I spent the last 4 ½ days in New York City, my very favorite city on earth. Even now, I am looking out of my hotel room at the city sights below. I hardly missed my dog. That’s how much I enjoy this city. In previous visits, I have embraced looking like a tourist. Stopping in the middle of 42nd street to take a picture of the jumbo screens in Times Square. Going to Macy’s and buying something just to say I did. But the more I go there, the more I want to blend. This trip, I started out getting accosted by the Hop On/Hop Off bus guys a lot and ended the trip with them not realizing they should accost me. That was a win. This post won’t change anyone’s life, but here are the things I learned in New York City this week. If you find yourself int the city that never sleeps .
Get up early and book an early bird tour of the 9/11 museum. If you go when everyone else is there, you won’t have a clear shot of 3/4 of the artifacts and you’ll struggle to hear the tour guide. This tour was one of the most moving things I’ve ever done. I probably only saw half of what was available, but after 2 hours of reading, listening, and watching, I was at my capacity for digesting the events of that day. Very moving. I’ll do it again next chance I get.
See Hamilton. Hamilton is everything people have said it was. I went in knowing very little about Alexander Hamilton and knowing none of the music and I came out a massive fan. I would have sat through it twice in a row, despite the fact that I was twisted into a pretzel-like position in a seat half the size of my middle-aged body.
Don’t stare too long or get too close. Naked Cowboy is old. I haven’t seen him in person in almost a decade. Though he’s tried to work out so that he doesn’t take on the title of Fat, Naked Cowboy, the years haven’t been good to the lines on his face.
Never make eye contact with anyone wearing a costume. The people in costumes in Times Square are obnoxious and deserve to get punched. I sat and ate an Egg McMuffin in Times Square yesterday morning and watched the process for a solid 30 minutes. They prey on older, single Japanese men. They prey on slow walkers. They prey on anyone who seems to stagger step for more than a second. If you make eye contact with them, they are on you like a bad germ. They force you to hand over your phone to take the picture you didn’t want. Then they attempt to get a $10 or more out of you. I watched the strategies. I watched the money being split up after. People are stupid and Minnie Mouse was a troll.
45% humidity is a dream come true in September.
Never miss an opportunity to go to Washington Square Park. There is always something worth seeing. Yesterday, we had a 2 hour window with nothing in it and took the subway there. We people watched for awhile and were going to stroll the surrounding Greenwich Village streets when I spotted a puppet that I recognized. It was a hippie sitting at a tin can drum set that I had seen on YouTube playing Rush songs. I grabbed Todd’s arm and asked him if it was what I thought it was.
Sure enough. It was Ricky Syers and his puppet entourage, sitting against the fence line in Washington Square.
“Should we go over? Maybe we should just move on,” I said. I waffled back and forth for a minute, because we had been on our way out of the park. We were on a mission. After wavering for 3 or 4 minutes, we walked over to meet Ricky Syers. One of the things I’ve learned as I get older is that you should always seize an opportunity if it’s in front of you. Don’t regret what you did not do. We dropped some money in Ricky’s hat and he thanked us and shook our hands. Then he proceeded to perform the life out of a Rush song I’d never heard before. It turns out that he’s far better known as a maker of puppets and the puppeteer than he is as a musician. He had puppets for the people he performs with in the park. He made a tiny grand piano and a puppet that looks identical to the man playing the grand piano 25 feet away. Stepping into his space in the park was to step into a world completely foreign to me. I wish it had occurred to me to ask how the piano got there and how and when it leaves. It is a full sized grand piano, not a baby grand. You don’t roll one of those babies into the park day in, day out. And you don’t leave it to sit out in the elements. I lost sleep over that last night.
Pot smells like skunk. Pot is everywhere in New York City. I am 48 years old and never knew what marijuana smelled like until 3 weeks ago. My 13 year old daughter pointed it out at a high school football game and now I’m a pro. I smell it everywhere. And in New York, I got a lot of practice. It smells like the distant, pungent aroma of skunk spray. I decided not to try it. Maybe next time.
Real estate in the city is expensive.
But a girl can still dream. Send money. For now, I’m going home.
Snappshots.com 