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others lined up at a snack counter. When I joined them I found Chris had
ordered tea for me..somehow it seemed quite weird to be drinking tea at the
top of the Empire State Building.
  Pat had to leave for home now, but Dickini and I decided to walk for a
little. I looked for a Woolworths, as I wanted to buy a bathing cap and
compare prices at the same time. We wandered around the streets for a while
almost getting lost, when we suddenly bumped into Chris again who was leaving
for home. On being told our quest he took us there quickly. On the way he
told me that it had been a combination of ruthless dieting and turkish baths
that had achieved his loss of weight..by Dickini's expression..he figured it
wasn't worth it!
  In Woolworths I again found a much larger range of goods than was available
at home. Dickini was a patient companion and listened with amused interest to
my exclamations. From there we walked to Times Square where I admired the
brilliant neon light display. It is larger than Piccadilly Circus but lacks
the latter's picturesque shape. We ventured into my first Automat. Dick
guided me up to the tea dispenser and gave me the correct coin; but when I
turned to him for guidance, he had moved on. I wrestled unsuccessfully with
the mechanism till a resigned New Yorker took over and did it for me. He
had all the expression of a Londoner in the tube confronted by another
dashed tourist!.
  When we returned to the flat we found Charlie Brown and his fiancee,
Marsha had dropped in, and with them we all went to the Lupoff's favourite
restaurant for dinner. This was a French one called - La Cave. Duckling
was ordered, and when the waiter brought mine, he asked me to ··Sit back
please, Madam; I did so, thinking.."but I want to eat it:" He then pro-
ceeded to pour brandy over the duckling, and this he set alight with a loud
'whoomph.·· Wow! what a dinner..
   On our return to the flat, full of good food, drinks, and merriment, Dick
suggested that we write an airletter to Eddie Jones; I just hope that it
read coherently: We all sat down in turn to write something, and I told
Marsha that she had forgotten to sign her name. "What's the use," asked
she, "he won't know who I am." So I typed for her..Marsha-almost-Brown.
She was tickled pink with this, and has used it ever since, Marsha was
endearingly young, and just bubbling over with good spirits. Charlie had
a beamingly good-natured smile, and a large sf collection; I felt Marsha
had a good head start..
   This had been another full day; I was beginning to feel slightly over-
whelmed by it all. I began to have a feeling of grasping at events that
just whizzed by. I fell asleep too quickly to grasp any of them fully that
night.