Photo of the day: NEW YORK’S TRASH HAS MAD MEN STYLE
East Village, New York, summer 2013
Photo of the day: NEW YORK’S TRASH GOT MAD MEN STYLE – In New York City our people certainly have style, our pets have style, our apartments have style, our restaurants have style, our clubs have style, our paper coffee cups have style, some of our subways have style, our graffiti has style, our billboards have style, The New York Times has style, our stores have plenty of style, our yellow cabs have style, our theaters have style, our street people have a certain style and even our trash . . . has Mad Men style!
Photo of the day: ONLY IN NEW YORK – Grocery shopping by cab!
Photo of the day: ONLY IN NEW YORK – do you see a woman going to the upscale trendy Trader Joe’s supermarket on Sixth Avenue in the Chelsea neighborhood to do her grocery shopping, then only to hail a cab to take her groceries home, therefore doubling her bill. In Queens and Brooklyn the ladies have shopping carts, in Manhattan – they have cabs…only in New York 
Mondays on Memory Lane: THE STORY OF THE MIRACULOUS TRAVELING CHAIRS !
1961, my 6th Birthday party
Mondays on Memory Lane: THE STORY OF THE MIRACULOUS TRAVELING CHAIRS
How we found our missing chairs after 20 years!
New Years Eve 1992 with grandmother aka “Oma”
In the summer of 1960 my family, consisting of my mother Ursula, her mother Amalie and me, had moved across the street from a furnished walk up apartment to a brand new sprawling modern apartment building on Woodhaven Blvd named The Imperial. The lobby of the building looked like George Jetson’s living room, furnished in very high 1960’s modern style, it was wonderful, but there was more furniture in the lobby than there was in our apartment! Having come from a furnished apartment, we didn’t have much to move in with. Mom was a single parent secretary with impeccable skills who supported her family all by herself. Coming from a proper German family she had been taught you only buy what you can afford. Now that mom had arrived in America, her co-workers convinced Ursula that buying things “on time” was the all American way!
Bloomingdales 1959 American Design Foundation furniture ad
With that in mind, since we needed a dining room set first, mom would look in the stores after work. Ursula’s finer taste led her to Bloomingdale’s, which in those days had an elaborate furniture department. There on the upper floor were the latest of modern designs, and this being 1960, the style was of course Danish Modern. Mom tells me it was “love at first sight” when she was instantly drawn to a display island in the middle of the floor, roped off by velvet ropes, showing a complete dining set designed in 1959 by Kipp Stewart and Stewart MacDougal for the American Design Foundation for the Winchendon Furniture Company.
Six chairs, dinning table with extender leaves, end table and china cabinet. Solid cherry wood with black leather upholstery. “It was exactly my taste!” mom tells me. Although she does not recall the price, she does recall it was “terribly expensive” but fate had intervened – it was on sale! Even with this good fortune, it was still out of her budget range. “Why not buy it on time?” familiarly chimed the sales clerk. Sold! It was delivered soon afterwards.
For 53 years our family history has revolved around that set. It has been photographed for every special occasion, every birthday, every holiday, it has truly been the center of our lives. But, lives change. Situations change. So, in 1993 we left New York for Tucson, Arizona believing in the theory that ’the grass is always greener on the other side.’ We hired Mayflower movers who specializes in cross-country moves. We were one of about four families on board the huge, huge truck having their things moved out west. Ursula supervised the movers with an eagle eye, especially her beloved dining room chairs. Since the chairs are so light, it was decided they would be placed at the very, very top of our piled section so as not to dent or crush them. Once we got to Arizona we stayed in a furnished motel first, till we could find the house of our dreams. When the Mayflower movers finally arrived a week after our arrival, our furniture was placed in storage. We first settled on a rental house with option to buy (which we didn’t) and had our furniture packed up again and delivered to our new ‘temporary’ home. As the truck arrived, we watched as the doors opened. There perched at the top were their treasured chairs. One, two, three, four came off the truck. “Where are the other two?” mom asked with great concern. “Don’t worry lady, they’re there,” the movers assured her. They were not.
Tucson Thanksgiving 1994
We filed claims with Mayflower movers, they gave us the run around with excuses as to where they could be. The stop before us in the mid west, the stop after us in California, somewhere. Surely we thought, surely someone would be decent enough to say, ‘hey, we have two chairs that don’t belong to us.’ No one ever did. We believe that since the partition dividing each families furniture was not completely from floor to ceiling on the truck, the chairs must have toppled over into another families things and were never reported, too much of an inconvenience to some one else.
