A trip to New York City is such an energizing experience. There really is a New York State of Mind. And as my tap dance teaching neighbor, Beth, says, "Everybody makes it their own."
Beth should know because before she became my tap dance teaching neighbor, she was a professional dancer in New York and LA. I guess most cities have a certain energy to them but there is nothing like the pace of Manhattan - the history, the water and views, the food, the amazing talent - in art, music, theater, the mass transit and mostly the people - natives, transplants and visitors. It is an international city that welcomes and celebrates diversity in every way.
My first exposure to New York City was in 1964. I was 8 years old and Dad, who was a practicing dentist, had broken his arm. Dentists need two good arms to do dentistry so Dad had to take some time off. Lucky for us he decided that we should all go to New York City to see the 1964 World's Fair. Imagine Mom and Dad with 5 daughters, ages 8 - 15, flying on an airplane to New York City in 1964. Mom and Dad are brave souls. I actually remember a lot of details about this trip because, as an 8 year old from Lattimore, pretty much every part of that NYC experience was completely new and stuck in my memory. Mom and Dad put us on the subway and we laughed recently about how the five of us were hanging on to the subway hoops and turning flips. That's probably why they don't have those hoop type handles anymore! The World's Fair in 1964 was all about technology and was my first exposure to what I thought was a Jetson's sort of world. I have loved technology ever since. The 1964 Fair site was in Flushing Meadows and today is the home of the US Open Tennis tournament. I haven't been back there but if I ever go I will definitely look for that bracelet Libby wanted. (wink wink)
In the 1970's, I took two trips to NYC. One hot August I flew alone to New York to visit my favorite Appalachian State University history professor. She had invited me to come for a couple of history and art exhibits and she also took me to my first play on Broadway - Porgy and Bess. I was 19 years old and when I arrived at the airport, I called Dr. Lewis to let her know I had landed. I will never forget my shock when she calmly said, "I'm glad you're here. I have a lot of things to do today so why don't you just get a cab into the city, explore around a little bit and meet me about 6 o'clock for dinner. Here's the address on Central Park West." I was terrified. This was 1975 before the Mayor had cleaned up Gotham City. But I survived. I bought a Michelin Guide to the City and found out how easy it is to get around up there. Charlotte could take some lessons from NYC about laying out streets. And the wonders of mass transit.
My second trip in the 70's was with my sister, Cindy, our two college roomates, Barb and Pam, and our cousin, Walter who was along to "chaperone". It was during our Christmas break from college and we were actually heading to New Hampshire to snow ski. What a great trip that was. I have never enjoyed skiing more. It was the one and only time for me to cross country ski and I honestly enjoyed it much more than downhill skiing. Cross country skiing is one to put back on the bucket list.
On our way to New Hampshire we decided to drive into New York City to visit with some friends of Walter's. And it did just happen to be New Year's Eve so we spent that crazy night in Central Park with about a million other people. Because Times Square was too crowded. That is the only time I have ever been in our own car in NYC and I don't intend to put that on the bucket list ever again. I'll leave driving in NYC to the yellow cabs.
In the late 1980's and 1990's I went on several trips to NYC. All were amazing times. Susan's company had a condo in a great location and David and I visited with Susan and Thomas for our birthdays in March. That's a very good time to be in New York because the weather was good but there weren't many tourists at that time of year. The St. Paddy's Day parade was a lot of fun and I learned that I really love an Irish Pub. And that, when in doubt, always go out and go to the right.
Susan and I visited again later on without the husbands and learned that we love to go out to eat and to all kinds of plays more than we love to shop. Once we saw Forever Plaid off Broadway and somehow I ended up on stage that night. I have the program and plaid dental floss to prove it. That was also the trip when I was first exposed to St. John clothing. The skinny helper in St. John took one look at me and sighed, "For figures like yours we do offer blocking." This is when they stretch out the knit clothing so it fits over 'figures like mine'. Susan and I still laugh about that to this day and needless to say I do not and will not wear St. John.
In the '90's I went to NYC in December with a group of girls. This was also a fun time with the amazing Christmas decorations and my first time to see the Rockettes. I should have been born in the 40s because I love the Rockettes and I love tap dancing. When those graceful dancers, dressed in those cute, red Santa suits came onstage I was so overwhelmed I burst into tears. NYC does that to me alot. This trip was also the first time that I saw Phantom of the Opera. Burst into tears then too. I had a seat away from the other girls for some reason and this nice older guy beside me kept patting me on my shoulder while tears rolled down my face. I have no idea who he was but he was kind. That's the other thing about NYC. My experience is that mostly people are always so kind. They seem to get a kick out of spoiling Southern girls.
In January of 2001, David and I took David IV and Jay to New York City to expose them to the magic. Little did we know that just 8 months later the whole world would be changed.
