The falafel stands on every corner. The sweat-like steam that rises from the grates in the street every time a subway train passes underfoot. That death-defying game of cat and mouse played by millions each day who want nothing more than to cross from one corner to another. The hawkers and peddlers who are supporting their families by pestering you into buying knock-off designer perfumes and handbags. Call me crazy, but to me, these are some examples of the sights and sounds of New York City that I found most intriguing.
In early October, I decided to take a two-day hiatus from the hum-drum of my everyday life and head to New York City with a tourist's intentions and a tourist's schedule. I woke up very early on a Tuesday morning in a small hotel abutting Central Park on W. 103rd and Manhattan Avenue. I showered and dressed quickly and made my way to the closest convenience store for a coffee, a Nesquik chocolate milk (which is easily the best chocolate milk going, these days) and some sort of large pastry resembling a bear claw. After being handed my change by the Greek, Pakistani, Armenian, Italian, Iraqi, Bulgarian man at the counter (it was very difficult to tell where he was from, but he was big and had very hairy hands), I walked the one city block between myself and Central Park and looked for a place to sit and enjoy my breakfast.
I made my way up and down a few of the concrete pathways where, much to my surprise at 6:15am, many others were out and about running, power walking or otherwise getting their days started in some manner of cardiovascular exercise. Many of the benches that looked comfortable and suited for a sit and a small breakfast must have been as I judged them to be, as most were occupied by homeless squatters, sprawled out and fast asleep as though the Ritz Carlton had just laid them with fresh linens. After much searching, I did manage to find a vacant bench and was kindly rewarded by the gods for my patience and persistence with this view:
While eating my breakfast, I was cheerfully greeted by many forms of fauna, all seemingly saying good morning and greeting me to their city. Ducks of all shapes and sizes, a flock of honking Canadian geese, a stray cat, some gray squirrels, chipmunk after chipmunk-- they all made it a point to stop by like the maitre'd at a restaurant does-- to make sure my meal was OK. One particular Black Lab almost found out how my bear claw was first hand, before his leash was pulled taut by his owner!
Now, it's important to note that once I finished my breakfast, and over the course of the next several hours, I managed to see almost everything one could hope to see in New York City over the course of a week. I did it in a day. I took the ferry out of Battery Park and went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Once back on terra firma, I toured the 9/11 Memorial and the almost-finished Freedom Tower. Much like the Kennedy assassination of our parents' youth, where none of them will ever forget where they were when they heard the news, my peer group will surely never forget where we were when the planes struck the towers. This had a profound impact on me in closing my eyes and thinking of the bedlam that played out on that horrible day. Things almost went silent for me as I imagined it all.
After the 9/11 Memorial, I walked up to see the Merrill Lynch Bull (where the majority of tourists were taking pictures from the "behind" view:), Wall Street, and those who are "occupying" it. I could not quite tell if they were homeless or ardent activists, but they sure were
still there doing their "occupying". I think I'm going to start a new movement called "Occupy Church Street", where I do daily sit-ins at my apartment. I'll let you know how it goes over!
I walked from Wall Street up to Little Italy, where I sat at a small table outside an equally as small cafe and had a cappuccino and "The Best Cannoli on Planet Earth" (which wasn't half-bad). I made my way through China Town where sign after sign offered "The Best Back and Feet Message of Planet Earf".
(I didn't stop for one, as I've never been to planet Earf, and therefore had no basis for how good the "message" might be!)
I took the subway Uptown to 42nd St. to see the mentally-overloading, seizure-inducing lights and pop culture advertisements of Times Square. From there, I took an elevator to the observation deck at the top of the Empire State Building. The views were
unbelievable. You look at some of the other really tall buildings from street level and think, "Boy, those are huge," but when you get to the top of the Empire State Building, you're looking
down at them thinking, "I can't believe those are so small from up here." Dizzying and awe-inspiring. Not for the faint of heart.
After my descension, I walked from 35th to 53rd to meet a friend for a beer at a fantastic place called "Alfie's" that served nothing but craft beer. Right up my alley. I had a Leaf Pile Pumpkin brewed by the Greenport Harbor Brewing Co. out of NYC. Really, really good beer. Perfect for a 62 degree day smack in the middle of Manhattan.
I did not do some of the things one might classify as the ear marks of a NYC sight seeing tour, i.e. Madame Tussuad's Wax Museum (I'd been there, before), the Intrepid Museum (been there, too once, when I was a little boy), Yankee Stadium (sacrilege-- go Red Sox!) and others. After all, I had walked probably ten-plus miles that day, already, and was wearing out.
I feel it's important to note that the majesty of the Statue of Liberty, welcoming the poor huddled masses yearning to breathe free, and the sheer history of the millions of hopefuls that poured through the hallways of the building on Ellis Island were not lost on me. I felt their presence and the cloud of oppression that was lifted off of them upon reaching America. I was mesmerized by the skyline from afar. I was transported back to my college apartment, when my mother called me on 9/11 to tell me with fear and angst in her voice to, "Turn on the television. The world is falling apart." I felt like a grain of sand on a beach of people, history, industry and progress. I felt all of these things. You'd be hard-pressed not to, but on second thought... BOY THAT WAS A GOOD CANNOLI!