In time, Ursula finally found the house of her dreams on East Hawk Place at the foot of Mount Lemon. Once again the movers were called. By the year 1999 I realized I was the quintessential New Yorker, miserable in Tucson, and in January 2000 moved back to NYC. One year later my mother to move ‘closer’ to me decided to move to Ft. Meyers Beach, Florida. So the movers (not Mayflower!) were called yet again. Mom’s first house kept getting flooded by the hurricanes so she moved yet again to one final house in Ft. Meyers Beach, until three hurricanes descended onto the Florida Gulf within three months. The one thing mom was determined to save each time was her beloved dining room set and she perched it up onto other furniture, thereby saving it from all the floods. Three hurricanes being too much, mom finally moved back to NYC! For each and every one of the seven moves Ursula’s beloved dining room set has survived – except for the two chairs. Now in 2013 she is firmly ensconced around the corner from me in Sunnyside, Queens. But in all the years since 1993, whenever we have a special occasion at the dinner table, it is only a matter of time till mom will say, “you know, we had six of these chairs!”
On July 18 this year, in the midst of New York’s scorching 100F degree heat wave, I volunteered to go to mom’s holistic pet shop, located on 9th Street in the east village section of Manhattan. Now fate begins to intervene. I have gone to this shop many times before. The subway stop is 8th Street. Oddly enough, I automatically got off at 14th Street. So by foot I headed south. Instead of turning onto East 9th Street, for some unknown reason I turned onto East 12th Street. As I headed down the street, I was drawn into the wonderful The Cure Thrift Shop where proceeds go to the diabetes foundation. The lure of cool air and wonderful things pulled me in. I kept walking as if pulled to the back of the store. Then, when just about 6 feet from the back, my eyes saw – our dining room chairs, exactly two of them! ! It was an absolute surreal moment. Was I seeing right? This couldn’t be. In my days, I have been to every last thrift shop, antique store, garage sale, estate sale, street fair and flea market in New York, upstate, New England, Arizona and Florida – I have never ever seen any part of our dining room set – and here they were…the two of them, as if hey were waiting for me. I was almost afraid to touch them to only then discover the mirage wasn’t real – they were real, priced at $500 for the pair. “Do you know anything about these chairs” I carefully asked?
Stewart-MacDougal Chair in CURE Thrift Shop
CURE Thrift Shop 111 East 12th Street
Chair in the #4 subway
Hans’ private seating
I was told by a very delightful girl named Ali that they were donated by a woman who had had them for “many years.” My hand started going for my cell phone as I tried to walk calmly out of the store. I rushed across the street and speed dialed mom, “You’re not going to believe this, but I found your chairs!” Mom insisted I was clouded with romantic notions and that it just could not be. Maybe the back is different, different legs, different wood or seat, it just couldn’t be, not after 20 years! “No mom…it’s them!“ We agreed that fate had intervened and that despite the fact this was certainly not planned for in our budget, if these were truly, truly the chairs, I had to buy them! I recognized the nicks and dents we had accidentally put in them over the years – these were undeniably OUR chairs! Unbelievable! I offered Ali $400 which she warmly accepted. I told Ali the entire story as we both got the Twilight Zone chills and teared up and hugged. I rushed home to show mom the photos I had taken of ‘her’ chairs. “It’s them” she exclaimed, as she just kept staring at the photo in the camera.
The very next day I planned to take the chairs to mom’s apartment, one by one on the subway. Liz the manager greeted me only to reveal that she herself had been the past owner of the infamous chairs for just a few years, before that they had been found in a second hand furniture store. Liz herself reupholstered the seats in white vinyl and insisted the original seats are still underneath, which they are. I thanked her profusely and gingerly carried the first chair to go home to mom.
Ursula and her chairs – 20 years later!
Now in New York City, you see all characters carry all sorts of odd things on the subway. The subway doors opened, I placed my chair in the corner and sat down. I got all the required bemused looks. “You Won’t believe the story behind this chair!” I exclaimed, I just couldn’t hold my excitement back as I told a young surprised design student the story. My stop arrived, I rushed to her apartment building and got into the elevator as quickly as possible. Ursula was waiting at the door, “Oh my god, it really IS the chair”, mom just looked at me and then the chair and then me, then the chair…We went into the living room and I placed the first of the missing two chairs, next to it’s mates. After twenty long years they were together again! But wait – I had to go back to the city and do the whole trip over again with chair number two! I headed out the door, heady with excitement and rushed to get missing chair #2. After several hours on July 19, twenty years later, I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but our historic beloved chairs were together again, the dining room set was just as it was on that day in Bloomingdales when that sales person said to Ursula: “Why don’t you just buy them on time?” !
