Neighborhood Bakeries

I am in my second of seven weeks in Greenwich Village. Although I will always love Union Square, where I lived for six years, this neighborhood definitely ranks as one of my favorites in Manhattan. It has a true "old New York" feeling about it, with narrow streets, interesting front stoops and beautiful old brick buildings. Over the years I have often brought out of town visitors to the Village to visit the interesting shops and to have a cupcake at Magnolia Bakery. Magnolia is the only bakery I have ever been to that always has a line around the corner and requires a doorman to direct the foot traffic in and out of the busy establishment.

It's a good thing that I like The Village so much since it will be the place that I have stayed the longest in almost a year. The last time I lived somewhere for more than seven weeks was when I was in Wichita, KS for ten weeks to perform in the musical "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" last spring (and even that was broken up with trips to Minneapolis and to Oklahoma City). Kansas was a wonderful place to be for ten weeks. While Wichita was no Greenwich Village, it had a surprising number of interesting shops and restaurants. My favorite was The Donut Whole, which has plenty of seating, free wifi, live music, and a wide variety of donuts. If you ever go there, try their Pumpkin Spice Donut.

Apparently one of my requirements for a great neighborhood is a great bakery. I will have to keep that in mind as I consider where to go next.

The Wichita Connection

I saw a lot of great friends while I was in New Orleans, but one that I was particularly excited about was a pastor from Wichita. We'd met years ago, but I reconnected with he and his family when I was in Wichita for eleven weeks performing in the musical Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I attended his church throughout Lent, and actually contributed to the youth group's fundraiser to come on this trip to New Orleans.

A few weeks after I left, terrorism entered their church when a man came into the narthex and shot one of the ushers point blank. The usher was Dr. George Tiller, one of only three late term abortion doctors in the United States. I was quite shocked by the news of a murder during worship in the church I had been attending. I have had the congregation on my mind alot since then. Not everyone in the church agreed with what Dr. Tiller chose as a profession but they seemed to be able to provide a faith home for he and his family. One of his favorite phrases was "Attitude is Everything". The youth group chose to put that on their shirts for their trip to New Orleans. What an amazing tribute.