Annie Kicked Out The Blues

On Saturday, The Dowager Duchess and I had the pleasure of seeing Annie. Not the Broadway “Annie.” Not the film “Annie.” Annie, the daughter of two old and dear friends of San Geraldo’s and mine from our Boston Days in the early ’80s. At the time we met, Becky and Mark had a 4-year-old daughter named Sarah. An adorable, exceptional, intelligent, well-mannered, “easy” child. Sarah and I adored each other … and still do. Seven years later, Mark and Becky had Anne. (Click any image to feel the love.)

WAITING FOR ANNIE AT THE NEPTUNE AVENUE “F” TRAIN STATION.

Anne was a bit of a handful. Thankfully, she was always a sweet, smart, funny, kind handful. And everyone adored her. But she was a handful nonetheless. The first time they came to our place in Washington, D.C., 1-1/2-year-old Anne turned into the living room, spotted a basketball-sized piece of art glass on the coffee table and went running with her arms open wide. “Ball!!!” she squealed. Mark grabbed Annie and I grabbed the “ball.” A couple of years later, they visited us in Connecticut. We child-proofed the house only to find Annie running around downstairs with an antique oriental rug dragging behind her. “I’m Supergirl!!!”

“BALL!!!”

Well, that handful is now 30. She’s still sweet, smart, funny, and kind. However, she’s no longer a handful. She’s a well-read, well-traveled, fascinating woman who knows how to give a hug and whose smile lights up any day. And she’s living in Brooklyn on the same train line as the Dowager Duchess.

SAN GERALDO, ANNIE, AND SARAH. NATIONAL ZOO, WASHINGTON, D.C., 1985.

When Becky found out she was pregnant, Sarah, at 6, was in the midst of an obsession with the movie musical “Annie.” I’ve always assumed that’s how Anne got her name. Anne however wasn’t aware of that. Maybe it was all my imagination.

CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT FROM SARAH, 1983. (PRE-ANNE)

What is not my imagination is how much I have loved both of Mark and Becky’s daughters — as children and as adults. We went out for lunch Friday and The Dowager Duchess told Annie to call her any time she wants to be treated to a Japanese meal. The Dowager Duchess fell in love, too.

THE ADORED ANNIE AT THE DOWAGER DUCHESS’S BEFORE LUNCH.

THE DELIGHTED DOWAGER DUCHESS.

ANNIE’S SUSHI.

MY KATSUDON PORK.

THE DOWAGER DUCHESS’S GRILLED SALMON … AND GOLDEN FINGERNAILS

The blog post title is a line from a song from the musical “Annie.” It couldn’t be more true. But, today, I’m in a New York (NYC) state of mind.