AMERICAN FURNITURE FOUNDATION MEDALLION
AMERICAN DESIGN FOUNDATION 1959 STEWART-MacDOUGAL DINING SET TODAY
WINCHENDON FURNITURE COMPANY CHINA CABINET
STEWART-MacDOUGAL WINCHENDON DINING CHAIRS
THE CURE THRIFT SHOP benefiting The Diabetes Foundation
111 East 12th Street, open daily 11:00 – 8:00
212-505-SHOP
PS: Bizarrely enough, a few days later, TCM (Ted Turner Movie) channel showed the 1970 Mel Brooks comedy film “The Twelve Chairs” for the very first time on their channel.
Sunday July 28th, I actually found the original Bloomingdale’s ad for the chairs on the internet. Life is surreal.
Photo of the day: TWIN TOWERS 2013
High rise and Verbascum Thapsus (Great or Common Mullein).
Photo of the day: TWIN TOWERS 2013 – The iconic twin towers of The World Trade Center are gone. But today in this era of overbuilding in New York City, if you look closely and use your imagination, there are still some ‘twin towers’ to be seen . . . some more beautiful than others.
Photo of the day: STYLISH BAD ASS BIKER GRANNY
Photo of the day: STYLISH BAD ASS BIKER GRANNY – I don’t which caught my eye first? The overalls? Wearing sandals on a motorcycle? The ‘big’ bag? The ultra cool vintage colored Vespa bike? The matte black bubble helmet? Being in the middle of treacherous NYC taxi traffic? The determined look? Or the fact that she is probably somebody’s really cool grandmother! God I love New York! GO GIRL !
Photo of the day: WALKING THE WILD UNTAMED HIGH LINE
Photo of the day: WALKING THE WILD UNTAMED HIGH LINE – One of the most sold out tickets in New York City are the limited “art walks” offered by The High Line on the undeveloped portion. The landscaped and preserved portion of The High Line is the worlds only elevated park situated on an old rail line built in 1934, the developed portion many of my guests have walked with me from Gansevoort Street to West 28th Street. The undeveloped portion stretching to 34th Street’s Hudson rail yards has an art installation on it by sculptor Carol Bove. Frankly most of the ‘art’ is utter nonsense on the level of ‘the emperor is wearing no clothes’, but – – you get to walk on the untouched rusty overgrown part of the rail line and see a view that will not last. Unfortunately is was very overcast and threatening to rain but the experience was absolutely breathtaking! Here is a sneak peek. More to follow!
Photo of the day: TRASH AND VAUDEVILLE STILL HAVEN’T GONE OUT OF STYLE !
Photo of the day: TRASH AND VAUDEVILLE STILL HAVEN’T GONE OUT OF STYLE ! – I have been going to Greenwich Village since the early 1960’s. I remember the evolution from beatniks, to modsters, to hippies, to gay culture invasion, to 70’s disco babes, to the Rocky Horror scene, to punk rockers – pins and needles everywhere and then….it all died off with the gentrification of the area after the AIDS crisis. The east and west village have become, for the most part soul-less. The funky shops, store fronts, building, and people are mostly gone. The west village centered around Christopher Street has lost it’s soul long ago, it’s just a tourist curiosity abounding with Polo, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors and damned GAP stores every few blocks. The east village was home to the thriving punk rock scene has become a sterile college campus for the universities. CBGB’s punk rock club’s closing in 2005 was one of the major nails in the coffin. Since Mayor Bloomberg’s greedy empire has taken over with the zealous assistance of council’woman’ Christine Quinn, there is not much left. One of the remaining treasures is a little stretch of East 8th Street between Third and Second Avenues where some of the old time stores are still hanging on. The whole street, for the most part, still has that funky, grungy feel with wonderful stores like the comic book store and of course TRASH AND VAUDEVILLE. They have been there since 1975 and is still going strong!
Long time employee Jimmy (left) with fellow employee
The photo avbove of Ray Goodman shows the old ‘St. Marks Hotel’ mural behind him, that used to be the notorious gay baths (originally Turkish steam baths) ‘The St.Marks Baths’ which was closed down by the city in December of 1985. T+V was making ‘kinky boots’ long before the film or Broadway musical even existed. Here is their history from their own web site: “Born out of the 1970’s rock and punk scene on St. Marks Place in New York City, Trash and Vaudeville has always provided a wide variety of alternative fashion for Rockers, Mods, Punks, Goths, Rockabillies, and everyday working class heroes who just wanted to walk and dress on the wild side.
Trash and Vaudeville was founded by Ray Goodman in June of 1975. Ray discovered St. Marks Place at the age of 13, and never left. He was immediately attracted to the incredible energy that surged throughout the block. Whatever the scene was – Beatniks – Hippies – Glam – Punk – it was all going down on St. Marks Place.
