Getting Through This with Tom and Scott

We salute those who ogle fall foliage, for these leaf peepers are the least dangerous people on earth. We marvel at the teeming throngs in Times Square, observed by Tom upon his arrival from the Catskills, and Scott after seeing his first Broadway show since March 2020.

Sunday in New York. Tom and Scott are On The Town, perusing vintage Playbills at the Broadway Flea. A film screening later that evening, reveals a secret Tom can only now tell the listening public.

Autumn has just begun, but Tom is already dreading winter in the Catskill Mountains. Scott says the upside is that Tom will be able to complain with the other locals about the arrival of the “ski people”. We rejoice and exhale deeply, because we both don’t ski, so all we have to worry about is procuring the proper weather resistant apparel.

Tom and Scott imagine the Broadway musical inspired by Tom’s family reunion last weekend. With so many family members ready to pass judgment on Tom’s handling of the party, Tom sings the showstopper at the end of Act One, “It’s All Up to Me”.

It’s an all new season of the General Assembly at the United Nations, and Scott finds himself in the middle of a security detail for a not famous potentate, on Madison Avenue. Tom and Scott propose that countries in need of money sell the naming rights to their nation.

Tom is about to embark on his first flight since March 2020, and dreads having to wear a mask for that long. Scott puts Tom at ease by reminding him he wore a mask for two and a half hours at our recent Dear Evan Hansen film screening. Tom also hopes he’s seated in the non brawling section.

Tom and Scott start a new movement to destigmatize the “early bird” dinner. They regale us with the tale of their post Dear Evan Hansen screening dinner at a fun and festive Mexican restaurant at 5:30 pm. And they also envision, in a non delusional way, a time when famous actors will go up to fine audience members like them, after screenings.

Tom and Scott see a screening of Dear Evan Hansen, and not only love the film, but also the q and a with the cast! We speculate what it would have been like if Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland did a q and a. Or if a q and a turned bad because of a disgruntled moderator and disenchanted cast.

Tom and Scott continue to champion the truly essential workers who deliver our food and packages, and allow us to purchase food at supermarkets and restaurants. And who provide assistance at stores. They are far more necessary than hedge fund managers and should be paid accordingly.

If only there was a Tom and Scott to help people in 1918 get through the Spanish Flu. There were no podcasts then, only wax cylinders that would have had to be shipped to each listener.

Maureen McGovern was right. There’s got to be The Morning After. Tom and Scott made it through the rain, and celebrate the bright blue, sunny skies ahead after a difficult night for so many in New York, New Jersey and the region. The power of the storm makes us pine for the more benign weather event, snow.

Tom and Scott continue their groundbreaking “Catskills/NYC Conversations”, as they discuss the lack of ticks and snakes in the city compared to the “country”. The Catskills are magnificent, but NYC has the Beauty Without The Beasts.

For those of you who were not child prodigies, rejoice in all the things you didn’t miss. Like childhood. In our occasional role as howlingly funny motivational TED talk-like speakers, we show you that being a senior prodigy is even better and more satisfying.

Scott goes to the NYC Homecoming Concert in Central Park, 14 hours after it ended, wearing his Marmot “surrender” jacket, that offers little resistance to the rain. But he still enjoys being a “day after” person, as Tom and Scott were when they walked around the Kodak Theater the day after the 2018 Academy Awards.

Tom and Scott spend three days in the Catskills, and marvel that the mountains never close or have scaffolding, and that you can keep your window open in your room at a Victorian inn, because you’re underneath the large wraparound porch. Plus, we speculatively uncover the lost Underwater Catskills from two million years ago, where they still played shuffleboard.

Scott goes back to a movie theater for the first time since March 2020 and wonders if the Welcome Back on the marquee is specifically directed at him. Plus, our idea for introducing the jaunty stroll competition in the Olympics, with compulsory steps and the always exciting freestyle walk. And finally, we take on the grammar establishment in an unprecedented way.

It’s a day in the life of Tom and Scott, which starts with a disappointing museum visit. Instead of sitting on the curb, and wailing “Boo Hoo!”, they pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and embark on a high seas adventure. And in doing so, they “discover” a new island!

Tom faces an ethical dilemma. Sneak into the trailer of Reporter 1 on a local film shoot, and possibly win an Oscar, or simply walk on by and earn the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Scott thinks that award should be competitive, with ads in trade publications.

In our ongoing salute to The Pedestrian, we revisit Sidewalks Across America, our plan to connect both coasts with giant sidewalks. And we once again breathe a collective sigh of relief(which is the best kind), that we need not submit a walk plan for our daily strolls.

As the young man hawking newspapers in the 1930’s would bellow, “Read All About It. Tom and Scott Visit the High Line.” Thrill to their true life adventure, as they both tell the same story. In their own words!

We love quaint old small towns, with Mom and Pop shops, many of which are not owned by Moms and Pops, but by Moms or Pops instead. And we revisit our time machine, which is only missing the part that enables time travel. But the most important part is the comfortable reclining chairs, and that we’ve figured out.

Starting today, we’re changing our schedule to two podcasts a week, after having done seven a week for 10 months , and five a week for six months. Why the change? To give you the gift of time. The greatest gift of all. Take a week to enjoy the two episodes, or use the other days to catch up on some of the 415 you might have missed. The choice is yours!

The sultry, tropical July air in Manhattan makes us feel like we’re on a Caribbean island. Tom says we just need to plant palm trees, preferably with hammocks. Scott suggests “Hammocks for the World”, and hopes this diplomatic gesture will give him a better chance of being elected Secretary General of the UN.

Tom’s stay at a wildly eclectic, romantic and boldly designed inn makes Scott recall the antithesis of that. The 1975 Holiday Inn tag line. “The best surprise is no surprise.” We prefer the element of surprise over the soulless conformity of a uniformly designed box.

Tom has a magical moment with his nephew, as they stroll along the very street that earned he and Scott the moniker, The Unofficial Unelected, Self Appointed Co-Mayors of Irving Place. Plus, Scott and his childhood friend are drenched by a thunderstorm, but they don’t care since the rain provided welcome relief on a hot and humid day.