Yesterday morning, I witnessed many men and women run the ING New York City Marathon. It was fun to cheer on the runners... but it really put me to shame! I get the urge to run (for leisure-- not to the train station when I'm late for work) about once every 2 years. As inspiring as it was, I still preferred being the spectator, watching the marathon participants run past Bay Ridge Avenue from my seat at the diner as I happily finished my greasy breakfast of corned beef and home fries!

 
Vincent van Gogh. The 'Au Charbonnage' Cafe. 1878. Image from Moma

 I don't know why it took me 3 years to go to the Moma, even though I have made the trek to the corner of 53rd St. and 6th Ave. plenty of times to stand in a 2 hour line in the freezing cold for a $5 halal chicken and lamb over rice dish! The main draw was to see the Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night (sounds like a Phantom of the Opera song!) exhibition. My favorite was a small drawing called The 'Au Charbonnage' Cafe (1978), mostly because it was one of the few pieces that was not in color, and also because I stood in front of it for a good 3 minutes before sharing it with anyone else (and this is after they've already limited the amount of people allowed to view the exhibit at a given time!)