Ray spent most of his free time on St. Marks Place. There was the Electric Circus, the Fillmore East, and CBGBs, all within a few blocks of the area. Some of the greatest Rock n’ Roll Meccas all right there. Ray’s love for Rock music inspired him to open a clothing store that would be entirely influenced by Rock n’ Roll.
Right away Trash and Vaudeville attracted musicians and bands looking to dress in a style that embraced their individuality and creativity. St. Marks Place has always been a gathering place for the ‘cool’, with an energy that still flows today.
The store has been in its original location since opening. The list of artists, musicians, actors, street dwellers, teenage rebels, and people from all over who have shopped at the store goes on and on.”
Trash and Vaudeville was founded by Ray Goodman in June of 1975. Ray discovered St. Marks Place at the age of 13, and never left. He was immediately attracted to the incredible energy that surged throughout the block. Whatever the scene was – Beatniks – Hippies – Glam – Punk – it was all going down on St. Marks Place.
Ray spent most of his free time on St. Marks Place. There was the Electric Circus, the Fillmore East, and CBGBs, all within a few blocks of the area. Some of the greatest Rock n’ Roll Meccas all right there. Ray’s love for Rock music inspired him to open a clothing store that would be entirely influenced by Rock n’ Roll.
Right away Trash and Vaudeville attracted musicians and bands looking to dress in a style that embraced their individuality and creativity. St. Marks Place has always been a gathering place for the ‘cool’, with an energy that still flows today.
The store has been in its original location since opening. The list of artists, musicians, actors, street dwellers, teenage rebels, and people from all over who have shopped at the store goes on and on.”
Photo of the day: AN UNEXPECTED DAY AT CONEY ISLAND FOR CHARLIE
Photo of the day: AN UNEXPECTED DAY AT THE BEACH FOR CHARLIE – Weather forecasters predicted rainy downpours for Tuesday, hardly a day to go to the beach. But Charlie insisted mom take him anyway since by 11am it still had not rained the and sun was peering through the clouds. “Can we just go on the boardwalk, they’ll be no wet sand there?!” Mom gave in and they headed off to the Coney Island. By the time they got there by noon the sun was high in the sky with no sign of rain and the warm sand was beckoning Charlie – ‘come play with me…’
Coney Island boardwalk
There is a magic to going to Coney on a day when everyone else didn’t think it was the day to go – you have it alllllll to yourself. You can see waaay down the boardwalk with no crowds to obstruct your view of the end.
Nathans
Hans Von Rittern (me) taking a bite out of Coney !
No long impatient waiting on line for mom to buy you that hot dog and soft fries at Nathans – just walk right up and smell that griddle! The amusement park is open just for you alone. All the rides are calling ‘ride me first!’ The thrill of running around the rides trying to decide ‘which one first?’ Then hoping on and having the flying elephants and rockets all to yourself to command. Yippee !
Coney Island flying elephants
Coney Island rockets
But the sand, that wonderful stretch of sand, beckoned Charlie, “please can I play in the sand?!” Reluctant to sit in the hot sand because of Charlie’s fair skin, mom remembered she had brought her blue rain umbrella ‘just in case.’ Mom smiled approvingly. Charlie pulled his mom to that special spot he had picked out. It was just them and no one else! There was that special feeling the beach was his and no one else’s. Charlie had brought his favorite dump truck to play with and settled in. Mom opened the ‘just in case rain umbrella’ and let Charlie conquer the beach.
Alone with dad at Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel
Mondays on Memory Lane: EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN, REMEMBERING 1970’S SHOE STORES
Mondays on Memory Lane: EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN, REMEMBERING 1970’s SHOE STORES – Just as the young women of today are teetering on their nine inch platforms, the exact same shoes were the rage in the early to mid 1970’s. In the disco era it wasn’t only women teetering about, it was men also. I was about six inches taller in those disco days.
There were many “cool” in vogue streets to buy your shoes in those days. One was, believe it or not, today’s staid East 59th Street between Third and Second Avenues, right behind Bloomingdale’s. Right around the corner on 58th Street and Lexington Avenue was Arrowsmith Shoes (advertised in the above 1975 ad). The other of course was West Eighth Street – shoe mecca.
The coolest pair I ever bought, which I am missing and lamenting to this day that I didn’t keep, were bought at 227 East 59th Street in a store called “Jumping Jack Flash” they specialized in ‘Galm Wear’ glitter suits, outrageous platform shoes and accessories. I afforded myself one $75 (or about $100) pair there – they were navy blue with wooden platform and heel. On each toe was a silver leather star and on the outer side of each shoe was a silver shooting star. I wore those shoes to every “in” event till the shoes finally fell apart. I also had 3″ high buffalo sandals, rubber wedgies, black velvet Herman Munster-like ‘evening’ shoes I would wear to formal events to the consternation of my mother.
