Bella's Excellent NY Adventure, Part 1

The view from Room 1003 at the Helmsley Middletowne Hotel.

I blew into New York last Wednesday afternoon with more on my calendar for the next four days than I'd had in the past four weeks. The wintry weather we'd had in Denver the preceeding week had made its way east; it was 21F when I landed. I was thanking my lucky stars that I'd thrown my silk long johns into my suitcase at the last minute, because thru Friday the cold and wind were bone-chilling.

I've learned a thing or three about the vagaries of air travel, so didn't make any appointments for Wed. Good thing too, as my flight was delayed two hours due to 1-1/2 inches of snow at LaGuardia. (I'm still rolling my eyes at that. Buncha weather wussies!)

After settling in at the hotel, at 6pm I was at the National Book Critics Circle Award finalists' reading at the New School, which will get its own post later.