It was with the glee of a child that I looked forward to a wonderful Christmas weekend in New York City with EW (affectionately known as ONC by his family). The day started routinely enough, a lovely ride on the Acela to Penn Station and a cab ride to the Marriott Marquis in downtown NYC. The bright neon signs in the heart of the city had me whipping my head from left to right as I always do. I love the signs: Bright interactive signs selling everything you can imagine. Even Walgreens has a sign the size of a jumbo-tron as does Target, Disney, the M&M Store, ESPN Zone and the list goes on. Even having seen the signs before, they somehow seemed brighter and more vibrant in the clear cold sky.
There were families enjoying the delights the city has to offer this Christmas Season and I had to laugh as I thought back to the very loud passenger on the train ride up with us. He was pointing out to someone on his cell phone that NYC is a great place for holiday shopping. He was at the top of his lungs as though he had too speak over the sound of the very quiet club car we were traveling in. EW and I exchanged glances at that most important tidbit. Really? Was that a secret that no one knew? Did the individual on the other end of the phone not know that one could buy anything and EVERYTHING in NYC? I mean come on loud guy; everyone knows that NYC is the shopping Mecca. Hell, I knew that when I took my very first trip there in high school. Has your friend never seen Sex in the City? Needless to say, I pointed out to EW that I felt a blog brewing and he agreed.
After settling in at the hotel, we headed out to explore the city. I was in love with the larger than life holiday decorations. Between checking in on facebook and snapping photos on my camera, we managed to cover a good potion of town. It was beautiful. Families were hustling with their children while laden with bags from the stores they had combed through for gifts and souvenirs. Lovers were arm in arm, heads bent together sharing sweet, soft-spoken words and a kiss now and then. Tourists were navigating the crowded sidewalks while, like me, looking skyward to catch all the bright shiny lights in the signs that light up Time Square and the marquis for the shows up and down Broadway.
It was well past our dinner hour when we ducked into Shula’s for a quiet meal. We had no problem getting a lovely table and sharing a good meal before heading out to continue the nights exploration. Ultimately, we wanted to end up at 30 Rock to see the tree in its glory. We were in no hurry, we had no agenda, and we finally wound up at Rockefeller Center where a large crowd was gathered (to be expected). The tree was NOT lit. We discussed that perhaps the crowd was there because they were going to light it. A few minutes passed and I asked a security guard when the tree would be lit and she told me that it was off for the night. Huh? WTF? Off for the night? “Yes”, she said, “They turn the tree off at 11:35 pm every night.”
It was 11:45, we had gotten there about 11:38. You have to be kidding me. Is ConEd short of cash? If so, I’ll make a donation for 5 minutes worth of power so I can snag a shot. Seriously, we are in NYC, Rockefeller Center, one of the many must see spots of the town and the friggin’ tree is dark. The National Tree in DC is lit 24/7 and NYC with all the neon that glares all night and day turns the tree off at 11:35 pm. EW and I looked at each other, nodded, and said in unison, “blog topic.”
Now, please don’t think I was devastated. In all actuality, it is just a tree with lights and I was having such a good time that a dark tree was not going to ruin the weekend. So we slowly wandered back to the hotel, but not before passing a group of folks lined up sitting and lying on the street in tents and covered with blankets. I asked if there was an Idol audition forthcoming and was told they were lined up for the taping of SNL. Well, not until the following day did I understand the reason to be camping out in sub-freezing temperatures. Eminem (my man Marshall) and Lil’ Wayne were starring on SNL. Hell, if I’d know that Friday night, I might have joined the line. I must admit that I was very pleasantly surprised when EW admitted he knew who Lil’ Wayne is.
Saturday was another beautiful cold day with clear skies in the Big Apple. We headed out so that I could be the big kid in the Big Apple. I wanted to do all things kid: M&M store, Disney, and Toys R Us. It was while we were traversing the streets that I got an oogey feeling. There were people dressed as Elmo, Spongebob, and Mickey and Minnie on all the street corners. Parents were letting their children cozy up to these characters to have their pictures taken. I mentioned to EW that child predators have to register where they live, but what stops them from donning a friendly cartoon character costume and hanging out on a street corner in NYC. You can’t see their faces; they are hugging kids of all ages and then shaking a stocking for the opportunity to have a child’s photo taken with them. Seriously, hate to think that way, but what is in that costume of Elmo. Creepy!
