In 1977 I flew to New York to sign the contract for my first go as editor of the huge reference textbook of public health, now known as Maxcy-Rosenau-Last. But electrical storms caused massive power outages. I had to walk up 37 flights to the luxury suite the publishers had reserved for me, and -- worse -- had to walk down next morning in total darkness; and a luxury lunch at a posh restaurant was off too, replaced by strip steak and luke warm root beer from a barrow outside the NY Public Library on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. I signed that first contract on Bastille Day 1977.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
Another Bastille Day
Bastille Day. I've had several memorable Bastille Days. In 1954 near the end of a back-packing holiday in Europe I'd looked forward to the final highlight, being in Paris for the Bastille Day festivities. But all the festivities were cancelled, even the floodlit fountains in Place de la Concorde darkened. The French had suffered a major military defeat: the Viet Cong had over-run the fortress of Dien Bien Phu.
In 1977 I flew to New York to sign the contract for my first go as editor of the huge reference textbook of public health, now known as Maxcy-Rosenau-Last. But electrical storms caused massive power outages. I had to walk up 37 flights to the luxury suite the publishers had reserved for me, and -- worse -- had to walk down next morning in total darkness; and a luxury lunch at a posh restaurant was off too, replaced by strip steak and luke warm root beer from a barrow outside the NY Public Library on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. I signed that first contract on Bastille Day 1977.
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In 1977 I flew to New York to sign the contract for my first go as editor of the huge reference textbook of public health, now known as Maxcy-Rosenau-Last. But electrical storms caused massive power outages. I had to walk up 37 flights to the luxury suite the publishers had reserved for me, and -- worse -- had to walk down next morning in total darkness; and a luxury lunch at a posh restaurant was off too, replaced by strip steak and luke warm root beer from a barrow outside the NY Public Library on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. I signed that first contract on Bastille Day 1977.
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John .. In 1988 I had to walk up 34 flights in a hotel in Delhi due to a blackout .. and then walk down and up again as we had been given the wrong key .. but it was not a luxury place .. welcome to India; we thought. And, it was not in the dark. After Hurricane Sandy many people were trapped in high rises, for days, without power. Cheers!
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