Chasing James Coburn Through SoHo

I used to regularly visit New York City and somehow, over time, I have stopped doing that. During the 80s, I used to go at least once a month. My friends and I would go mostly to look at art but also for the shopping and the general, hectic and crazy ambience.

Sometimes we would go to one of the museums to see a really good exhibition but mostly we would visit galleries. Not so much the staid and hushed uptown galleries but we always made a beeline for SoHo.

Endlessly appealing and fascinating with its many cast iron buildings, street vendors, and beautiful architecture, there was never a dull moment there for me. The place was noisy, maybe a little dirty, and filled with people of all sorts, young and old. But as opposed to the uptown galleries, the places I loved in SoHo had their doors flung open right at street level and the inside and outside really were meshed. I always felt welcome there. And there was so much to see.

One night, while at Leo Castelli, we spotted James Coburn. He was there with a young and beautiful model on his arm and they only had eyes for each

other. Because we remembered him from our teenage years in those movies Our Man Flint and In Like Flint, James Bond spoofs, we had some sort of connection to him.

Of course, he looked older and grayer, but he was very recognizable. We followed them from gallery to gallery until we tired of it and went for dinner in Chinatown or maybe Little Italy. We never had any intention of speaking to him and there was no point to it. But somehow we had such fun doing absolutely nothing of importance.

I probably would not follow a movie star around now just for fun and knowing that has made me think that I have changed in more than the obvious ways. When did I get so boring? So bored? I think it must be time for an adventure!