Rockefeller Center isn’t all about the ice skating, kids. That tradition won’t begin for another couple of months, so here’s how it’s keeping itself busy right now:

  
After I witnessed the splendor of Philadelphia’s pink fountain last Sunday (check it out here and here), I developed a fountain fixation. The other morning at the gym, I made sure to select a treadmill with a clear view of the water fountain so I could admire its regal functionality. I was so mesmerized that I managed to run the equivalent of two marathons plus an additional 5K “fun run” without even noticing the time. (So much for my doctor’s tagging my interest as “unhealthy”. I’d like to see him run that long.)
When I passed by Rockefeller Center the other day and heard the sweet song of trickling water, I had to stop and marvel. But as appealing as the Rockefeller fountains may have been, I still found myself fantasizing about the glorious, unabashed pink of the Philadelphia fountain. So when I saw this little girl —

— I approached her with some delicious Teuscher truffes from the store several steps away (Manhattan kids appreciate high quality confections), and then tossed them into the air for her little hands to catch. (Manhattan kids don’t appreciate the value of a high quality confection, so it is my duty — nay, my responsibility — to make them work for it.) Was it really my fault she lacked athletic ability and wound up doing some sort of freeform flailing “dive” over the flowers and into the fountain?
I praised myself for having correctly assessed that not only was this choco-loving cherub a klutz but that her sweet pink outfit wasn’t colorfast, and was so impressed with the color it turned the water that I rewarded her by fishing her from the fountain and handing her a sealed mini-box of chocolates. After all, I know better than to think a savvy Manhattan kid will accept candy from a stranger.
Oh, life is so sweet!