Now, Giuliani did a very good job of cleaning up the street in Time Square. The card shills are gone. Yes, not a table in sight, no patsy’s working the crowd. But there is a new hustle on the corner now, and no one is chasing them away. They are the folks in green vests with the words “Street Talk” on them. They are hustling CD’s of local rap artist’s with a message to keep the homeless off the streets. Poor EW, I was trying to capture a picture of the Elmo that I was sure is a pedophile who, when he knew I was trying to grab a shot without paying, always managed to turn his back to foil my shot. The CD guys were working EW, who by the way, can more than take care of himself. So, by the time I walked over to EW, he’d purchased a CD for $15. Now we all know that is highway robbery, but the guys autographed the CD and wrote “To Elliott” on it. So, just sayin’…a bargain. The funny aside is that in one shot of Elmo, EW is visible in the background negotiating the hard fought deal.
We had a few fun words with the guys and moved on, only to meet the next group. We explained we had a CD and they promised theirs was different. Well, we passed on with no additional purchase. So, I’ll jump ahead. I had that effen CD in my pocket all day and it was annoying because I was constantly juggling gloves, phone, camera and the CD. It was not until we got back to the hotel that we even looked to see what was recorded on the CD. I can tell you that I was thrilled to see these fine recordings. “Kunta,“ a lovely tune about Kunta Kinte sung with a kicky falsetto Kunta Kinte hook. “We In Here “ and “I’m Am The Future” were not my favorite and of course the ever popular, “Eat A DicK” had me dying to get up and dance the night away, but our favorite on the entire CD is none other than “Broke Ass Niggas.” EW and I have been whistling and singing that catchy tune ever since we spooled it through the player. Yup, I’m thinking you might just hear that on a local station very soon. Top of the charts baby. In fact, now that Kim is breaking out as a new an upcoming singer she may need some new material to follow up her ever popular, ‘Tardy for the Party,’ ‘Google Me,’ and ‘The Ring Didn’t Mean a Thing,’ she can continue to croon about Big Poppa with “Broke Ass Nigga”s or the romantic “Where My Homies?”
Did I mention I was an overgrown kid in the Big Apple? I had a ball. I posed with the Nutty M&M’s, Yellow and Blue. The young man that snapped my photo was cute as a button. His name was Stan and I asked him if it was fun to work at the M&M store and he laughed and replied, “Yes, you can’t go wrong being surrounded by chocolate.” Now Stan was the cutest chocolate skinned young man I’d seen all day, so I asked him to surround me with some chocolate for a picture and he put on his million-dollar smile and hugged the Widow close. I think it is one of my favorite shots!
From there it was off to Toys R Us, which was so crowded that we left shortly after entering. Whew. These folks must have heard that NYC is the place to shop. On Friday evening’s news the local chatter was whether or not there would be more shopping over last year. Apparently, they have a group of folks that count “shopping bags” at strategic points around the city to arrive at that statistical documentation of holiday spending. We did meet one who was counting bags, but was unable to provide directions to a local tobacconist so we could purchase a cigar to enjoy in the city. Not enough to ruin the visit, but I think a cigar on the chilly walk through town would have been delightful.
As the afternoon progressed, we decided to visit Madame Tussaud’s House of Wax. It is a fun place to tramp through. I posed with several celebrities; something I probably wouldn’t do if they were there in the flesh. The connectivity was a little slow in the museum so photos were taking a while to load to facebook. I took out the camera and decided to snap a few on there. We were in the hall of “assorted folks” and there he was, my Pope: Pope of the People, Pope Paul. He looked good. EW asked me, “Do you want to do the Pope?” Hmmm…now how do I answer that question? We both burst out laughing and I decided that perhaps to avoid the lightening bolt that would follow the question: just a photo of the Pope by himself would suffice. The wax museum offered many an opportunity for a smart quip or offhand joke, or a remembrance of times past where memories were jogged by someone’s likeness.
