Posts from the Road…
May 18, 2001 – New York City, USA
Eight days and counting..
Anna’s parents joined us in Chicago for the trip to New York. The train ride from Chicago passed quickly. While we were late arriving, the thing that was most unpleasant was the unexplained half-hour it took for our bags to travel up two flights of stairs to the baggage claim. In the whole scheme of things, a minor inconvenience. While this incident did not make for a great first impression, the negative was short-lived.
We are staying with my Anna’s uncle, in his apartment just off the Brooklyn Bridge. Out the window in front of me, I can see the World Trade Towers; from the roof of the building, the Statue of Liberty, the Chrysler and Empire State buildings – all of the things I associate with “New York”. The apartment overlooks the Eastern District Federal Courthouse with the symbol of the American Eagle prominently emblazoned on the side. My first thought when looking out the window was, “We must be across the street from the American Embassy.” This must be a sign that we have been on the road for a long time.
Staying with her uncle has been a treat. As a host and a guide, we could not hope for better. He has imparted a lot of history of the region and more about the architecture than I can possibly hope to absorb in the short time we are here.
Since we only have a short time in New York (and far too many options), we chose to go to Ellis Island yesterday. The ferry ride there provided us some nice views of the Statue of Liberty. Hoping to get the best overview we took the free tour given by the park rangers. The ranger who gave our tour was impassioned about his subject. Not only was he full of information, his excitement about the role of Ellis Island in the US was contagious. He was able to put things in ways that all members of our group were able to relate and gave us all something to think about. He reminded us that it could not have been easy to pack up whatever you had in the hopes of a better life elsewhere. There were more things there than I could possibly hope to absorb in the time we spent. The staggering thing is to realize that more than one-third of Americans have a relative who passed through Ellis Island.
Since we were in New York, we took the opportunity to visit the Great White Way. After seeing the revival of Kiss Me Kate, we took a short walk down to Times Square to marvel at all the lights and energy that makes it what it is.
Today, we went to the recently-restored Grand Central Station. After that, we hiked over for the tour of the United Nations, sponsor of all the UNESCO sights we have been enjoying along our trip, and then to Rockefeller Center and a look inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Tonight we sampled New York pizza in the DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) section of Brooklyn.
Tomorrow, we board our ship bound for England. The trip is nearly complete.
May 18, 2001 (Day 72): Brooklyn, New York – 11.30pm
Morale: Good
Health: Recovering; feeling better. It did not impact my ability to do or see anything. I got a fairly good night’s sleep, which helps an incredible amount. Anna was up until around 3am talking with her uncle, so she is a bit sleepy.
Uncle Mark was our gracious guide for portions of the day. His interest in the architecture and history of the city are infectious. I do not purport to have more than a grain of understanding about the history of the city and the factors that made it what it is today. I am humbled trying to absorb all that I can see. Anna’s uncle is a treasury of information. An odd structural feature will indicate to him the period of time when the building was constructed and what its primary use was. This spurs a discussion about the neighborhood, whether that building was typical for its surroundings.
I hope that he realizes that I am a willing participant in this. This is the sort of stuff I enjoy learning. I know nothing about this area. My silence is not from boredom, it is the result of a frantic mental shuffling of cases of new information into meaningful collections.
We covered a lot of territory on foot today. We went to the recently remodeled Grand Central Terminal with Uncle Mark pointed out the nuances and details. He pointed out the uncleaned patch on the ceiling as a reminder of how much effort the renovation was. Its cavernous main concourse with marble floors and staircases was full of the excitement of people on the move. I had thought that we would arrive here by train, but it was at Penn Station. My second-favorite part was the acoustics of a particular arch where you could whisper into the corner and be heard by someone in the opposite corner. My favorite part was the market, with all of the fresh produce. Anna and I walked through and were almost out the doors when, almost in sync, we spun around for another look, and another breath. It was almost as though you could smell the color green. All road traffic bends around Grand Central.
Next on the tour was the Chrysler Building with its wonderful marble and steel lobby. The interior reminded me, pleasantly, of the Moscow subway especially with the murals and images of workers. The proletarian themes of industry and technology housed in an art deco cradle also had Muscovite hints. I understand why people say it can be easy to walk past it and not know where the entrance was. This is one of Anna’s mother’s most favorite places. I agree heartily.
But our tour of the Chrysler Building ended at the lobby. There we parted company with Anna’s family. We were off on our own.
Am happy to say that I have now made it to the United Nations. Happier still that, despite their extraterritoriality, they accept American Dollars. Did the tour. We were not expected to get into the Security Council because there was a meeting planned, but we were able to squeeze in for a few minutes before we had to leave to make way for the preparations. Much bigger than I imagined it from years of Model United Nations. Considering the UNESCO World Heritage trend of this trip, we were able to see the headquarters of the place that sponsors this list. They at least deserve honorable mention in this journal.
After a quick peek in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, another function in progress kept us out, we wandered to Rockefeller Center – home of the ice rink and the morning home of the pox of American culture, Katie Couric. Yes, the home of NBC. The NBC store was full of every odd item you could affix a corporate logo to. My favorite was the bottles of NBC branded water. How do you market that? “Much better than Fox?” I am sure somewhere in there was one of those globes made of marginally-precious stones we have encountered at every turn on this trip, this one with an NBC logo on it and perhaps images of the cast of Friends.
Secretary of Defense Colin Powell announces an additional $43 million in aid to Afghanistan, bringing the total U.S. contributions this year to $124 million. The previous year, the United States contributed $114 million in humanitarian aid to the Afghans.
US State Department
Dinner was pizza in the DUMBO area, as in “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass”. The pizza was good and the ambiance was exactly what I would have expected, down to the wall of fame where every fifth framed picture was of Sinatra.
The penultimate event was a walk, overlooking the river and with a fine view of the Manhattan skyline, lit up against the night sky. Found a convenient bench to rest and best appreciate the sight. Funny how dynamic these static buildings can be. They are not moving (one would hope so) yet still seem full of the energy that was spent constructing them. Perhaps it is their silence which is so compelling.
The final event of the night was packing along with a bit of laundry. Tomorrow morning, we board the QE2. The finish line is in sight.
Excerpts from Anna’s journal included
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