She was working in a bridal shop in Flushing, Queens
Till her boyfriend kicked her out in one of those crushing scenes
Finding a Sondheimian rhyme for Flushing, Queens? Even better, using Flushing three times in 45 seconds? Thank you, Ann Hampton Callaway.
Now that it’s back in syndication I can clearly state it: I love this show. Loud, obvious and outrageous, I see the jokes coming and I laugh anyway.
The fact that, like Fran Drescher, I was raised in Flushing may have something to do with it. (You’ll notice I didn’t write ‘born and raised.’ It was a source of pride for me, when I thought those kind of things mattered, that I was actually born in Manhattan. You’ll also notice that it still must matter to me a little since I bothered to mention it.)
But I’m not embarrassed by being a not-at-all-flashy girl from Flushing. And why should I be, just because the word has meanings related to plumbing and Viagra side effects? Blame the Dutch West India company who bought the land and called it Vlissingen - Flushing to those of us who don’t speak Dutch.
Nope, not embarrassed at all. In fact, here’s a picture of me in my Easter best on Jasmine Avenue in Flushing. There’s another one of me in seventh grade I could post, but that one is embarrassing. Who would have thought a pastel plaid skirt and white cork platform sandals would age so badly.
Here’s how cool Flushing is: Last year when I was lucky enough to be chatting with baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (and my childhood crush) Tom Seaver, he asked me what my zip code was and called out to his wife “Nancy, she’s from Flushing!”
Yes, I am.
Hmm, maybe I will watch three hours of the Nanny tonight.
