one of the cards the Emperor gave me (he is on the left)
For those of you who aren't familiar with the Upper East Side, suffice it to say it's not exactly edgy. Think UGG boots, little dogs, manis, pedis, nannies, baby carriages and lots of girls named Alexis. Even in NYC, unique people attract a lot of attention. And so, when a tall stately man wearing a fur stole, an awesome top hat with two extra large, curved plumes and rocks for rings on each and every finger (with nails painted black) was spotted on the train, people stared. Alexis' jaw dropped. A boy in a Pittsburgh Steelers tee shirt, (obviously a tourist), took a photo with his phone. I didn't bat an eye. I'm jaded. But, then I noticed the rings. Then, I noticed the earrings. I thought about passing him WendyB's card! Then, I noticed the pretty fan he carried with what seemed to be seven feet of tassel dangling off the bottom. He had to keep picking it up off the floor and draping it over his lap, delicately sitting it on top of the fur stole.
another postcard
Okay, I was intrigued. Okay, I was more than intrigued. "Who is this fabulous man?" I thought. It takes a special kind of person to walk around in such an outfit. It takes a confident, social and creative person. Well, that's my kind of person! So, I waited till we hit Union Square and it just so happened we both exited the train at that stop. I just HAD to find out who this dude was... what he did... what his story was. So, I asked what he did for a living. "What don't I do?" he said. "I'm the Emperor of New York." To which I responded with a chuckle. I quickly realized he was dead serious. "Oh, I didn't even know there was an Emperor," I said. Luckily, that didn't offend his Royal Highness (is that appropriate in this case??) and he told me about all the fundraisers and parties he attends as an official representative of NYC. Cool. I want that gig! And so we exchanged cards and I scooted along because I was running ten minutes late as per usual and I left him to be accosted by a group of Hasdic Jews for a photo opp (which I found kind of odd)! Such a New York moment!!
thinking maybe I should go to this!