We wanted to take the boys to see The Lion King on Broadway and to go to some museums and the planetarium. We had given them this trip for Christmas and for boys in 4th and 6th grade they may have been less than excited. I remember Jay asking me what to do if he got lost. Within 10 minutes of getting out on the streets of New York they were walking all over the city and taking it all in. Just like Beth says they, too, had made it their own.
We stayed at the Mayflower on Central Park which has been torn down now. It was a really old, fairly run down hotel with steam heat radiators and cramped rooms but I loved it. One morning David had gotten up early and gone down for coffee. When he came back upstairs he said, "the weather channel truck is parked outside our hotel. You know you're in trouble when you see that." It snowed a lot that day and night and we ended up staying an extra day. Having nothing planned we decided to just take a cab to Madison Square Garden so the boys could see where all those sports events were held. As we drove up, totally unplanned, the marquis said "Knicks and Lakers playing tonight." The game was to start in 15 minutes and with all the snow there must have been a lot of no shows. So we got cheap tickets and saw the game. Another charmed trip to NYC. We all loved The Lion King and still love it today.
In 2009 David and I took a trip to New York, again for our birthdays, and because neighbor Gloria had snared some great tickets to see my favorite musician - Van Morrison. This was possibly the best concert I have ever seen. It was at the intimate WAMU theater which is a 5000 seat space attached to Madison Square Garden. Van walked on stage exactly at 8, said not one word, but played for several hours. He played alot of hits but also played the entire set from his album Astral Weeks. Amazing. Later on we went with Chad and Gloria to the Algonquin Hotel to see Matilde the cat who lives behind the hotel desk. Some version of Matilde has been there since the turn of the century.
David and I also saw Wicked on this trip. Wicked is my favorite muscial of all time and this was my second time to see it. The first time was in Charlotte with Sister, Susan M, and Kathie. Kathie had quoted from "For Good" at Big David's funeral and when this song was performed we were both very emotional. Everytime I see ANY live theater I think of Kathie but never more than when I see or hear something from Wicked. This trip there was another snowstorm which emptied the city of cars and people. David and I were at the Warwick within walking distance of Times Square so we were strolling down the sidewalk in the snow when we passed the Ed Sullivan Theater. The Letterman show was about to start and there were no lines so we decided to go in. The Letterman show is free but it's sometimes hard to get tickets so we felt lucky. When the show started the guest was Katie Couric and the musical guest was U2. Katie was okay but Bono was the bomb. Yet another charmed trip to NYC.
So, just a few weeks ago, when Carol started talking about a trip to NYC I jumped at the chance. Carol wanted to take Leah who has just graduated Something Cum Laude from UNC-CH nursing school. Carol and I both graduated from UNC-CH Thank the Laude.
So, Carol, Leah and I spent five days and four nights exploring the city that never sleeps. And a charmed trip it was. We had a list of things we wanted to do and we did a whole lot of that list. We had an amazing time. But the thing about NYC is that the more you do the more you realize how much more there is to do. So now we have an even longer list of things to do on the next trip!
Carol had stayed at the Appalachian loft on a previous trip so she arranged for us to get a room there. It is similar to a youth hostel in that there can be up to 25 people there sharing a kitchen and den area. Students, interns, and faculty use this space for all kinds of educational experiences in New York. It's a great resource for ASU. It's in an area that I wasn't familiar with near the Flatiron District. Loved it.
Bob and Jane had suggested having a meal at Patsy's in Chelsea and so that was our first stop once we settled into the loft. We shared a pizza and eggplant parm and it was delicious!
This was the worst day weather wise for us with strong, biting cold winds. After lunch we walked (or rather struggled through the winds) on the new pedestrian greenway called the High Line. We were on our way to Pier 73 to take a boat tour around the lower tip of Manhattan. The boat trip was a good first thing to do because we got our bearings about the city layout and learned a lot about it's history too. We all agreed that another walk on the High Line in better weather is one for the bucket list. The High line is built up above the streets from 13th to 30th on the Hudson river side.
There are always crazy things happening in Times Square and this Lady Liberty draped a flag around Leah for a quick picture. We saw the real Statue of Liberty on our boat tour and she is such a beautiful sight. I can only imagine how beautiful she was to people coming to America for the first time. She always makes me think of a song we learned in 6th grade chorus at Oak School. The lyrics of the song are the words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty:
Give me your tired, your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore
Send these, the homeless, tempest tossed to me!
I lift my lamp upon your Golden Door.
I love the Statue of Liberty and all the hopes and dreams that she stands for. It is as important today as it ever has been.
As Carol, Leah and I walked along Times Square a young man who is an intern from the Letterman Show approached us. Carol and I are pretty sure it had more to do with Leah than with us. He said he wanted to ask us a couple of trivia questions and if we got them right he would give us tickets to the next day's Letterman show. We got them right. Charmed trip indeed. Letterman is a quick wit and Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra are fun to watch live. The guests were Chris O'Donnell and Michelle Williams. But the best part of the show was being exposed to the musical guests - four sisters from Georgia who play their own music in their own style. We are now huge fans of Von Grey. It will be fun to watch these talented, teenaged sisters grow up.
