Let's Hear It for the Boys

For a lot of my career, I've put in late nights. Not always, but occasionally, when my work spiked high, due to extra writing assignments. But it's hard to focus on my work here in the condo, with the giant comfortable beds and featherlight comforters, and color TVs in every room. It's like a hotel vacation.

That's why I'm down here by myself in the business center. It was a day of playing with Punch [until I delivered her--and a frosty cold Rita's Gelati drink with straw for her deserving mom--back home at noonish], meetings, shuttling Figgy, sharing hummus and baba ghanoush with H. at Jackie's Grillette in Montclair, taking a nap. Then I paid the piper, working from about 7:30 P.M. to 1:45 A.M., polishing a magazine assignment. H. was down here working for a while too, but then he went up to Figgy.

When Frank, the night concierge, came in to check on me just now, I was grateful.

"Looks like you need to get some rest," he said with a smile that showed a gold tooth.

A nod to him and the other men who have guarded my night writing hours:

1. The older gentleman with white hair at the gilded Hearst Magazines building. I'm embarrassed that I forget his name, but I think his wife was one of the head phone operators there, too. I worked there for 10 years, from age 28 to 38. He was what you'd call an old timer. I waved goodbye to him many a night, after staying to work on freelance projects for the magazine, like Holiday Best, furniture articles or a special beauty section.

2. Randolph, who manned the door at 373 Park Avenue South, my last job. If I had a freelance article assignment, I would start working on it after my workday, and stay pretty late. But it was easier to do it there than schlep to the Port Authority, fall asleep on the bus, wake up groggy, eat with H. and Figgy, and then start working after dinner [instead of curling up in my PJs and watching TV]. I was grateful that my bosses at the small company didn't mind that I stayed to work later in the A.C., in my nice office.

3. And now, John [who leaves at 10] and Frank [who stays the night, from what I gather].

Thank you for keeping me safe in big cities. Good night.

Photo note: Borrowed from alliednationwide.com.