Our BetterMost Community > Chez Tremblay
Tell ya what...we're doing a Brokie Brunch in NYC
JCinNYC2006:
Oh wow, looks like I get to post first on the brunch!
It was a real thrill to meet people who I had only previously known through postings. I got there last because I had taxi drama with several events clogging traffic, so I missed out on the beginning of the brunch. There were 9 of us, including me, Jeff from Jersey, Jeff from Philly, Anke, Amy, David, Jenny, Meryl and a friend of Meryl's from England (sorry I forgot her name). As Pete posted, I was greeted with practically a grab bag of little gifts, including gummy candies (from Anke?), bandannas from Meryl, and a little zoo of plastic animals (I got the dog who's laying there with Jack ;D ).
It was very laid back and fun, different conversations going at different ends of the table. Meryl's friend is both a Brokie and a Lord of the Rings fan, as is Meryl, and those LotR fanatics are much luckier than Brokies (they have action figures! We should too dang it). Jeff from Philly brought an awesome book of photos from the movie and some of his short stories (I think they're in the fan fiction section no?).
It turns out Jenny, Amy, Meryl and myself are all in NYC, so hopefully we can do this again. The food was really good, very filling, and I got to know about what folks do for a living, talked some about being a social worker. I didn't get to talk to folks at the other end as much, unfortunately. Jenny got the call from Pete and Kirk in San Fran, and they were passed around and spoke to everyone. They were so cool too, I would love to meet up if I can make it to SF this summer.
Anke is doing this great little 'audio project', I'll let her talk more about it since it was her doing. That and the bunch of pictures taken will give everyone a better sense of the afternoon. I can be pretty shy the first time I meet people, so my description is not doing justice to how nice it was, and I would love to do it again to get to know folks better.
We did go across the street to a place Meryl knew about, a wicked little shop filled with western clothes like hats, boots, belts and buckles. It was like a wardrobe shop for the movie, and it was small but man, packed with so much cool stuff. That was the most fun for me because I got to talk to people I hadn't really spoken to at the table.
Jenny had this amazing booklet and was letting people read it. It was like a picture book with all these quotes from reviews, people involved in the making of the film and people who had seen it. (Remember who on the official site, there was a place to "share your story"? The quotes came from there, and I could only read a few, they were way too sad, but in a moving way). We got to try on a bunch of wicked cool cowboy hats. Unfortunately the ones that looked best on me were way to expensive, so I had to settle for a different piece of clothing. It was a blast trying things on and seeing how everyone looked kind of getting into character. David and Jenny bought the coolest stuff that I'm aware of, but again I'll let them describe it.
Then I had to split at about 4 to get to volleyball. I had a great time and I loved meeting everyone. Others will probably post better descriptions but I hope that gives a sense of what the afternoon was like.
Juan
Edit/addition: how could I forget this?? Jenny was wearing one of the t-shirts available for sale, a sexy one that reads "There ain't no reins on this one". So this is my plug to check out here site and get yourself one of these amazing shirts: http://www.spreadshirt.com/shop.php?sid=25107
David:
Amtrak Tickets: $64.00
Black "Jack Twist" cowboy hat: $75.00
Spending the day in NYC with your BetterMost buddies : PRICELESS!!
YEE HAA!
Boy am I tired! LOL. I just got home from the City. Lonnnng train ride again.
I see that Pete and Juan have already started reporting! :D To start off, my train was late getting in. So I figured I missed Jeff Wrangler at the Train Station. So I fast walked the 24 blocks to the restaraunt, just to be the first there! LOL.
Jeff soon arrived as his train was late too. He won the Best outfit award. He had on his black cowboy hat and western themed shirt. Eventually the rest of the gang all trickled in. Anke arrived with German Gummi-candy for us all. Meryl and her friend Sarah from England brought us all Bandanas, just in case we fell off our chairs and needed someone to tend our wounds like Jack did after the Bear incident. LOL
The staff was happy to put on the BBM sound track disc for us. But we eventually got so loud nobody could hear it! We ate and talked for 3 hours! We went across the street to a Western wear store and went crazy. Jenny bought a belt buckle so she could do her Jack Twist "buckle flick" move like in the movie. I bought a nice Jack Twist cowboy hat and a bolo tie like Jack wore at the Thanksgiving dinner scene. Juan bought.......He'll kill me for telling, but what the hell. Cowboy underwear! Despite my pleas, he wouldn't model it for us. And now I'm sure I wont ever get the opportunity! Ha ha ha!
