Showing posts with label 34th Street. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 34th Street. Show all posts

Thursday, August 2, 2007

This is it

Tonight is my last night in the city.

I am trying not to be sad about this. I don't think it's fully hit me yet though.

Rather than looking at all of the things I'll miss, I'm trying to look at all of the things I am looking forward to upon my return to Louisiana. I get to see the family, I get to see the friends, I get to drive (!!!!!!), and I get to reunite with the great city that made me who I am.

Today was a sad day because I went to Graffiti for the last time. I didn't do much of anything but sit around and put off leaving. Theresa left without realizing that we never got to say goodbye, so I was pretty sad about that, but we had a nice over-the-phone goodbye. As Taylor kept saying, it's not goodbye, I'll be back in December.

I went to Carnegie Deli with the mission team. Surprisingly this is only the second time I've gone since I've been here, but it was definitely a nice way to say goodbye to the city. I then went to 34th street- which has become my place to go when I get bored or sad.

Now, I must pack....

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Life on the Red Line

I cannot possibly explain exactly how I feel about this city.

Within this one place, there are so many different places, each with their own touch of charm. By simply hopping on the 2 train, I can jump from one world to another one stop at a time.

I get on in a quiet world of You've Got Mail Kathleen Kelly butteflies with Grey's Papaya hotdogs, Riverside Park, Central Park, Zabars, the Beacon Theatre, and all of the other wonderful things that go along with being a West Sider.

In a matter of three minutes, I can be in the center of all that is flashy and bright. Broadway shows, marquees galore, supersized Toys R Us, Bryant Park, overpriced souvenier shops, and all MTV.

One stop down is the Miracle on 34th Street, where to me, it will always feel like Christmas, or Valentines day, or any other holiday where a great movie has caputre the essence of all that is, what I like to call, the Macy's district. I can look up and see the tallest and by far most famous building in the city (which doesn't look all that tall when you're standing underneath it), and I feel as though I've been flashback to An Affair to Remember or some equally as wonderful classic New York movie.

Next comes Union Square, protests included. Here's where I can find people roaming about with dogs on leashes, trees, Barnes and Noble, and chain retail shops one on top of the other.

Flash forward to the Financial District. The center of New York history pre-1930s, and the economy of pretty much the entire world. With great views of all that is American and patriotic, including a gaping hole in the street reminding us tragedy and the fight for triumph over it, the Financial District is pretty much my favorite place to spend a quiet morning. Here you have Trinity church, the Stock Exchange, Battery Park, I could go on... With the hustle and bustle of people all around, there's nothing like sitting on the steps in front of ole G-Dub with a bagel and a bottle of water watching the people run around and manage the crazy numbers that somehow affect my day-to-day existance in this country.

Pop on over the Brooklyn, my favorite of the Buroughs. Get off at Clark and try to imagine what it must have been like in 1875 when across the river the tallest skyscraper was the spire of Trinity, and up above was rising the most amazing structure you'd ever seen and trying to figure out if after all the work, money, and political turmoil it would still be standing five years from now (not to mention in 2007).

I could stay on and make my way through Brooklyn, but typically this is where my life on the Red Line ends. I might switch to yellow, or walk back across the bridge, but isn't it amazing all of the things I have seen by simply walking outside my front door, going about half a block, and hopping on a single train?