Henry VIII).

Aladdin curtain call

I especially loved Aladdin. It has that classical Broadway musical thing going strong, and it’s a great family show. Again, eyebrow pencil was not required to go into these relatively highbrow functions.

We brought DOWN AND OUT AND READY FOR A MIRACLE to see Operation Mincemeat. No binoculars required. Our seats were fine.

Honestly, going to a show is not the dress-up event that it once was, and I like that fine. It’s more than shoes and shirts are required, but you see all manner of dress – anything from jeans to semi-formal wear. Nobody cares, so I quickly recovered from forgetting my eyebrow pencil, and Bob never lost me!