It's up to her, New York, New York

Tea: Vanilla Lapsang

Music: Mott the Hoople, "All the Young Dudes"

Time: Night.

Another one of my clan is about to experience New York.

The soon-to-be-senior daughter's high school chorus leaves at some ungodly hour (translation: before noon) tomorrow.

She'll be back on her 17th birthday. While she's there, she'll sing at the top of the Empire State Building, visit Times Square and see a couple of Broadway shows ("Legally Blonde" and something else chickish, the title of which escapes me at present. Could be worse. She could be seeing "The Sca-REEWWWWWWW-uh TAY-puh Letters." Don't ask. It's a long story.)

She'll come home, as I did, with her world both expanded and shrunk. I'm interested to see if she falls in love with the city, too. I hope she does.

She'll