Perhaps the best thing about living in Connecticut my first time around was its proximity to New York City, and while I lived here in the late ’90s, I spent a lot of time on the Metro North back and forth between Greenwich and Grand Central. We’re not quite as close to the city this time around, but still, to be able to get to New York in under two hours on the train is pretty great. I headed in on Sunday to catch three things that will soon be a thing of the past: the James Turrell exhibition at the Guggenheim, the show on Photography and the American Civil War at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and, more importantly, Mariano Rivera, the greatest closer in the history of baseball, in his retirement season.
My first stop was the Turrell show, which provided one of those breathtaking, larger-than-life moments you get every once in awhile in an art show, like the Eliasson installation in Turbine Hall in 2003, or The Gates in Central Park in 2005. The central rotunda of the museum was given over to Turrell’s “Aten Reign,” a magical, mesmerizing installation of slowly changing color fields, best viewed by lying on the floor, as many people did. Walking up the spiral, the walls (normally covered with art) were empty and the great view down to the entrance was blocked off by a white screen, part of the installation.
My next stop was not far away at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.I’d heard about the Civil War photography show as I was in the middle of the application process for the new job, and I thought, “Hey, if I get the job, I can go to the show!” And a lot of other shows, sure, but it was nice to realize all of those things in the “Goings On” section of The New Yorker would no longer be out of reach.
The show was excellent, a terrific collection of one-of-a-kind photos, plus some amazing early wanted posters, campaign buttons, stereo views, and assorted other photo-related ephemera. I only had time for the one show, but we’ll be back before long with some more time to look around. I do miss the metal tags that were phased out in June.
From the Met, I zipped up on the 4 train to Yankee Stadium, bought a day-of ticket at the ticket window, and headed to my seat, just in time to see Andy Pettitte warming up. It was like 1999 all over again. The game was fun, with a couple of great catches and home runs, and pretty decent pitching from Pettite. We even saw A-Rod’s first home run back from the DL and under the shadow of his appealed suspension. The game stayed close enough that Mariano’s services were needed, and the stadium went nuts as he made his way in from the bullpen. Unfortunately, he was having an off day, on the heels of two other bad days, and we witnessed his third blown save in a row, a first in his career. Luckily, Brett Gardner came through in the bottom of the ninth with a home run to give the Yankees a victory. We strolled out to the strains of “New York, New York,” and I headed to 125th St. station to catch the train back to New Haven. All in all, a great day out.
