Stealing Elegance

Waldorf Astoria. NYC. Forbes image

On my first trip to New York City, I stole a spoon from the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

It was not only the first time for me to the biggest of cities, it was the first and only time I committed petty theft; something for the confessional.

On a girl scout field trip sponsored by my Catholic elementary school, we were 11 years old, 6th graders, well past the “age of reason”.

Ours was a small town of farmers who settled in the 1700’s in suburban Philadelphia, later industrialized by the steel industry.

So for us, this was truly a cultural excursion, a taste of a different world. We were awe-struck. Here, we were to witness the meaning of the word skyscraper.

The strangest part for me was that I felt really at home, in a way that did not make sense to me at the time. It was crowded, dirty, loud and a bit scary.

I loved every thing about it.

I can remember thinking that in some way, I was destined to be here.

My fantasy of living in NYC began right there.

Grand Ballroom. Hilton.com

The day-long agenda was lost on me. The luncheon at the Waldorf Astoria grand ballroom was the highlight.

The meal was elegant, and no doubt, delicious; the dessert of Baked Alaska was a spectacle.

Instead of diving into it, I looked at the silver-plated spoon with the engraved “W”, and carefully slipped it into the pocket of my girl scout uniform.

It became a symbol to me; a symbol of elegance, a symbol of wealth, a symbol of urban life, a symbol of my future.

It was one of the 5 or 6 items that I kept in a small cedar box and carried with me my entire life.

I should have felt guilty. I did not. Every time I had the chance to open that cedar box, I would smile.

A few short decades later, my daughter called to say her job was being transferred to NYC.

She was to live out my dream. Prophecy fulfilled.

I was happier for her, and for myself, than she will ever know.

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This morning I learned that the Waldorf is being gutted, turned into condos. I resurrected this post, one of my earliest.

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