1974 Off to London wearing my Jumping Jacket Flash shoes (covered by the bell bottoms.)
West Eighth Street in Greenwich Village was shoe mecca. Literally one shoe store after another, 3 blocks of wedgies, heels and platforms, not to forget outrageous boots. It was a common thing to spend your night in “shoe alley.” You got dressed as funky as you could and would start at Sixth Avenue and walk up one side of the street, in and out of every single shoe store, upstairs and downstairs, admiring the hip disco funky clothes, jewelry and wide belts. Passing legendary Electric Lady Recording Studios, the head shops and the 8th Street Playhouse, then a revival movie house soon to become famous for showing “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” You stayed the longest in the stores which had the best disco music blaring. The shoes were made of every material possible: wet look vinyl, leather, plastic, wood, cloth – you name it. Then when you reached Broadway you would cross the street and peruse every single store on your way back down the street, finishing with grabbing a hot dog at Gray’s Papaya at Sixth Avenue and then head onto Christopher Street to join the evenings ‘parade’. God I miss those days! It’s all gone now. The shoe styles have returned but the fun of the era is but a memory. Both streets have lost their flavor and soul. East 59th Street is now mainly cabinet shops and furniture stores. On West Eighth Street, one third of the stores are empty due to Mayor Bloomberg/Councilwoman Quinn and landlord greed.
Empty West 8th Street 2013, Greenwich Village
But – I have one outrageous pair left! (See top left main photo). They were even a bit too outrageous for the times then, so I didn’t wear them as much, and so they have survived. Aqua marine perforated leather, with orange leather lace-up, brown heel and toe and clunky wooden platform and heel. My treasured memento of dancing a little happier, knowing how to balance myself as I walked and being always at least three inches taller.
Photo of the day: A NOD AND THUMBS UP FROM JAY-Z AND SYBRINA MARTIN-FULTON!
Jahvaris Martin listening to his mother
Photo of the day: A NOD AND THUMBS UP FROM JAY-Z AND SYBRINA MARTIN-FULTON! – It was an incredible impassioned day for me Saturday at the New York rally for Trayvon Martin. The night before I made a sign which read “#B37 BULLIED THE JURY” (see my previous blog) to hold up at the rally for all to see. I got there two hours early, at 10am and met so many passionate people, angry, sad, determined to do something. All colors, all genders, all ethnicities, all ages = America. I stood my ground at the front of barricades where the press was starting to gather. TV crews and newspapers from around the world – and me. One indignant reporter who came at 11:30 argued she should have my spot since she was “press”. I told her “if you’re so ‘press’, you would have gotten here earlier, you snooze – you loose.” I stood my ground with one other young lady from New Jersey.
Hans Von Rittern (me) at rally with my sign
The crowd around me
The Trayvon rally NYC press
As the rally was starting, a surprise visit was made as Beyoncé and Jay-Z suddenly appeared from the background and stood silently nearby along a wall. Rev. Al Sharption introduced the powercouple as “one of the most badass muscians around!” “They are not here for a photo op, they are here as parents,” Rev. Al Sharpton said to a huge round of cheers and applause. “Jay Z told me, ‘I’m a father. Beyoncé is a mother.’ We all feel the pain and apprehension — the law must protect everybody, or it doesn’t protect anybody,” Sharpton said. “We do not come from hate, we come from love of children.” Protestors chanted at Beyoncé “No concerts in Florida!”
Being in the front row I had three goals: for my sign to be seen by the Trayvon family and supporters, to see Sybrina Martin-Fulton up close and of course to take great pictures. I got luckier than I could have imagined.
Beyonce & Jay-Z read my sign seconds before he gave me the thumbs up!
Beyonce meets Sybrina Fulton
Beyonce staying in the background to listen
Beyonce wipes a tear listening to Sybrina Fulton
Since I was front row, I held my sign with my left hand and my camera in my right hand. As Beyoncé and Jay-Z arrived, they looked into the crowd but fixed their eyes on me and my sign. There they were looking at me smiling, and just as I was taking their picture – Jay-Z read the sign and gave me a thumbs up! A thumbs up from Jay-Z! OMG ! I was so stunned I didn’t click the camera to get the shot, the photo you see here is seconds before he acknowledged me.
