December 8 in New York

This morning I went to the Met to see the Americans in Paris exhibit. I arrived at 10:30 and thought the museum would be relatively empty. Instead there seemed to be dozens of school groups arriving simultaneously, from grade school through high school. The galleries were actually quiet, but the school groups created bottlenecks at the admission, coat check and later the cafeteria. Also, as teacher I must say the older kids seemed really undersupervised--they just seemed to be wandering around the museum alone. Anyway, I loved the exhibit, although the triumph of Paris over Rome as the destination of choice for expatriates signaled the end of the heyday of Harriet Hosmer's career. For those of you out of town, the Met has a nifty on-line version of the exhibit. Afterwards, despite the freezing temperatures, I made my way across Central Park. I accidentally came upon Strawberry Fields, where a small crowd had gathered to remember the anniversary of John Lennon's death. People had guitars and there was Beatles sing-a-long going on. There was a wide range of ages, including many people who were born after Lennon died. It was a little hokey, but still sweet and moving.