Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Ruegger and I Smoke Up NYC

Ala Mad Men, there was a time you could actually smoke in the Big Apple. This was taken by Peter Hastings in 1994, when Jean MacCurdy took the Animaniacs writing staff to New York for the Peabody Awards. We got to meet Time-Warner president Gerald Levin, a small man who wore large cushioned shoes and worked in an office hotter than the planet Mercury. This led to speculation that he was from a distant world sent to earth for business reasons.

At the Peabody award luncheon, we sat at a table next to Paul Harvey. Paul Rugg would not stop imitating him and we ended up laughing into our napkins a great deal. There's nothing like a fun, memorable trip paid for by the company.

12 comments:

takineko said...

That remains my favorite Blog entry by Paul Rugg. I laughed so hard!

Luke said...

Lol, to have lunch with you, Paul Rugg, Tom Ruegger, Sherri Stoner, and the rest of the crew, would probably be the best lunch I ever had.

Anonymous said...

I love this photo -maybe even more than the boyish, toothy 8x10 glossies you had stacks of back in the '80's.

I am also entertained by the way the two of you hunch over the flame, surrounded by skyscrapers - as though the air around you was carbon monoxide and the little white sticks you tried frantically to light contained life giving oxygen.
-kate

JP Mac said...

There's usually a race to leave the table before the check arrives.

Be quick.

JP Mac said...

"Lifegiving" in the sense of tension taming.

Ah, good old smoking.

Anonymous said...

Sigh. Ditto over here, John. I'm virtuous and healthy these fifteen years, but empty handed and rather snappish. It turns out the cigarettes were sheer ballast.

-kate

JP Mac said...

Amen, Sister Kate.

Paul Rugg said...

I think I'm going to blow this picture up and mount it in my office.

What a day that was! We smoked. We laughed. We got a nice Peabody. We sat next to Paul Harvey.

Paul

JP Mac said...

Plus we wrote things on a list and struck them through.

Tom Ruegger said...

To celebrate this fine photo, I shall resume smoking with great relish, and maybe a side of mayo.

Tom Ruegger said...

what few realize is that we are actually making fire WITH OUR HANDS!

JP Mac said...

Over the years, my skill has diminished.

Now I can only make thick smoke with some sparks.

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