We returned to the East Village and went to the always divine Russ and Daughters to pick up breakfast. First things first: a pickle for Josie from the pickle man.

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Not just a pickle, but a full sour pickle. She said "Yank you," and ate the whole thing while the rest of our order was filled: Gaspé Nova, scallion cheese, bagels and bialys, whitefish-salmon salad, marinated artichoke salad, eggplant salad, salmon roe (another Josie favorite), and the king of all smoked fish--light, delicate, moist sturgeon. We brought it all home and Carol added some scrambled eggs with chives from Jonathan's garden. Neal and Andy joined us for breakfast.

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Andy went off to a dance lesson, and the rest of us went to a Greenwich Village street fair. Neal got a massage by a team of Chinese acrobats that accosted him. Neal is so good natured, he just can't say no. We toured Neal's music school where he takes piano lessons. The garden was open, with a play pool filled with rubber ducks, which Josie delighted in picking up and throwing into the water. This made for another story which she retold all night. We had the most fun babysitting for her. She really is funny and a good and lovable companion. She went to bed easily, but the day's excitement got to her, and she woke up coughing and crying. When Carol picked her up, she hurled all over her. She calmed down as we wiped her and Carol off and both changed their clothing. As she returned to bed, she said, "I'm sorry."

We took the train back Sunday morning. Once again it was cheap, clean and on time. We returned home in time to read the mail, have a great dinner with the Alexanders and Gamms at Empire, and go to Trinity to see Annie. So now we have in Providence an orchestra, a chorus, and a theater company that can do no wrong. With just a piano, and a few assorted instruments, a bare bones set, and a cast of enormous enthusiasm, Amanda Dehnert converts another Broadway spectacle into a warm and thrilling intimate evening of song and dance. The girl was local, had reddish hair, but no curls, and sang like a trooper. Fred Sullivan as Daddy Warbucks can't sing and can't dance, but his boisterous good humor carries the day for him, Mauro Hantman as Rooster is lithe and smarmy, and Janice Duclos was born to play Mrs. Hannigan. Brian McEleney's FDR impression is almost as good as mine. If you're wondering, as I'm sure you are, about the dinner, it was just so-so. I've been there before when it was quite spectacular. Must have been chef's night off.