The Unbearable Banishment: Last Call

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Last Call

Summer is taking its good, sweet time leaving New York. It was balmy out last night—likely one of the last warm evenings of the season—so J and I had drinks on an outdoor deck that was 14 floors above Broadway and 54th St. To the left, down below, the marquee for the David Letterman show jetted out onto the sidewalk. To the right, Broadway flowed into the evening glow of Times Square. The tourists, God bless them, were out en masse.

J is a producer at a major news organization. She just won an Emmy for a piece she did on a children’s hospital in Iraq. I asked her where she was going to keep the statue and she said she wasn’t getting one. Apparently, when you win an Emmy, you have to pay for the statue. It’s $350 and she doesn’t want to spend the money. D, her husband, said that he’d be happy to pay for it but she is resistant. She can certainly afford it. She just doesn’t want to pay for it. She’s crazy, right? Wouldn’t you buy your Emmy if you won one? I would.

Here’s another sure sign that summer is coming to a close: They are rolling up the sod in Bryant Park to make way for the ice skating rink. Construction will start next week. By the time the autumn winds start to whip down 42nd Street off the Hudson River, the hot chocolate kiosks and morning skaters will be back.


6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

That's crazy...paying for your own trophy? So.....does that mean the one they give out at the award show is just a "fake"? They give you a trophy on stage and then take it back once you're off the stage?

Are all those "award" programs like that? You have to buy your oscar/tony/grammy/whatever?

Only in America, methinks.

October 11, 2008 at 11:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This certainly gives new meaning to the idea of winning.

October 11, 2008 at 7:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

in principle, i get her point - and admire her ability to pass on the opportunity to display tangible recognition from peers for a job well done...

i'd totally buy mine. maybe ask if i could get a "buy one, get one half off" deal...

October 12, 2008 at 12:31 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm with daisyfae on this one

October 12, 2008 at 4:05 AM  
Blogger mjp said...

My ex won an Emmy, and she passed on the trophy too. They still get a fancy certificate that they can frame. Or put in a filing cabinet somewhere if they're really overly humble.

October 12, 2008 at 1:30 PM  
Blogger Digital Fortress said...

I don't like the idea that she would have to purchase her own Emmy, she won it she should be awarded it, but I think it's nice that she is frugal and humble enough not too "need" to have it.

October 12, 2008 at 10:38 PM  

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