The Martin Family arrives
The Martin family arrived, Sybrina Martin-Fulton and her surviving son Jahvaris Martin. They were joined by Judge Greg Mathis, congressman Charles Rangel, Fulton’s attorney Benjamin Crump and Rev Michael A. Walrond Jr. of Harlem’s First Corinthian Baptist Church who implored the crowd to keep fighting long after the rally ended.
JAY-Z’S REACTION TO SHARPTON’S “BADASS”
When Sybrina came onto the stage she seemed overwhelmed by the thousands that had braved the oppressive heat to stand ‘their’ ground. As she stood there for a few moments she scanned the front row of mostly reporters and saw me and my sign. She looked at it, look into my eyes and gave me a discrete nod, it was an intense moment for me, I quickly gave her the thumbs up and love hand signal and she smiled at me. To be acknowledged by this gracious strong woman out of all the nearby people was an experience that moved me to tears. The photo here is of her looking at my sign. When she finally spoke, I lost it and just cried (as many did). It was a touching moment to see a grieving mother maintain such dignity and grace. What was most powerful to me was how she firmly held onto her surviving son’s hand for support throughout most of the rally.
SYBRINA FULTON ACKNOWLDEGES MY SIGN
Sybrina and Jahvaris hold hands tightly
Attorney Crump, Jahvaris Martin, Sybrina Fulton, Rev. Al Sharpton
Sybrina Fulton thanked the crowd profusely with a shaking voice as her eyes teared up. “Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart, I will not disappoint you.” “Trayvon is not here to speak for himself,” Sybrina Fulton began. “Trayvon was no burglar,” Sybrina said. “George Zimmerman started the fight, and George Zimmerman ended the fight.” She was refusing to be lost in her own hurt and she urged others not to allow themselves to give way to anger. She said she wanted their voices to be heard, but to be effective they had to stay true to what has been her unwavering approach amidst the outrage. “Peaceful.” She said rather than railing, she and those working with her will be planning, carefully divining the most effective course. “I feel nobody is hurting more than me and my family,” she said. “So please, follow us. Let us lead you.” Her goal was clear: “So we change some of these laws.” “My son died without knowing who killed him. He died without knowing who his murderer was.”
Sybrina Martin Fulton New York City 7-20-2103
Sybrina Fulton and attorney Crump
Speakers at New York Trayon rally
The rally began and ended in all joining hands in prayer. I took so many photos and have so little time to edit them all thoroughly, but here are a few to capture to moment. Afterwards it was like a large peace rally, all displaying their signs and messages. Many of those I will blog about in days to come.
“THIS HOODIE SHOULD NOT KILL ME”
Photo of the day: BEYONCE AND JAY-Z SHOW SUPPORT FOR TRAYVON MARTIN
New York City, July 20, 2013
Photo of the day: BEYONCE AND JAY-Z SHOW SUPPORT FOR TRAYVON MARTIN – Surprise guests at the New York City rally for Trayvon Martin were power couple Beyonce and Jay-Z. They were not there for the publicity and simply stayed in the background. Rev. Al Sharpton said “they are not here for a photo op, they are here as parents to show their support.” The crowd went wild. I was lucky enough to be front row and got some of the few photos that were to be had.
Photo of the day: NOT GUILTY?! – RALLY FOR TRAYVON MARTIN TODAY AT YOUR LOCAL FEDERAL HALL!
New York City subway
Photo of the day:
NOT GUILTY?!
– Join the millions of Americans across the country today Saturday July 20, in front of your local Federal Building to show your support of the grave injustice of the murder of Trayvon Martin.
The “stand your ground law” is a red neck excuse for murder, this is not the era of Tombstone, Arizona of shoot first – ask questions later.
Join the civilized other Americans to show your love, outrage, peaceful support and brotherhood of this boy’s lost life.
Trayvon mother Sybrina Fulton will be at the New York rally – so will I !
Link to all the planned USA rallies: http://www.mhoodies.org/national_day_of_action_in_100_cities
TRAYVON’S PARENTS WILL BE IN NEW YORK CITY – http://nationalactionnetwork.net/press/the-mother-father-of-trayvon-martin-to-join-rev-al-sharpton-national-action-network-nan-for-the-100-city-%E2%80%9Cjustice-for-trayvon%E2%80%9D-vigils-in-front-of-federal-buildings-on-Saturday/
Rev. Al Sharpton, President of National Action Network (NYC vigil)
Sybrina Fulton, Mother of Trayvon Martin (Sybrina Fulton will attend NAN’s pre-vigil rally and weekly live radio broadcast before attending the Noon NYC vigil)
Tracy Martin, Father of Trayvon Martin (Miami vigil)
Martin Luther King, III (Atlanta vigil)
& Hundreds of civil rights activists, elected officials, & community leaders
WHAT:
100-City “Justice for Trayvon” vigils
WHEN:
SATURDAY, JULY 20, 2013 –
10:00 a.m.
