The Appeal of the Big Apple

I wrote this story 10 or more years ago. It’s about a trip I took in September 1993, five years before I even met Mark, my usual traveling partner. The final two paragraphs are recent additions.

“See those buildings? Those are the second and third tallest in the United States.” My brother Mike was giving me my first tour of New York City. He lived in Chester, NY an hour upstate.

We went to the top of one of the World Trade Towers and took in the hazy view of the city. Another tourist took our picture with my camera and the rest of New York in the background.

At the American Museum of Natural History we learned about Asian and African cultures before we broke for lunch at an Indian deli. Mike had a veggie burger in a pita while I had curry chicken with brown rice and yaal, an Indian vegetable.

Having only half-filled our daily knowledge quotient, we went back to the museum. Rodents, mammals and bears. Aquatic life and the evolution of humankind. The museum was the most complete of any I’d ever been in. We ended with a movie about the rain forest.

In horrific 4 p.m. traffic we drove to Little China where Mike bought two silk scarves for my sister-in-law and we ate dinner.

We have good Chinese food around here, but I figured Little China would have better. Mike had a seafood “nest” with shrimp, scallops, two types of squid and conch. I had sautéed, sliced conch with snow peas and carrots. The conch, which I’d never eaten before, tasted mild but was tough; it was like chewing rubber. Both types of squid were chewy too but tasted different, between fish and lobster. I didn’t like the squid.

We got rid of the bad taste by stopping at Hagen Daas for ice cream before the Broadway show at 8 p.m.—Miss Saigon.

Reservations we didn’t have, and finding parking proved difficult. So, at 7:55 p.m., a block away from the box office I bounded from the car and ran to get tickets. On that Friday night, minutes before show time, the two remaining seats were not near one another. One was $50 and the other $65.

Running, Mike rounded the corner at 8:03 p.m., and I gave him the news. We decided to forego the play, walk around Broadway and experience the Big Apple.

Mike passed a homeless woman who managed to pique my interest: she wasn’t asking for money but wanted to tell me a joke. I couldn’t pass that up. Though I don’t remember the joke, I know I laughed. She then asked for money, and I couldn’t refuse.

I caught up with Mike, and, after some New York cheesecake, we found the car.

The homeless woman notwithstanding, I saw fewer weirdos and crazy fashions than I expected. The most memorable thing was the traffic: impatient drivers who over-honk.

That was then.

Today the towers are an obvious nonpresence, but the appeal of the City is as strong as ever. The American Museum of Natural History is still the best. Little China is still thriving. (A friend from college who lives in Brooklyn says it’s about to overtake Little Italy.) Indian and Chinese restaurants still abound. And traffic is still bad.

If you are looking for a place to visit not too far from home, don’t’ let events from 9/11 scar your perception of “The City that Never Sleeps.” New York City has something to interest anyone.