New York, Part II

Continued from previous post...

Right at the end of Wall Street there is Trinity Church and I swung through that pretty, old church. The church yard was full of old graves listing dates as late as the early 1700s. They looked almost like props from a movie. Trinity Church was featured in the movie National Treasure.

Then I went back to Times Square to meet up with my travel companions to get tickets to a Broadway show. Each day a store/place(?) in the middle of Times Square has day-of, reduced-price tickets to lots of shows. So my roommate waited in line for over an hour while I visited the Charmin bathrooms.

Right in the middle of Times Square there are huge signs advertising Charmin public bathrooms. I went in the place just to go to the bathroom. I didn't realize that I had signed up for an experience. Inside, an escalator takes you up to a floor that is pumping a song about Charmin that constantly loops while the music video accompanying it plays on screens all around. The rooms are all painted and decorated for Charmin, with a little stage for anyone who wants to do the Charmin dance, little swings, other playground type things, and a mini-store all centered around Charmin toilet paper. Once there, you wait in a line to go into the actual bathrooms room. It was a three-sided room with about 20 individual bathrooms. A guy with a microphone was chatting up each person in line and entertaining everyone as attendants checked each bathroom for cleanliness and then held the door for each person. Inside mine, it was a nice luxurious ski lodge look that was clean and stocked with every type of Charmin toilet paper possible. Only New York.

That night we went to Shrek the musical. It was a fun show. Not the typical Broadway show, but very fun and colorful. The special effects were especially impressive. I wish I could go to a Broadway show every night. So much fun.

Saturday we got up and went to Tom's Restaurant from Seinfeld for breakfast. Then we headed to the south of Manhattan to catch a ferry out to the Statue of Liberty. The wait to go to the Statue was very long so we opted for the cruise instead. That took us around the harbor while giving a good close look at the Statue of Liberty. She is beautiful and I thank God that we can enshrine such virtues at our entrances. The cruise also provided another perspective on just how expansive the city is. What an unbelievable place.

The shuttle bus to the subway took us right past Ground Zero and the construction that is going on there. Our next stop was Chinatown and Little Italy. Chinatown was really busy and all kinds of sketchy. There were blocks of people selling watches, designer purses, scarves, sunglasses, pirated DVDs, and other illegal things to sell. There were a lot of sketchy characters and sketchy deals going on. We caught lunch at one of the hundreds of little Italian restaurants in Little Italy. Then we worked our way past the Asian lady selling designer purses out of a van with garbage bags over the windows on a side street, the people chasing some lady who supposedly had their money, the cops searching another person for something. I was nervous and glad that we finally got out of there.

After killing some time, we hustled back to Penn Station for our ride back. Getting back into DC was refreshing and would have been more so were I not so tired and hungry. Things were so quiet and peaceful. Beyond Union Station there was hardly a soul to be seen and it was beautiful. It was really neat how familiar and homey everything looked here. For the first time since August I did not feel like I was living in the big city.

New York is incredibly dense, intense, and expansive. The city actually never sleeps and I think it has a glandular condition. I was apprehensive going into the trip and many of my apprehensions proved true. New York is an exhausting and crazy place. There were times when my only concern was just getting through to Saturday. But once you are placed into that roiling sea of machines and humanity a funny thing happens - you learn how to swim. There were moments in the city when I felt like a kid the first time up on skis. "Look, Dad, I'm really doing it. I'm living in the big city." It was a challenging experience, but a broadening one.

Being the city also led me to consider those that grow up and live there. What would the world look like to me if I grew up there? Would I just accept that that is the way life is supposed to be? Would I ever see beyond the city limits? After being there for just a short time, I could easily tell who was a New York native and who was not. Something in their faces, the grim set of their mouths and the hard look of their eyes, set them apart. They are very helpful and friendly, but in a distant sort of way. They can go out of their way to help out a random tourist and not display any sort of warmth or any care in the doing. I think that they have learned to be guarded and the constant exposure to masses of people numbs them a bit to other people. They go out of their way to help people because they know that's how to survive in the City.

