I'm Trying

Uhm, what is this?

Oh, come on. A childhood memento.
Let's put it there on the shelf.

How 'bout the back of the pantry?

My brother made it himself.

Good thing your brother doesn't live here.

Hey, do you think we could clean out some of the stuff in your closet?

What stuff? Didn't we make room for all your things?
Look, your drafting table fits perfectly over there.

Honey, what is all this old junk? Do you really need it?

Just things I want to hold on to.

Oh, come on. Old birthday cards,
ticket stubs, I've never even seen you wear this sweater.

I want to keep it, okay?

Hey, let's take the day, just unpack.
We'll both be given more space.
Once everything is in its place.

Oh my God, Jason.

What is it?

You kept this?

Of course I did.

Top ten things to do in New York before you leave it.

The cover story in this magazine.
I threw it in the trash.

And I said, "Go retrieve it.
Nine of those things are things you've never seen."
Number Ten, eat a bagel.

That's the one I've done.

Number Nine, root for the Mets

Does this go on?

All the way to Number One.

Number Eight insists we go to Brooklyn

To see where they make beer

Number Seven calls for
Trapeze lessons

She grabs my hand, and suddenly we're at the pier.

They've got a tent set up right by the river.
This whole circus thing, who knew?
You go in a classroom for an hour and they show you what to do.

Then, one at a time, they make you climb so high into the air.
And as I go up, it's hard not to throw up
But I'm trying.

Every week we pick a number
And work our way on down the list

Broadway shows

Botanic gardens
A tour of City Hall

There wasn't one we missed.

Number Three describes some cooking classes
At the Institute Francais.

I'm allergic to the French, you know.

He makes a face.
I sign us both up anyway.

She's got a knack for flipping over omelets.
She becomes the teacher's pet.

Meanwhile, he's got yoke stuck in his egg whites,
And he's getting quite upset.

I am not upset.
I'm simply letting breakfast stir my soul.

So he can't cook.

But honey, look. I'm trying.

In my head I draw a map that shows the whole entire city.
I put a mental pushpin at the places where we laugh
Like Number Four, that fancy store

The salesman who ignored us.

Or Number Two

The Zoo

And that giraffe.

It was fun you know, to see the city
I would do it all again.
But that was what, a year ago?
And all those places, well.
We haven't been since then.

I remember when we finally got finished.
The Number One thing to do
I hadn't been to Central Park in ages
So I'm soaking up the view
We're just standing still
The city's silhouette against the sky
And I think, "Why can't this moment last
Instead of slipping into the past."
I want to keep that moment with me all of the time
And heaven knows that I'm –

Hey, let me be your tour guide this time.
I know exactly where to find Number Eleven.

I'm trying.