Last week, I had the fortune of flying to NYC with my Daughter to drop her off to begin her Sophomore year in College. She is studying stage management and directing at Marymount Manhatten College; for those who have read my book, Leaving Cleveland, you know that most of the story takes place in NYC in the 1980s.

The thing I love about NYC is it is constantly changing and full of surprises. We went to the MET to see an exhibit on Buddhism and accidentally ran into Richard Avedon’s exhibition of wall-size portraits of his work in the late 60’s. The image below is of the picture of the Chicago Seven with Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman.

For me, it brought back a vivid memory of when I was tipped off by a Newsweek Reporter that Abbie Hoffman was coming out of hiding and was gathering his supporters. Abbie is being pursued by the F.B.I. He is the third person from the left in the above photograph by Avedon. I went to the location in Greenwich Village, with camera in hand, and met the Newsweek reporter. She knocked on the nondescript door, told the person we were from Newsweek, and showed her credentials. He let us into a dark room where about 20 other people were. About 20 minutes later, Abbie arrived to receive a big applause. I will never forget his saying, “Never trust anyone under 30.” The crowd laughed and burst into applause and started ” yipping.” Those old enough will understand what I am talking about; if not, message me, and I will explain. Sadly Hoffman committed suicide in 1989 the year I took this photograph of him at that gathering.

A lot of memories of NYC. It was a successful trip; my daughter moved into her dorm, I got to see some excellent friends, and I ate some pretty good food. We went to the Garden Terrace at the Met, where I took the photo below. I decided to use the image to advertise my book and promote the E-book discount price of $2.99 for a limited time. I also surveyed some of my readers and asked them what they thought of the book. To my surprise, ” funny and coming of age ” often appeared.

Thanks for reading, and please share and subscribe and reach out to me if you have any questions.

Steven