In a New York Minute

Last weekend I took a bite out of the Big Apple. I didn’t really do a whole lot but had a great time.

The highlight, easily, was cheap tickets to see “Suffs,” which gave me a surprise new anthem: "A Great American Bitch". Dear God, I loved the play, from start (“Let Mother Vote”) to finish (“Keep Marching”). But “A Great American Bitch” was by far the best and most memorable number of the play.  I’d buy the soundtrack just for that song. 

"Isn't 'bitch' an insult?" 

"That's what they want you to think!"

Obligatory Statue of Liberty photo

I’d bought the ticket that afternoon at the cheap booth in Times Square. Kudos for that, but holy smokes, it was hot. I was in line well over an hour in direct sunlight. All the people were super nice and it make me realize how many people deeply love going to the theater. The lady right in front of me had flown in from Hawaii the night before (Friday) and was leaving on Tuesday. All she was doing was going to the theater.

And after seeing my first show on Broadway, I get it. I’ve seen plays before in different venues, from Tallahassee’s Young Actor’s Theater to a university production of “Shrek” in Minot to off-Broadway shows in Sydney and Guangzhou, but this was my first on-Broadway show, and it was utterly amazing. I understand now why people will see the same play over and over. Heck, had I gone to the matinee show instead of the evening, I might have turned around and seen it again. As it was, I came close to seeing another on Sunday afternoon, but I didn’t get back from my morning excursion in time.

Choosing it was random, too. The cheap place doesn’t have all the shows, but there were lots of options. In my hour and a half in line, I listened to others around me discuss what they were seeing and what they’d seen and narrowed it to “Suffs” and “Six” (the Henry VIII wives one) by the time I got to the window and basically let the ticket guy decide. He made a great choice.

The only other thing I did, really, was do the Big Bus tour for two days. I got off and wandered but mostly it was low-key. It was my first visit since just prior to Peace Corps, so a lot had changed, like the new 9/11 memorial. That was serene, though one of the two reflecting pools (which are in the footprints of the old twin towers) was drained for cleaning.

I did the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, of course, but other than wandering around Hudson Yards and the Harry Potter store, I really didn’t do much. In a search for air conditioning, I hit up the old Macy’s and happened upon a shoe sale. There, I splurged on shoes that were marked down from $80 to $22 and crammed them into my backpack for the trip home.

I went alone, hoping someone would join me but not having any luck. In the end, that was probably fine because the hotel room was the size of a postage stamp. It was right at Times Square – if I left my windows open, the marquee for “Hamilton” would have kept me awake so the location was amazing for what I wanted to do but the space was almost enough for one person and definitely not two.

But if someone wanted to go next weekend, I’d happily join again. I’d taken the bus up there because I really didn’t care when I arrived, but going back I opted for the train since it was an hour shorter. Both were super easy.

Now that I am back, I’ve realized that I’m basically out of touristy things on my list. I didn’t plan anything touristy for this weekend at all, though I do have plans to meet some people for lunch tomorrow. I feel like I should do another road trip from here, but I haven’t looked at the options.

Though there’s no tourist stuff this weekend, I have had a busy Saturday. Last week, I caved and bought a car, which I picked up today. It’s nothing a special, a 2016 Nissan Rogue. Madagascar doesn’t have import restrictions so I didn’t have to have a newer one. This one – named Cassian, after the character in “Rogue One” --  probably won’t arrive for a solid six months, so I’m hoping to start it on its journey ASAP. I think I submitted all the paperwork today and picked out an aspirational date to send it off. I don’t intend to drive it here and am not even registering it in Florida since it won’t get there until 2027, if then. There’s also an auto shop nearby and I dropped it off for a tune-up. I’m hoping I get no bad news; I bought it as-is.

Other than that, it’s life as usual, although a bit hotter than normal. Climate change is real and, walking to and from work every day, it stinks. More often than not, I arrive home in a puddle of my own sweat. It’s not near as humid as Florida, but 97 degrees is toasty no matter what. There’s a little splash pad and a public park on my way home. It’s about three blocks from my house, so on the return, I’m a bit warm by then. I wear sandals because it’s so hot and when it’s really bad, I weave around the little kids through the shallow river created by the splash pad. The kids probably think I am nuts because my pants tend to get soaked from the ankles down, but it’s relief.