Relatives and NYC

Last August, Dan and I were blessed to cross the state and visit with my dad's sisters and their daughters for a long weekend in "the city".  I wrote my thoughts down as each day passed...I thought I'd posted this as a blog.  If you've read it before, I apologize...I'm not sure how I sent it out.  But I did want to post it so it's "safe" from disappearing some day if my computer goes down (sigh).  Here are my impressions of that visit:

New York City…the city that never sleeps…The Big Apple!  Not my cup of tea!

Impressions of city life…noisy…smelly…bright…dark…masses of humanity…foreign country…windy…sirens…signs, signs and more signs…homelessness…opportunity.

I remember visiting the city when I was 22 and sitting on a window sill three stories up amazed at the number of people passing on the sidewalk below.  Again it was the number of people that almost numbed me.  How can so many people be in one small space?  We learned that 8,000,000 people live on the island of Manhattan alone and another 7,000,000 commute in each week for work…mingling with the 1,000,000 tourists who visit EACH WEEK.  At any given point there are over 15,000,000 people in Manhattan on any business day!  Most of Manhattan is built up…so any building three or less stories seems so out of place.  There are only 10 gas stations on the island of Manhattan…servicing 15,000,000 people!  How in the heck does that work?  Amazingly there seemed to be a small park of some sort every other corner.  Statues, art, “scra-ffiti”, graffiti, architecture, trees, flowers…they were everywhere.  I remember wondering how many different nations of people had crossed my path as we walked four city blocks.

Grand Central Station was a bit of a disappointment.  We got off the train in a hot and sticky underground tunnel and emerged into the “big room” that seemed remarkably small in reality.  We stepped out the door onto Broadway and just ten feet from the door aman lay against the building whose face was swollen and stitched up and looked like he’d been through a bar brawl.  He was unresponsive to those trying to talk to him.  Only a few minutes later the first of many, many, many emergency vehicles showed up to treat him.  Some Hassidic Jews were handing out literature on the street.  I’m not sure how they picked the people they wanted to share with.  There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to their choices. 

We were going to take a cab the four blocks to the area where we would wait for our double-decker bus tour…but the policeman at the taxi stand explained that there was at least a twenty-five minute wait for something we could walk in twenty minutes…so we made the decision to start walking.  Dan’s knees and my back are not conducive to walking for more than two minutes without extreme pain setting in.  There are no benches to rest on…I was told because they’d become beds for the homeless.  We did stop in the Avenue of Americas building to sit for a few minutes.  We walked from Broadway and 7^th to Broadway and 4^th…stopping to pose with a costumed Statue of Liberty.  I was so far outside my comfort zone…masses of people everywhere (I don’t like to be in crowds) and buildings that soared to dizzying heights from below.  I discovered that when you’re afraid of heights, looking up can be almost as disconcerting as looking down.

Cousin Sharen helped us navigate the four blocks where we reconnected with Aunts Lynn and Sandy (80 and 77 years old).  These beautiful women are UNSTOPPABLE.  They had more energy in their little fingers than I’ve had in my lifetime.  Standing on the street afforded us another opportunity to meet the city.  Street vendors abound…soft pretzels…cotton candy…hot dogs…snacks…drinks… souvenirs…you name it, it will eventually walk right in front of you!  Restaurants will not allow the use of their facilities unless you buy something.  We were later informed by our bus tour guide that the best place to use public restrooms is in the hotels…especially the ritzier hotels.  We were warned against using the facilities in any fast food joints.  Cabs were not as expensive as I thought they’d be…we were later able to get a ride back to Grand Central Station of several blocks for less than $10.  BUT…there were “rickshaw” style rides with drivers on bicycles that charged $3.99 a MINUTE.  My aunt told me that she and a friend took one once and traveled three blocks for $58.  Ouch!

The double-decker bus tour truly was the best way to see the city up close and personal.  We learned that street signs are brown in the “districts” and green if the street is “normal”.  We saw Soho (and Noho), the Garment District, the Diamond District, the Iron District Chinatown, Little Italy and part of Greenwich Village.  We saw architectural features that we don’t normally see.  We saw historical buildings (where cables for cable cars were invented).  We learned unusual details…like the bust of John Seward that sits atop Abraham Lincoln’s body…and that the “Dodgers” got their name dodging cable cars.  We learned that Wall Street WAS a walled street…but within four years the wall was destroyed because New Yorkers needed the wood for fires.  We heard that the ferry to Staten Island was free…free…free… and that it can hold 6,000 passengers for each ride!  We saw the beautiful new “Freedom Tower” reflecting all that surrounds it.  We saw the “real” Statue of Liberty waving folks into the city.  We rode in a topless bus across the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn and got beautiful pictures of lower Manhattan as the sun was just starting to set.  I laughed when we came back into Manhattan and at the bottom of the bridge was a Popeye’s Chicken from Louisiana.  We saw “Bubba Gump’s Shrimp” restaurant.  We saw two places where filming was taking place.  Seeing all the trucks and lighting, one begins to understand why movie tickets are so pricey.  Our tour guide was well-informed, funny and quite personable and really made the trip special...and reminded me so much of Kevin Spacey.  Our ride back to the station in a cab was equally nice with a very friendly driver from Nigeria who’d lived in America for fifteen years. 

The trip was also eye-opening because I spent it with three of my father’s sisters and a couple of my cousins.  I had never realized that when my brother David dies, the Paige name dies.  He is the only male relative left that carries the name.  It was interesting to spend time with family members who are a different “denomination” and realize the misconceptions they had about our “denomination”.  My dad’s family are givers, and laughers, and lovers of life.  They are close and connected to each other.  They share with others.  They treat the world with respect.  I’m so grateful that even though they were not a part of my growing-up years, they are a wonderful part of my adult life and I’m now getting to discover the “roots” from Dad’s side of the family.  I’m especially grateful that they are loving and accepting … there is something to be said for “family bonds”.

It was a whirlwind trip with lots of joy packed in.  There were unexpected puppy kisses and cat purrs.  There was the beautiful scenery between here and there and back again.  There were a couple of side trips that were unplanned but added something special to the trip.  And I cannot leave out the very friendly visit at a McDonald’s near Goshen…a stop that showed us that customer service CAN be done with a smile and make a McDs stop something special.  We saw clouds hanging below the mountaintops.  We only turned the windshield wipers on for about two minutes of traveling.  I’ll forever hear a train whistle now and think of my ride into the city.  I saw Dad in his sisters’ laughter…I learned stories about Dad I’d not heard before….stories that only sisters can tell.  It was a short but totally delightful visit and we’re so glad we took the time to see everyone.  We won’t wait four years to do it again…there’s too many fun people on the other side of the state and we’re going to visit more often.

I did learn that I need to laugh more.  I have “laughing muscles” that aren’t getting used.  I know because they got used last weekend and I was in so much pain!!!  Laughter…the best pain one can suffer.

Thank you to Aunts Lynn, Sandy and Casey and cousins Sharen and Cheryl for making sure we had a great time.  We are blessed to know and love you and call you family!  Thank you for the laughs, smiles and memories.  Now to get you to visit our side of the state!