Being of a political bent, I also see how this can shape a person's political and societal values. Life in the City is a lot less free. Freedom as we know it in the country is not a reality for those in the City. Everything those in the City do, everything they see is part of the City structure. Life in the country is decidedly unstructured. Therefore, those in the country seek to gain and maintain their personal freedom, while those in the City are more concerned about building up and strengthening the structure that orders life. They are two different realities and without understanding the lifestyle of the other, one may never understand the other's politics or come to any agreement.

Laying my political musings aside, I have to say that I am very glad to be back in DC. I never thought it would feel so much like home, but after the tornado of New York it feels like I'm back in Kansas again. I wish I had a little dog, too. I also know now, more than ever, just how beautiful Lynden is -- the Last Homely Home.

New York

I returned last night at 11:30 pm from my Thanksgiving trip to New York City. I left DC on Wednesday morning and after a six and a half hour (normally five hour) drive my two friends and I arrived in New York.

First of all, I must say that if you want to appreciate Lynden, go to New York. I was apprehensive about the trip, having heard the warnings of my roommate who made the trip before and those New Yorkers I met that told me DC was a "small town." Thus, I came into the trip expecting intensity and busy-ness. New York does not disappoint.

From the minute we got off our bus, it was crazy. We disembarked at Penn Station and proceeded to the subway, or at least tried to. Being accustomed to the easy and streamlined DC metro system, we found the New York system to be more complicated and not as nice. It would have been confusing enough on our own, but we had to figure it out while navigating an ocean of humanity. There were masses of them everywhere and all on a desperate mission to get wherever they needed to go.

Finally, we managed to get on the subway in the right direction and then went through the process of checking into the hostel. The hostel is apparently the biggest in the world and is really pretty nice. Things were mostly clean and organized and they had a lot of special programs going on at the hostel or in connection with it. I was in an eight person room. The first night I went to bed with only one other person in the room and woke up with four others. Had similar experiences the other nights. The hostel was interesting, but not a problem.

Since it was not that late, we decided to go out and do some exploring, and so we got to see Times Square for the first time. Times Square is unbelievable. There are an unbelievable number of billboards, lights, and giant screens all flashing logos, products, and videos. It's really quite stunning and I guess I never thought about going there until I was in the middle of it. I wish I could paint a picture with words to describe the buzz and excitement of it all, but there are no words to describe it. It's a can of worms; it's Pandora's box with broken hinges; it's a circus without walls; it's a storm of lights and people. It's way too much. I understand now why so many movies and TV shows depict New York with the camera circling the person in the middle of it. It sums up the madness of the conglomeration of humanity that it New York.

After Times Square, we got on the subway thinking we were going somewhere else, but ended up at Grand Central Station. So we checked that out. Thinking we were near the Empire State building we walked around until we thought we found it, but then realized it was the Chrysler building when we went in. Then we went back to the hostel to get a good night's rest before getting up early for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Bright and early Thanksgiving Day we went to between 50 and 51st on Broadway and claimed our spot for the parade and then waited for two and half hours in just above freezing weather for the parade to start and arrive at us. Yes, it was worth it. I don't know if I'll ever have the chance to be in New York for Thanksgiving again, so I was glad I got to see it. It did not disappoint. I got to see a bunch of giant balloon characters, cool floats, marching bands, and several celebrities, some of whom I recognized (Miley Cyrus, Trace Adkins, Idina Menzel). I would need to watch the Disney channel to recognize some of them. I also got to see Santa, but it wasn't the same guy as on Miracle on 34th Street, so I don't think he was real. We were standing by the families of the first marching band, which was from South Dakota. Nice people. I couldn't believe I was right there watching it all float by. Me and about three and a half million other people. I wish I was kidding. Then we had to fight the crowds more. Later we realized that it would be that full all weekend.

Then we wandered off to try to find the Empire State building again. For some reason we thought it was on the 50 streets, so we wandered that way. The goal of the Empire State building eventually took the back seat as we found more and more to see on each block. You know how in most cities there will be maybe five or six blocks of cool, old, or really big buildings, then it peters out? New York isn't one of those cities. In comparison to everything I've seen before, New York seems to be the only real city. Again I am at a loss for words or pictures to communicate the size of the city. Block after block of soaring skyscrapers, interspersed with nice old buildings and the odd giant cathedral.