Rev. Al Sharpton will deliver pre-vigil remarks at NAN’s weekly live radio broadcast and action rally. Sybrina Fulton will be in attendance
106 West 145th Street (at Malcolm X Blvd)
12:00 Noon EST
NEW YORK CITY
Federal Offices
1 Saint Andrews Plaza (Right next to 1 Police Plaza)
Sybrina and Jahvaris Fulton, Judge Greg Mathis, Kadiatou Diallo, Shianne Norman & others will
join Rev. Al Sharpton at this location
MIAMI, FLORIDA
Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. United States Courthouse
400 North Miami Avenue
Miami, FL 33128
Tracy Martin will join NAN’s Southeast Regional Chairman at this location
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
Martin Luther King, III will join NAN at this location
Richard B. Russell Federal Building
75 Spring St. SW
Atlanta, GA 30303
Photo of the day: LEFT OUT TO FRY – NYC HEATWAVE, day 5
Washington Square Park
Photo of the day: LEFT OUT TO FRY – Your flip flops are sticking to the tar in the streets, your ice cream cone drips down your arm the moment you reach for it, your underwear is wet and you haven’t been swimming, the back of your neck “is feeling dirty and gritty”, walking more than three blocks you start to feel faint, every metal object in the city is hot to the touch, you dread the thought of going down to that lower level subway, what can I sacrifice to pay that higher electric bill this month?, I wonder if the Twilight Zone’s “Midnight Sun” episode is on METV tonight?, you’re on your fourth ice cold $1.00 water bottle, all of a sudden carrying an umbrella doesn’t seem so old Asian lady dorky-like, your sun screen just melts right off your arms…, what idiot goes jogging in this polluted heat?, you find yourself listening for the Mr. Softee truck music (which you loathe), oh hell – I’m taking my shirt off…why didn’t I exercise more?, will Mayor Bloomberg arrest me if I jump in that fountain?? Here I go . . . !
“WHEN will this heatwave end?!?!” (Twilight Zone ‘Midnight Sun’ episode.)
Photo of the day: FOURTH DAY OF NEW YORK CITY’S HEATWAVE
Photo of the day: FOURTH DAY OF NEW YORK CITY’S HEAT WAVE – take off your shoes, take off your socks, take off your shirt, your top and your hat and jump into the nearest open public fountain or sprinkler capped fire hydrant. Temperatures have soared from the low nineties to today’s expected high of 98 degrees! Oh hell, just take it all off and jump in !
Stay cool all
“Chicago”/Zimmerman-Omara song of the day: “WE BOTH REACHED FOR THE GUN!”
“WE BOTH REACHED FOR THE GUN”
(Altered just slightly to fit the Trayvon Martin/Zimmerman case. Frightening how almost identical the two scenarios are. )
[REPORTERS]
Where’d you come from?
[OMARA (as George)]
Virginia
[REPORTERS]
And your parents?
[OMARA (as George)]
Middle class.
[REPORTERS]
Where are they now?
(OMARA (as George)]
Sanford, Florida.
[MARK OMARA]
But he was granted one more start
[OMARA (as George)]
Attending catholic school!
[REPORTERS]
When’d you get here?
[OMARA (as George)]
2003
[REPORTERS]
How old were you?
[OMARA (as George)]
Don’t remember
[REPORTERS]
Then what happened?
[OMARA (as George)]
I joined the neighborhood watch,
Convinced I would be a cop one day
[PRESS (spoken)]
A catholic boy! A cop wannabe!
oh, it’s too terrible. You poor, poor dear.
[REPORTERS]
Who’s Trayvon Martin?
[OMARA (as George)]
An unknown boy.
[REPORTERS]
Why’d you shoot him?
[OMARA (as George)]
I was suspicious.
[REPORTERS]
Was he angry?
[OMARA (as George)]
Like a madman
Still I said, “Trayvon, move along.”
[OMARA]
George knew that he was doin’ wrong.
[REPORTERS]
Then describe it.
[OMARA (as George)]
He came toward me.
[REPORTERS]
With a pistol?
[OMARA (as George)]
From my waistband.
[REPORTERS]
Did you fight him?
[OMARA (as George)]
Like a tiger.
[MARK OMARA]
Trayvon had strength and George had none.
[OMARA (as George)]
And yet we both reached for the gun
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes we both
Oh yes we both
Oh yes, we both reached for
The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun
Oh yes, we both reached for the gun
For the gun.
