Day 5: "I Say Thank-You to God Being Me Alive."
It is Sunday after all. Some guy on the street was really happy to have gone to church to thank God for his life. Amen.
Today was interesting. I saw New York from a different perspective, experienced nature and wildlife,
I had wanted to go to church in Harlem, but I got lost in the train station and by the time I got down there the service had started half an hour ago. I was extremely stiff this morning so I was walking like a 90-year-old with scoliosis which didn't increase my chances of walking the five-ish blocks to get there before it was over. So I just walked around a bit and looked at a few blocks of the neighborhood before going back to the subway.
Where I saw a rat. I haven't seen one here yet. I heard New York was full of giant dog size rats but this was the first one I've seen and it was huge! I think he had a little leather jacket slung over his back. If he had ran up to me I would have given him my wallet.
Later, I was transferring to a different train and while I was waiting, on the wrong platform naturally, a guy got extremely upset with the time he had been waiting for the train. He decided to express himself and slapped the giant metal sign that tells us what train is coming on that track and started swearing excessively and loudly and pacing back and forth. He wasn't a tiny man and he was carrying all his stuff in a trash bag so I was too scared to laugh at him. When the train finally arrived he welcomed it with his middle finger. Unreal.
I then went all the way back to the South Street Seaport and took the Staten Island Ferry. It's a free ride and it takes you right by the Statue of Liberty and you get an incredible view of Manhattan for FREE!!! It was a great ride; it took about 20 minutes each way not including the ten minutes it takes to dock and walk off the boat. I decided to wait for the ride back because I was at the end of the line and there were a lot of people in front of me and I wanted to be sure I got a good spot to stand because the ride back is on the Statue of Liberty side of the water.
It's only half an hour between boats so it wasn't too long. And there was free entertainment! A guy was listening to something on his headphones and while I thought he was homeless he had a cellphone so unless that's where all his money goes, he's just regular crazy. He was loving whatever song he was listening and started to sing it out loud. Then he started dancing around with his arms flapping like a chicken. He was so into it, it was cracking me up. Then he proceeded to move the dance around the whole waiting area, I know because I could hear his shoes squeaking. The next time he had made it around the room and came into my line of sight again he had rolled his shirt up above his navel. It was awesome!
The ferry took us so close to the Statue I could see her face through the lens of my camera. I'm completely in love with this beautiful Statue.
Upon arriving back in Manhattan I walked through Battery Park on my way to the site of the World Trade Center. It's a beautiful park and on my way in there were two people dressed up like the Statue of Liberty and they creeped me out. They talk but their masks don't move! It's weird!! So I took pictures from far away. There was a memorial for soldiers from various branches of the military who died during World War II. There were also squirrels! Big ones with the bushy tails and they were gray! Not the color of the desert!
"The Sphere," a sculpture that was a part of the World Trade Center plaza, damaged in the attacks and is now in the park next to an eternal flame to honor the dead. It's a beautiful piece and the damage is intense. But the site itself was not what I expected. I suppose I assumed it would be frozen in time. A permanent tribute to what happened displayed by ribbons and balloons and flowers and cards on a chain link fence. But it's a hub. There's a Burger King with internet access and 2 floors right next door. People walk by with their dogs, their kids, running, biking. They don't look. There weren't crowds of people crying and candles lit in tribute. Life continued. As it should.
The entire site is essentially hidden. It looks like any other construction site. There are high fences covered with green tarps and advertisements for what is happening at the site. What is shocking about it all is that in a city where people literally own the air above their buildings, and when you look at one big building there's another one right next to it that's slightly taller, or almost as tall, there is a wide open space. A 16-acre vacancy on the ground and 110 floor vacancy in the air.
