Cathy Cassel Talmedge and Barbara Iams Korein are both Dayton/ Oakwood girls. Now-a-days Cathy lives in Connecticut and Barb lives in New York City – on Central Park South – which is where the old friend smet for lunch. Barb’s husband joined the the lunch group. Jim’s now in the real estate business thanx to his grandmother who began the venture low these many years ago.

“You’re our first guests!” said Barb. As you can see we’re still remodeling after pulling two condos together…come look around.” Their view of Central Park and Columbus Circle is breathtaking. “They’ve got two balconies,” said Cathy. The girls graduated from Fairview High School together and have kept up through the years. The Koreins were asked about their daughter JoeAnna (named for Cathy’s mother Joe Anna Brown Casssel) “She’s studying in Florence, Italy and we’ll be with her next week for a few days.” Their second daughter joined the group… she’s involved in several Children’s Theater groups and also works for her father.

The latest exhibition in the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum is “The Wardrobe of Nan Kempner.” It’s a fabulous display and perfectly timed to co-ordinate with ‘Fashion Week’ in Bryan Park.

When shopping in Bloomingdale’s several days ago – in the back of the third floor – not in the ‘Designer’ area – several clerks were seen chatting-up a customer who did look familiar. The bumpkin-buckeye from Ohio realized it was Angela Lansbury wearing tweed slacks, a cable-knit sweater and carrying a Bloomie ‘big brown bag.’ So the ‘buckeye’ sorta followed along shopping and gawking, and trying to look unobtrusive.

“The Little Dog Laughed” is ‘big’ on Broadway. There’s a ‘disclaimer sign’ at the theater cautioning about “some nudity and explicit language.” Well, the sign got it right – but the play was fun, the four actors were good, and the audience was provided great ‘people-watching.’ The huge oriental young man sitting next to me said he’d seen the show several times ‘off Broadway’ and several times ‘on’ and he and his two friends were going backstage to see Julie White (the ‘star’).

Busser Howell lives on Eat 35th in a super old four story he bought years ago and has been rebuilding and remodeling, and redoing – for years. Busser is from Troy – you remember his mother Marcia Hobart Howell. Busser and his cousins – the Bravo girls – all took riding lessons at Honey Hill Farm years ago and those friendships have continued through the years.

Busser is internationally known for his art work. Lots of Daytonians have his canvases hanging in their homes. “Tell your taxi driver to stop at the house with the black wrought iron sculpture/fencing in front – and the house is painted black…well, charcoal grey…”

And that’s only the beginning of Busser’s ‘re-doing.’ It would take an entire issue of “Architectural Digest’ to describe – just one of the four floors!

The foursome walked around the corner to a super Italian bistro for dinner. The lamb shanks were wonderful – and so was the conversation. The remember-whens ranged from horses to Lucia Hobart’s wedding in Rome.

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