We passed the Rockefeller Center and the famous outdoor skating rink. It's not that big and it was full of people with a lineup of hundreds just waiting to get in. We moved on down 5th avenue and the famous shopping district there. Way out of our leagues. Went past Tiffany's and De Beers. Eventually we came to the end of it and realized we were at Central Park. So we walked into and around the park. It was amazing to seek how distinct the line between the park and the city was. There are massive skyscrapers on one side of the street and a quiet pond, trees, and winding paths on the other side. After wandering through there for a while, we learned that the Empire State building was on 34th Street, so we went that way.

On 34th street we walked past Macy's (THE Macy's, all nine stories of it), to finally get to the Empire State building. We had debated about when would be the best time to go up to the observation deck. During the day we could see more, but at night things would be all lit up. It just so happened that we chose the perfect time. We got up there while it was still light, but the sun was quickly fading and thereby got the best of both worlds because in the matter of about 20 minutes we got to see it in the light and the dark.

That has to be one of the most amazing sights in the world. New York city is huge, but you don't fully comprehend it until you see the vast expanse of it from above. It was the first time I had ever seen city as far as the eye can see in every direction. It was amazing and scary. You could actually imagine that you were actually on top of the world and it had all gathered at your feet. What a name mankind has made for itself with that building! It was a truly thrilling view.

Not having any Chinese checkers game to play, we went to a movie and went back to get to bed for another early morning for the two shoppers of the group who wished to dare Black Friday in New York. After I thought about it, I realized it couldn't be that much more crazy than what we were experiencing everywhere we went, all the time. Madness seems less mad when you're living in a madhouse.

We each went our own ways on Friday. I headed for the United Nations. I was immediately struck by the artwork within and without the UN. Right in front of the visitor's entrance there's a sculpture of a revolver with the barrel tied in a knot. Wow! Take that warmongers! The barrel was tied in a knot...so it couldn't shoot! If people everywhere could just see this art, then maybe finally we would all lay down our arms and have a worldwide hug. Thanks, Mr. Sculptor. You just blew my mind. Uh, I mean, you just respectfully and peacefully related with my mind.

Once I got there I realized I wasn't really all that thrilled about the UN. I didn't want to take the time to go on a tour of it, so I looked around the visitor center and bookstore, eventually deciding that the UN is built on a hyper-internationalist, anti-American, and pacifist sub-culture that seems distant from the real world. It has potential, but it has been made into the project of a certain group of people, not all people. I then planned to go to Wall St., but the subway I chose stopped at the Brooklyn Bridge. So I went out on the Brooklyn Bridge, which is cool by itself, but also offers amazing views of the city and the Statue of Liberty.

I finally made it to Wall St. and walked around the financial district a bit. Saw the New York Stock Exchange, Federal Hall (where George Washington took his oath of office), and the other impressive and important buildings there. I didn't see any of those "fat cats" walking around Wall Street with their golden parachutes strapped to their backs, but I'm sure they were inside taking money from Main Street, 'cause that's all they do. Grumble grumble fat cats mumble bail out grumble groan Main Steet Wall street ("Yes, I will have a side of sarcasm with my sarcasm, please."). I did see the NYPD walking around with partial riot gear and M4's. I just realized that it was probably because of the events in India. Hm.

To be continued...

November 5th

Disappointment seems to be the state of affairs among those of us in the conservative camp. But this is not the time to despair. Face the disappointment and them step past it. Reality presented a harsh face to us, but it is not the first time, nor will it be the last. This is not the end, just the next step.

Governments come; governments go. Parties rise; parties fall. But the people remain. The people carry on and build a better tomorrow. Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress are not a danger to our souls and the souls of our families. We are secure in that, unless you doubt the power of God. Congresses and Presidents ultimately cannot change the core virtue of the American people. That is in the hands of each and every family that connects and builds its members up into virtuous, God-fearing people.

In four years or eight years, the votes will swing back the other way and the political agenda of the government will look more familiar. In the end, patience and cooperation will win out. Denial and despair must be left on November 4th as we move into November 5th.