Archive for December, 2007
26 items.
Empire State Building Obscured by Clouds, 2007
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View of the Empire State Building
So at around 12:30 to 1:00 am, the first night there, I’m lying in bed looking up at the Empire State Building, right outside the window, and here comes this plane and buzzes the top of the Empire State Building, then does a U-turn and flies out of sight again.
I didn’t know people were allowed to do that.
Marty happened to be awake and saw it as well.
When I’d heard how high up we’d be staying, I wasn’t thrilled. But it turned out not to be unnerving…once I got used to the fact you could open the windows four inches.
I wondered how many high rise windows have seen engagement and wedding rings fly out them at the height of arguments.
What was wild to me was that here we were over forty floors up and yet we could clearly hear people talking on the street below.
(Originally published 12/31/2007)
Ali’s Kabab Cafe, Astoria, New York
2007 Dec 26, Lunch at the New York Metro Museum of Art
What we did for Christmas. We hit the museums in New York.
Ali’s Kabab Cafe, Astoria, New York, 2007 December
We ate at Ali’s Kabab Cafe in Astoria on our last night in New York, a tiny place that consists of a kitchen squashed in with a few tables. Marty’s brother, Rob, a frequent patron, has raved about it to us for years. And for good reason. Ali’s made me love food again.
Below is a Bourdain and Zimmern video on it at Youtube.
We walked blocks through sleet and rain to Kabab. And emerged hours later, happy and satisfied with life.
(Originally published 12/27/2007)
Christmas in New York with H.o.p.
2007
Santa’s Peek Show, 2007 December, Macy’s, New York
Old Mutual, New York, 2007
One of Santa’s Not-a-Peek-Show Elves, 2007 December, Macy’s, New York
Damn, what a brave soul.
For those who didn’t have the time to stand in the regular visit Santa Land line, there was the peek show version in which one was run past a window through which could briefly be ogled the merry guy in red.
“Just a peek! Just a peek!” the Peek Show Elves reprimanded any who dared linger longer than a microsecond.
Santa’s Peek Show Elves, 2007 December, Macy’s, New York
The costume designer for the elves didn’t make me feel all Christmas cheery. I instead felt sad.
Macy’s at Herald Square, the Saturday before Christmas, is a wild, wild place. It wasn’t my idea to be there but I was game and ready for a good time. Men in suits stood outside the elevators packing the people in but we should not call them elevator stuffers as they kept admonishing, “Don’t shove, don’t push.” As if any of us had room to shove or push. When our elevator appeared to drop from the 6th floor to the 4th (wham!) people around me screamed, but I did not, because I was game for a good time and as far as I was concerned it was just all part of the fun. The elevator sat there in nowhere land for a little while, wondering what it was going to do next, and a couple of individuals discussed when it would be appropriate to panic, but I did not panic, because I was game for a good time and this was part of the fun. Still, when the elevator did rev up and rise again and open its doors,as most everyone else poured off saying they would instead take the escalator to Santa Land, and as my mother-in-law and thus Marty and son were two of those who went, I too got off, though unconvinced the thrilling ride wasn’t a standard part of the Macy’s Christmas experience.
To tell you the truth, I don’t remember a thing about Santa Land, other than the expressions on the faces of the elves.
(Originally published 12/29/2007)
Big Apple Circus, Hula Hoop Performer, 2007
