Botero strikes again

There was once a time, even in my relatively short sojourn in New York City, when the most obvious and convenient rendezvous point was “under the big clock in Grand Central Station.” Everybody knew about Grand Central and its rotunda is famous world wide and, of course, centrally located in Manhattan. So you could meet anybody there successfully; friend, relative and even that mysterious stranger with whom you’ve been corresponding. Works like a charm.

Lately, a little further uptown, in the new Time Warner building off Columbus Circle a new rendezvous point has been designated, at least for a short time. A huge bronze statue of Adam sculpted by our old friend Fernando Botero has been, er, erected in a main lobby of Time Warner and somehow New Yorkers, and other passersby, seem to think nothing of caressing Mr. Adam on or about his manly protuberance, thus causing that particular part of the sculpture to lose it’s natural patina and attain the sparkle and shine of freshly polished brass. I don’t know if this is supposed to be lucky or just people behaving badly but, I must say, the temptation to indulge is irrefutable. So in the future, when trekking toward culture and refinement at Lincoln Center, I’ll happily meet you under the big, shiny, uh, clock at Time Warner. Got it?