Then I saw a big ball on a trailer in the middle of the street. A closer look showed human shapes holding hands. It was raw metal, just sitting there and there and a man was inside taking photos thorough the holes in the globe. EW mentioned it might be the New Year’s Eve ball and a security guard behind us confirmed that it was indeed the 2011 ball. He pointed out that is was being transported to have the Swarovski crystals applied in time for New Years Eve. What was so uber cool is that it was just parked there and you could walk over and snap photos next to it…so, we did!
From there, it was back to the hotel to relax before our evening at the theater but not before we ran into our singing, “Street Talk” CD Selling brothers. Yup…they saw us and started chatting us up again. Wanted to know if I was afraid of black men. Ha? Really? I’d just snuggled up with Stan at the M&M store a few hours ago. They asked if we were married and I said no and then a new hustle began. The dreadlock guy kept telling EW he should marry me. They were all up in our grill about ‘was we married,’ or had we been married and what makes a good marriage last…my answer is the same piece of wisdom passed along to me at a wedding in Connecticut over 20 years ago. An elderly little couple told me their 65-year marriage survived and lasted so long because they always slept in the same bed together. So, I shared that with my soul brothers there on the corner in Time Square and all the sudden the hustle for the CD came to a screeching halt. Yes, you could hear a pin drop in Time Square. Their eyes bugged out and then they began to laugh in that sort of nervous laugh, “Ha; yeah, the same bed, ha, ummm….you want to buy a CD?”
Back at the hotel a little wine and cheese, shower and makeup and voila, we were all dolled up to see Jersey Boys. We grabbed a quick cocktail in the hotel and then a cab to the August Wilson Theater. I have to say that I was in heaven. Theater with EW and the Jersey Boys….don’t get no better. The show was awesome. For once, I DID NOT SING ALONG. What a fabulous show hearing songs from my youth, remembering the first time I heard the song, and remembering the eulogy my nephew Sean had delivered a week earlier for his father. Sean had spoken of his father’s love for music: the tunes of his youth and I think I might have heard Bob somewhere in the theater lifting up his voice in “Bye Bye Baby.”
I hated to see the curtain fall on the show. I had been carried away to a wonderful visit to my youth. The night wasn’t over. We laughed as we left the theater and noted we had time to see the “tree” lit and could cab there before the “curtain” of 11:35. Ha…nope, no need…some friends of a friend had posted their snap on facebook, so I just plan to use theirs and Photoshop me and EW on to the picture.
So, it was off to Sardi’s for dinner, drinks and a close too, without doubt, the best time a girl can have in NYC for the holidays. Thanks EW you couldn’t have given me a better Christmas gift.
Now, don’t get all teary eyed. This story isn’t over. We still had to get back to DC and our train ride home was just as crazy as the yelling man on the way up. We settled into our seats and over EW’s left shoulder sat four individuals. On gentleman was wearing a shirt with the Potomac School logo on the breast pocket. Suddenly the woman across from him blurted out, “Potomac School? You denied my son admittance!” The man was naturally surprised at that comment and very simply replied, “I am a parent.” As soon as another seat opened, he bolted and settled in for the remainder of the ride to DC.
I mentioned to EW that the child she was referring to must be the child traveling with her and her husband: his name is Shawn. He was about 30 and it was very clear to see that he was fundamentally challenged. EW and I were discussing how difficult that is on aging parents as we both have friends or family in that situation, so it tugged at our hearts and we counted our blessings. Then we realized the young man also suffered from tourettes because he began to bark. I researched the syndrome when I got home and yes, individuals with the syndrome have simple vocal tics, which may include throat clearing, sniffing/snorting, grunting, or barking. He was very animated and barking a lot at his dad, so mom and dad switched seats and she spoke to him in a soothing voice, which seemed to help quell his tic. However, the barks were so random, that they did cause a jump when it rang throughout the car. At one point, his dad took him to the restroom and he really reacted to that. He was rather boisterous. So much so that eye contact with other passengers showed all of us staring at the door to the restroom.