There truly is talent everywhere and one morning we got out early to get tickets to see Mamma Mia. Next to the theater is a restaurant called Ellen's Stardust Cafe. All of the waiters and waitresses are singers and they are good. Our waitress was Stacy from Kansas and I fully expect to see her on stage one day. It reminded me of something artist Leroy Neiman said about other artists. Neiman was speaking of supporting local arts when he said, "For every one of us who makes it, there are at least 100 more who are just as good."
My friend Kay had suggested a place in Columbus Circle called Robert. After strolling on 5th Avenue, visiting St. Patricks Cathedral and shopping at Century 21, we happened to be walking thru Columbus Circle. I mentioned Robert and Leah, who is a master at the cell phone maps app, lead us right there. Leah could read the cell phone map without glasses and she quickly became the best navigator on the trip. Robert is up high on the circle with a breathtaking view of Broadway and 8th streets and also Central Park.
The waiter at Robert totally spoiled us and we wanted to get a pic of him. Ronald is a real gem.
When Ronald found out that Leah and I both had birthdays coming up, he surprised us with this plate of three sorbets, a chocolate dessert and dessert wines. A visit to Robert stays on the NYC list of things to do.
Walking the Brooklyn Bridge was on Carol's to-do list and we all enjoyed it. For one thing, it is free. After a day or so in NYC it's great to find the free stuff! It is also a good walk with spectacular views and signs along the way explaining the history of the bridge.
Another thing on the to-do list was going to Grand Central Station to "whisper into the wall" and try some of Junior's New York Cheesecake. We had walked the Brooklyn Bridge, then walked to Chinatown for lunch so we took the subway from Chinatown to Grand Central. Then we headed on over to see Mamma Mia at the Winter Garden Theater. Carol had suggested stopping by the box office earlier in the day to see about tickets and we discovered that is the way to go. The tickets are less expensive and we got very good seats. What a fun play Mamma Mia is. No surprise we all ended up dancing!
We met up with David IVs friend, Emily, who has lived in NYC since Wofford's graduation. I think Leah was just as happy to see her as I was because traveling with Carol and me was a lot like traveling with Lucy and Ethel at times! Emily introduced us to another area call Nolita - which stands for North of Little Italy. We had dinner at a great Mediterranean place called Balaboosta. Nolita is another area that will be fun to explore on another trip.
We decided to take in one more musical and settled on Phantom of the Opera at the beautiful Majestic Theater. We stopped by the box office and got some very good seats much cheaper than ordering online. Emily joined us for dinner at Beccos and then the play. It's a passionate show with powerful music and crazy over the top opera scenes.
With all of the sights and sounds and excitement all three of us agreed that we wanted to spend our last day visiting ground zero and the 9/11 Memorial that is in the process of being built. What a moving experience that was. We took the subway and as I was walking up the subway steps this is the site I saw. I was caught off guard by the emotions that surfaced. Images from 9/11 flooded in and I was completely overwhelmed.
But I looked at the Cranes in the Sky and remembered what Judy has said - Cranes in the Sky are a sign of building, of progress, of growth. There are plenty of Cranes in the Sky at the 911 site.
The walls around two memorial pools contain the names of everyone who died on 9/11 in NYC, at the Pentagon, and on all of the Flights. There is also a museum in progress and several buildings in progress around the Freedom Tower. It is Resilience defined.
We spent some time at St. Paul's Chapel which became the site of an amazing relief ministry to the 14,000 volunteers during the recovery effort. There was an organ recital and prayers for peace about the time we arrived. The Prayers for Peace service is done regularly and is about a five minute service which begins with the tolling of the chapel bell. The bell tolls four sets of five bells which is the NY Fire Department signal for a fallen comrade. It was a solemn and somber sound. My favorite prayer, the prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi was then read together.
St. Paul's Chapel
The Leader read a verse of scripture and then everyone prays together from one of several prayers for Personal Peace, for Peace among Nations, for our enemies, for times of conflict, for social justice, for the oppressed, for the future of the human race, for families and for travelers. There is a sharing of Peace with others in the room and a final prayer of Thanksgiving prayed together:
"O God, who created all people in your image, we thank you for the wonderful diversity of races and cultures in this world. Enrich our lives by ever-widening circles of fellowship, and show us your presence in those who differ most from us, until our knowledge of your love is made perfect in our love for all your children; and give us the heart of Jesus. Amen."
The Leader says: Now, go in peace, loving God and serving your neighbor.
The people respond: We carry God's love to the world.
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New York City never fails to amaze me. Is it any wonder that everyone can make it their own?
Prayer Attributed to St. Francis
This prayer is one of my favorites and has been taped to our kitchen cabinet for years. It took on even more special meaning to read it together with the people who happened to be at St. Paul's Chapel on that emotional day.
Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love;
where there is injury pardon;
where there is discord, union;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