I think we bought enough at the store for the woman to close early! We overwelmed her I think! From there we ventured over to Christopher Street to visit a store called the "Leather Man". My goodness! I think Leslie could get lots of creative ideas for Jack and Ennis at this place! Lets just say there were things in that place that can make a grown man blush. ::)
From there Amy led us over to a fun little Pub for a few drinks and lots of laughs. But alas, I eventually had to walk back up to the train station. So the last I saw of the girls, they were being over run by a large group from the "Daughters of the Revolution" that were in town. Trust me, they had sillier hats than we did! LOL
All in all, a GREAT day! I wish all y'all could have been there with us!
David ;D
Meryl:
Wow, that was a long brunch! But I expected as much. ;D
Juan and Pete and David, thanks for the wonderful reports! 8)
Where to start? Sarah and I got there a little after noon because the subways weren't making local stops below 14th Street and we had to walk a bit further. But guess who got there the earliest? The people who live furthest away! Anke, David and JeffWrangler were already sitting at the bar when we arrived. It was so great to see them and know that the Broncho was at last a reality! We finally sat down around 12:30, still missing Juan, who appeared closer to 1:00 thanks to his taxi drama. We were nine altogether (montferrat and DeeDee didn't appear), but you could say we were 11, since Kirk and Pete called and talked with us for at least an hour. Amy, HobokenJeff and Jenny rounded out our group.
We sat at two tables pushed together, one round, one square, and a built-in wooden booth curved around two sides. It was cozy enough to hear most of the conversations with a little effort. Pictures of cowgirls and rodeo paraphernalia were everywhere. It was Lureen Land! We took lots of pictures. Mine aren't digital, so it will take awhile to get them developed and scan them, but Anke's should be viewable as soon as she gets to a computer. Anke also interviewed each of us (except Amy, who clammed up like Ennis when faced with a microphone ;D) and will ask Phillip to make the audio available onsite so we can all hear it. 8)
The food was hearty, and everyone chowed down on eggs, grits, biscuits, pancakes, fried chicken and quesadillas, washed down with mimosas. JeffWrangler had an impressive looking Bloody Mary with an 'interesting' garnish, which you will see when I post photos. ;) Anke brought gummi candies, Sarah passed around miniature animals with Brokebackian significance--elk, mules, sheep, coyotes, horses, dogs--and I gave everyone bandannas. JeffWrangler had the best outfit--a black cowboy hat and a Western shirt. Very sharp! Amy gets kudos for organizing the reservation and doing the math on the bill. We missed John Gallagher terribly, but we felt he was with us in spirit. I saved some goodies for him which I hope to deliver soon. :-*
After brunch we went across the street to Whiskey Dust, the Western store, and sorted through the treasure trove of cowboy clothing, gear and paraphernalia crammed into its two small rooms. We made the saleslady very happy--she had lots of sales to report to her boss. I told her to give the credit to Brokeback Mountain. :D
Juan and HobokenJeff had to leave, but the rest of us trooped over to the Leather Man to check out an incredible array of sexy attire--enough for several small cow & calf operations. We then went for drinks at Chumley's, a very old Village establishment that was a famous speakeasy back in the day. JeffWrangler and David left us eventually to wend their ways back to Philly and Connecticut, leaving Jenny, Amy, Anke, Sarah and me to walk up to Maracas, a Mexican restaurant on Greenwich Avenue, to eat, drink and gab yet some more. Incredibly, we bumped into HobokenJeff on the street (he'd gone to check out a big war protest in Union Square) on the way back to his car, and he rejoined the party.
So at last we're back home after a fabulous day of Brokeback goodness. What's better than making new friends (even though they're really old friends), eating great food, getting tipsy and having adventures? It don't get much better than that! Thanks to all my fellow Brokies for a wonderful day. :-* :-* :-*
henrypie:
Isn't "cowboy underwear" an oxymoron?
Glad to hear it was fun. Here's to making connections -- kling!
nakymaton:
--- Quote from: JCinNYC2006 on April 29, 2006, 08:00:42 pm ---Meryl's friend is both a Brokie and a Lord of the Rings fan, as is Meryl, and those LotR fanatics are much luckier than Brokies (they have action figures! We should too dang it).
--- End quote ---
Does that mean that the Frodo dolls were there wearing cowboy hats? :o ;D
Glad you all had a fun time.
Meryl, say hi to Sarah for me if she's still around!
Mel
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