The plans for the memorial look beautiful. I went into the Tribute World Trade Center Memorial Center to see the miniature model of the memorial. It's very thoughtful. I think it will turn out very nicely and be a nice reminder of what happened. The Memorial Center has an account of the events of that day from when the planes took off to the next day when the last survivor was found after both towers had fallen and President Bush had addressed the nation. I remember it so clearly. That day, what I was wearing when I heard it on the radio. I didn't know what the World Trade Center was exactly but planes do not fly into buildings regularly. It's tragic that every generation has those days. Where were you when Kennedy was shot, where were you when you heard the Challenger exploded, where were you when you heard the planes hit the towers? Events that stand out.
I walked all the way around it and the view doesn't change. There's nothing there. A few places with some kind of tribute, but overall it's a construction site. It was still incredible to see. To be there. To see how relatively unaffected buildings that were 5 feet from the towers are. Life remains, altered and changed, but continues. I'm amazed.
After a few hours down there, I found a train to Chinatown. That place is crazy! I looked up a restaurant that was favorably reviewed and recommended and set off in search of it. I was having waves of hunger and I figured I needed to eat but I've been insanely dehydrated since I got here so I knew I wouldn't eat a lot. On my way over there I wandered, accidentally, into Little Italy which is part of Chinatown. It's so fun! All I was thinking was how much I wanted a glass of wine, but every place I walked by was packed to capacity. So I just kept going and everywhere I looked were women walking around with black garbage bags.
I wanted that black garbage bag. It means they had bought a knockoff and that was my second goal for the trip to Chinatown. I had just got the restaurant in my sights when a creepy voice whispered Coach in my ear, but because it was creepy and made my skin crawl I played Deaf and kept going. I ate at Great N.Y. Noodletown and even though I walked in knowing what I wanted to order, it wasn't on the menu and I'm uncomfortable ordering off menu. But I wasn't that hungry anyway so I got Shrimp Fried Rice. It was pretty good. Best of all it was cheap!!
The restaurant itself looked like a total dive, but so do most places in New York. I walked up and they had ducks hanging from the window. When I walked in, said one, they told me to "share the big table" with the two guys who were already sitting there. They were less than impressed but it isn't my rules so what do I care?! There wasn't a line or anything, not many people waiting for my spot, but the staff was completely unwilling to let me look through the menu. I don't know what they thought but they asked if it was actually my intention to order! Nice. But it was so I did.
After eating, I walked back into the crowded part of Chinatown to try and get a less creepy lookout to sell me a bag. I came across a lady and this was the shadiest thing I have ever done in my entire life! She said Louis Vitton, Coach, Prada, I said yes please and I followed her down the street to where she had friends waiting with a sheet of the bags they had available. I had to look at it with my back to the street and everyone was looking around for a cop ready to shut the street down, it was so bizarre!!
So I picked one, it was the only one I wanted. If I'm going to spend a lot of money on a fake bag I want to like it! You pay top dollar for the name, you pay a lot for it to look like it has the name. So I was prepared to haggle but this one girl didn't have it so we went down to a different corner, different girl but same list of bags. But not the one I wanted. She said there wasn't anywhere else she could take me, which was fine. It was Sunday night. I didn't need to be dragged all over Chinatown, I told her I would come back during the week because there would be more people but she wouldn't drop it. She kept asking me what I was willing to pay and to get her away from me I said $30 and she practically sprinted to the next person.
Oh well. I'd love to buy a knockoff, but if I don't I won't regret it.
That was the end of my day. I got on the train and came back to Queens where I actually saw my friends! It was nice to actually talk to them for longer than 20 minutes as they head off to work or we go to sleep. They were watching Julie and Julia so I joined them; I love relaxed fun!
Tomorrow's Goal: Cruise around the harbor and the Museum of Natural History. I am SO excited about this one!!! I hope it looks just like the movie! I want to walk in and see Rexy and a wax figure of Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt.
Some of my favorite pictures:
Manhattan Skyline from Staten Island Ferry.
So amazing!
Statue of Liberty.
World War II Memorial.
The Sphere and the flame.
Happy Mother's Day Mom.