They came back and settled in again for the ride home and mom and dad began to bicker that he had been over medicated and or under medicated, which was causing the barks. Mom said yes, dad said no and so it went, back and forth punctuated now and again by a bark. In an attempt to clam Shawn, mom kept suggesting they take a walk. My thought was, where too? If it were not so sad it would have been funny. Things calmed a bit and I put my head back and closed my eyes and all the sudden the young man yelled, “Elliott” as clear as a bell. I popped open my eyes looked at EW and he said yes, he’d just been called by name. It was so damn random. I can still hear it ringing thorough my ears as I put these words to paper. Random, damn random and then he was back to his bark and mom and dad were back to the medication discussion and bickering about the over/under.
And then, the train glided into Union Station and we were belched into the cold DC night. In the cab ride home, EW asked if I would add Shawn to the blog and I said that I would, and hoped I’d not be judged. I would try to relate that part of the trip in the empathetic nature we felt when we discussed friends with aging challenged children and as funny as some of the barks were as they pierced the air, all in all it was sad to see his parent bickering about his medications, and his mothers obvious bitterness that Shawn was not accepted to the Potomac School. That raw moment may have been an insight into one of the many disappointments they have suffered and will continue to suffer as they care for Shawn, or not….maybe my perspective is off and they look at the challenges as blessings.
Which brings me to Christmas. The holiday season is a time to count our blessings, large and small. The holidays are the time to surround ourselves in a “chocolate hug” from family and friends. It is not a popularity contest to display cards received. I’d rather have a phone call. It is not adding up the cost of the fancy wrapped gifts under the tree, it is the gift of love to friends and family.
Thinking back over the years, I told a Christmas story from my youth to EW. It was the year that Santa would bring our tree and decorate it while we were fast asleep on Christmas Eve. Now, I’ve often thought the reason Santa did that was to allow my parents some peace and to allow the “heirloom” ornaments on the tree to survive a bit longer. We were a boisterous family of six children always fighting over who got to hang which ornament, who got to put the star on the tree top, and who got to place Baby Jesus in the manger of the nativity set. Poor Baby Jesus, he was purloined every Christmas by one sibling or another and hidden away only to be snuck into the manger: to then be stolen again. I often tell this tale because it was a splendid Christmas: Karen got the little green tea cart and I got the plinkity plink gold piano. I don’t recall other gifts but I remember that BIG tree in the living room of the house on 58th Avenue and Santa had done a splendifireck job of adorning the tree.
Years later, when re-telling the story, a good friend with a sense of humor similar to mine pointed out that my parents probably bought the tree on sale at the tree lot at the last minute to save a few bucks. I did laugh at that and told them they had ruined that wonderful Christmas memory for me, but no, they didn’t. I still think back to that Christmas, like many others with my family and I still smile at the craziness six kids can wreak in a few short hours of decorating a tree and unwrapping gifts. We always had wonderful Christmases. Over the years, we have always had a family Christmas party. At first, it was just the brothers and sisters and significant others and then the nieces and nephews started being born and they too were swept into the fray. Now it is siblings, nieces and nephews and their children. It is still crazy nutty fun with a broken ornament or two, tears and smiles and wrapping paper flying all over the room as the youngest of the bunch rip through their gifts. Dear God, I hope it never changes
Over the years, I have moved away from family gifts (easier to give ‘em checks) to gifts for the underprivileged kids who have an angel on the YMCA tree. These children ask for the simple things like overcoats and gloves. Yes, there is always a toy listed, but I have to read through the coats, pants, shoes and socks to find it. I love to shop for the “mystery child” and I find great pleasure in wrapping the gifts and slipping a gift card from Target in one of the clothes boxes: an unsuspecting little treasure so they can buy a gift that I might have forgotten. I’ve always wanted to see the face of the child who had the good fortune to have their name picked by the Widow Fike as they open their holiday gifts.
So, as EW pointed out, new memories are made as old memories fade. May you be comforted with holiday memories of years past. Memories shared with family and friends, near and far, here and in the hereafter, and may you be making beautiful holiday memories this year! Bing Crosby says it best, “I fall asleep counting my blessings.” I wish the same for you and yours; count your blessings regardless of the wrapping they may be hidden in.
So, are you wondering what my favorites gift is this year? It is already given and received, it is an invitation from EW to keep the NYC memory alive. I was gifted with an offer to make the Big Apple an annual Christmas tradition. I just hope we get to the tree at 30 Rock before 11:35!
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