I Heart Logan Bruno

If you were a book nerd in the 80's or 90's then odds are good that you, like me, grew up on The Baby-sitters Club.  Odds are also pretty good that you're wondering if Ann M. Martin is going to pull a Francine Pascal on us and bring back Kristy and the crew in a series that follows them as, you know, grown ups and stuff.  (By the way, when the series started in 1986, the main four were all 12 years old which means they'd be approaching 40 now!  Wowza!)  Martin seemed to like the stereotypes so we already know that Kristy would be the lesbian softball coach and Claudia would be off in Paris painting while Stacey McGill, everyone's favorite, would be a fashion designer.  Dawn would be a surfing instructor, Mallory a librarian, and Jessi, of course, a ballerina.  Mary Anne would throw us all for a loop and be, like, a dominatrix or something.

Ahh, good old Mary Anne Spier.  She was the shy, mousy girl who wore pigtails until well into seventh grade, had a cat named Tigger, and totally swooned over Logan Bruno and his Louisville accent.  She was often described as having a "crush" on New York City.  No girl in the 80's or 90's would ever claim to be a "Mary Anne."  I guess it would be kind of like admitting you were a "Charlotte" amongst the Sex and the City characters.  Everyone wanted to be a Stacey or a Claudia, maybe a Dawn.  But a Mary Anne?  Timid with no fashion sense?  No thank you very much. 

But the whole crush on New York City thing?  I feel ya, sistah!

I'm not going to go as far as to say I have a crush on NYC.   I've never been.

But, man, I've always wanted to go.  I mean, it's a helluva town . . . the Bronx is up but the Battery's down . . .

Seriously, though.  Times Square and Broadway, the Yankees, the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building and the Top of the Rock and all the neighborhoods and restaurants!  It's easy to see how Mary Anne Spier could have a crush on something so big and so (seemingly) awesome.

And guess what?



I'll be able to check it out for myself in March!  I bought my ticket yesterday!

Pardon me for a moment.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whew.  There.  Feel better.

Since New Orleans priced itself out for almost anyone who would have to fly in, my girls and I decided to move our springtime trip [much] further north.  So, in late March -- these vagabond shoes that have been longing to stray?  They'll stray all the way to NYC.  For the first time ever!  I'm actually flying to my friend Dahlia in Connecticut since flying directly into NYC would've cost me my children's college funds.  I CAN'T WAIT.  One more time: I CAN'T WAIT!

There will be Times Square.  There will be all the sites.  There will be cupcakes from Crumbs and hotdogs from a street vendor and as much yummy food as I can find.  There will be my favorite girls and there's a good chance there will be large amounts of vodka. 

Watch out, New York City!  You're about to get a Whore Invasion!