9/11 Tribute to Firefighters.
Shrimp Fried Rice.
Today was interesting. I saw New York from a different perspective, experienced nature and wildlife,
I had wanted to go to church in Harlem, but I got lost in the train station and by the time I got down there the service had started half an hour ago. I was extremely stiff this morning so I was walking like a 90-year-old with scoliosis which didn't increase my chances of walking the five-ish blocks to get there before it was over. So I just walked around a bit and looked at a few blocks of the neighborhood before going back to the subway.
Where I saw a rat. I haven't seen one here yet. I heard New York was full of giant dog size rats but this was the first one I've seen and it was huge! I think he had a little leather jacket slung over his back. If he had ran up to me I would have given him my wallet.
Later, I was transferring to a different train and while I was waiting, on the wrong platform naturally, a guy got extremely upset with the time he had been waiting for the train. He decided to express himself and slapped the giant metal sign that tells us what train is coming on that track and started swearing excessively and loudly and pacing back and forth. He wasn't a tiny man and he was carrying all his stuff in a trash bag so I was too scared to laugh at him. When the train finally arrived he welcomed it with his middle finger. Unreal.
I then went all the way back to the South Street Seaport and took the Staten Island Ferry. It's a free ride and it takes you right by the Statue of Liberty and you get an incredible view of Manhattan for FREE!!! It was a great ride; it took about 20 minutes each way not including the ten minutes it takes to dock and walk off the boat. I decided to wait for the ride back because I was at the end of the line and there were a lot of people in front of me and I wanted to be sure I got a good spot to stand because the ride back is on the Statue of Liberty side of the water.
It's only half an hour between boats so it wasn't too long. And there was free entertainment! A guy was listening to something on his headphones and while I thought he was homeless he had a cellphone so unless that's where all his money goes, he's just regular crazy. He was loving whatever song he was listening and started to sing it out loud. Then he started dancing around with his arms flapping like a chicken. He was so into it, it was cracking me up. Then he proceeded to move the dance around the whole waiting area, I know because I could hear his shoes squeaking. The next time he had made it around the room and came into my line of sight again he had rolled his shirt up above his navel. It was awesome!
The ferry took us so close to the Statue I could see her face through the lens of my camera. I'm completely in love with this beautiful Statue.
Upon arriving back in Manhattan I walked through Battery Park on my way to the site of the World Trade Center. It's a beautiful park and on my way in there were two people dressed up like the Statue of Liberty and they creeped me out. They talk but their masks don't move! It's weird!! So I took pictures from far away. There was a memorial for soldiers from various branches of the military who died during World War II. There were also squirrels! Big ones with the bushy tails and they were gray! Not the color of the desert!
"The Sphere," a sculpture that was a part of the World Trade Center plaza, damaged in the attacks and is now in the park next to an eternal flame to honor the dead. It's a beautiful piece and the damage is intense. But the site itself was not what I expected. I suppose I assumed it would be frozen in time. A permanent tribute to what happened displayed by ribbons and balloons and flowers and cards on a chain link fence. But it's a hub. There's a Burger King with internet access and 2 floors right next door. People walk by with their dogs, their kids, running, biking. They don't look. There weren't crowds of people crying and candles lit in tribute. Life continued. As it should.
The entire site is essentially hidden. It looks like any other construction site. There are high fences covered with green tarps and advertisements for what is happening at the site. What is shocking about it all is that in a city where people literally own the air above their buildings, and when you look at one big building there's another one right next to it that's slightly taller, or almost as tall, there is a wide open space. A 16-acre vacancy on the ground and 110 floor vacancy in the air.
The plans for the memorial look beautiful. I went into the Tribute World Trade Center Memorial Center to see the miniature model of the memorial. It's very thoughtful. I think it will turn out very nicely and be a nice reminder of what happened. The Memorial Center has an account of the events of that day from when the planes took off to the next day when the last survivor was found after both towers had fallen and President Bush had addressed the nation. I remember it so clearly. That day, what I was wearing when I heard it on the radio. I didn't know what the World Trade Center was exactly but planes do not fly into buildings regularly. It's tragic that every generation has those days. Where were you when Kennedy was shot, where were you when you heard the Challenger exploded, where were you when you heard the planes hit the towers? Events that stand out.
I walked all the way around it and the view doesn't change. There's nothing there. A few places with some kind of tribute, but overall it's a construction site. It was still incredible to see. To be there. To see how relatively unaffected buildings that were 5 feet from the towers are. Life remains, altered and changed, but continues. I'm amazed.
After a few hours down there, I found a train to Chinatown. That place is crazy! I looked up a restaurant that was favorably reviewed and recommended and set off in search of it. I was having waves of hunger and I figured I needed to eat but I've been insanely dehydrated since I got here so I knew I wouldn't eat a lot. On my way over there I wandered, accidentally, into Little Italy which is part of Chinatown. It's so fun! All I was thinking was how much I wanted a glass of wine, but every place I walked by was packed to capacity. So I just kept going and everywhere I looked were women walking around with black garbage bags.
I wanted that black garbage bag. It means they had bought a knockoff and that was my second goal for the trip to Chinatown. I had just got the restaurant in my sights when a creepy voice whispered Coach in my ear, but because it was creepy and made my skin crawl I played Deaf and kept going. I ate at Great N.Y. Noodletown and even though I walked in knowing what I wanted to order, it wasn't on the menu and I'm uncomfortable ordering off menu. But I wasn't that hungry anyway so I got Shrimp Fried Rice. It was pretty good. Best of all it was cheap!!
The restaurant itself looked like a total dive, but so do most places in New York. I walked up and they had ducks hanging from the window. When I walked in, said one, they told me to "share the big table" with the two guys who were already sitting there. They were less than impressed but it isn't my rules so what do I care?! There wasn't a line or anything, not many people waiting for my spot, but the staff was completely unwilling to let me look through the menu. I don't know what they thought but they asked if it was actually my intention to order! Nice. But it was so I did.
After eating, I walked back into the crowded part of Chinatown to try and get a less creepy lookout to sell me a bag. I came across a lady and this was the shadiest thing I have ever done in my entire life! She said Louis Vitton, Coach, Prada, I said yes please and I followed her down the street to where she had friends waiting with a sheet of the bags they had available. I had to look at it with my back to the street and everyone was looking around for a cop ready to shut the street down, it was so bizarre!!
So I picked one, it was the only one I wanted. If I'm going to spend a lot of money on a fake bag I want to like it! You pay top dollar for the name, you pay a lot for it to look like it has the name. So I was prepared to haggle but this one girl didn't have it so we went down to a different corner, different girl but same list of bags. But not the one I wanted. She said there wasn't anywhere else she could take me, which was fine. It was Sunday night. I didn't need to be dragged all over Chinatown, I told her I would come back during the week because there would be more people but she wouldn't drop it. She kept asking me what I was willing to pay and to get her away from me I said $30 and she practically sprinted to the next person.
Oh well. I'd love to buy a knockoff, but if I don't I won't regret it.
That was the end of my day. I got on the train and came back to Queens where I actually saw my friends! It was nice to actually talk to them for longer than 20 minutes as they head off to work or we go to sleep. They were watching Julie and Julia so I joined them; I love relaxed fun!
Tomorrow's Goal: Cruise around the harbor and the Museum of Natural History. I am SO excited about this one!!! I hope it looks just like the movie! I want to walk in and see Rexy and a wax figure of Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt.
Some of my favorite pictures:
Manhattan Skyline from Staten Island Ferry.
So amazing!
Statue of Liberty.
World War II Memorial.
The Sphere and the flame.
Happy Mother's Day Mom.
9/11 Tribute to Firefighters.
Shrimp Fried Rice.
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