[OMARA AND REPORTERS]
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes they both
Oh yes, they both
Oh yes, they both reached for
The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun,
Oh yes, they both reached for the gun
For the gun.
[OMARA]
Understandable. understandable
Yes, it’s perfectly understandable
Defensible. Defensible
Not a bit reprehensible
It’s so defensible!
[REPORTERS]
How’re you feeling?
[OMARA (as George)]
Very frightened
[REPORTERS]
Are you sorry?
[GEORGE]
Are you kidding?
[REPORTERS]
What’s you’re statement?
[OMARA (as George)]
All I’d say is
Though my choo-choo jumped the track
I’d give my life to bring him back
[REPORTERS]
And?
[OMARA (as George)]
Stay away from
[REPORTERS]
What?
[OMARA (as George)]
Guns and skittles
[REPORTERS]
And?
[OMARA (as George)]
And the boys who
[REPORTERS]
What?
[OMARA (as George)]
Wear a hoodie who run
[REPORTERS]
And what?
[OMARA (as George)]
That’s the thought that
[REPORTERS]
Yeah?…
[OMARA (as George)]
Came upon me
[REPORTERS]
When?
[OMARA (as George)]
When we both reached for the gun!
[FLORIDA PRESS]
Understandable, understandable
[OMARA AND FLORIDA PRESS]
Yes, it’s perfectly understandable
Comprehensible, comprehensible
Not a bit reprehensible
It’s soooo defensible!
[OMARA (spoken)]
Let me
Hear it!
[REPORTERS]
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, they both
Oh yes, they both
Oh yes, they both reached for
The gun, the gun, the gun,
The gun
Oh yes, they both reached
For the gun
[OMARA (spoken)]
A little louder!
[REPORTERS]
For the Gun.
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, they both
Oh yes, they both
Oh yes, they both reached
For the gun, the gun,
[OMARA (spoken)]
Now you got it!
[REPORTERS]
The gun, the gun
Oh yes. They both reached
For the gun
For the gun.
[OMARA AND REPORTERS]
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, they both
Oh yes, they both
Oh yes, they both reached for
The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun
Oh yes, they both reached for the gun.
Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, they both
Oh yes, they both
Oh yes, reached for
The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun
The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun
[OMARA]
Both reached for the…gun
[REPORTERS]
The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun
The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun
The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun
The gun, the gun, the gun, the gun
Both reached for the gun.
WATCH THIS VIDEO, THE CASES ARE IDENTICAL !
Photo of the day: LOVE HAS NO COLOR (a poem)
WHAT’S THE COLOR OF LOVE?
by KoolC
What’s the color of love, if you should ask?
Is it blue? Oh I thought you knew, is it black?
Red, brown, round or is it white, or quite right,
What’s the color of love?
Love has no color
Just ask the true lovers,
Love is timeless, love is kindness, endless, courteous,
a little bit of teasing and a lot of pleasing,
Love is like the rainbow,
Love is like a rose – with nourishment it will grow.
Love has no color no matter where you go,
Love is respect and affection, love is honor and protection,
Love is a symphony, a song with the most beautiful melody,
Love is freedom, like the river to the sea.
Love would always say come to me, like a harp in harmony,
Love is peace and unity, its that sparkle in your eyes,
its the glory of paradise,
Love is a tender moment of pleasure, it can’t be measured.
Love is an unquenchable thirst, a desire of passion, of fire
Love can break the spell of any curse, always put love first,
I couldn’t live in a world without love.
Love has no color, love is clear as crystal, naked as a new born,
Love is beyond the galaxy, its infinity,
Love can make a blind man see, love is a phenomena,
Love has no color
Love is the greatest gift of all,
Love is what we are and who we are
and what we can be,
but love has no color
because I am a fool for love.
Love has no color.
Mondays on Memory Lane: PLEASE HELP GIVE CAROL CHANNING A 2013 KENNEDY CENTER AWARD
Mondays on Memory Lane: PLEASE HELP GIVE CAROL CHANNING A 2013 KENNEDY CENTER AWARD – If you are of a certain age, or you know your entertainment history, there are certain voices that on first note you recognize instantly. The Brooklyn of Jimmy Durante, the heart of Louis Armstrong, the belt of Ethel Merman, the breathiness Marilyn Monroe, the growl of Eartha Kitt, the shaky quality of Katherine Hepburn, the accent of Marlene Dietrich, the staccato speech pattern Bette Davis and above all the big hearted gravely “hello” of Carol Channing!
Carol is larger than life, she is a living caricature of herself, a favorite of the best caricature artist of all time Al Hirschfeld. She is also living Broadway history having created two of the most iconic characters in theater history, Lorelei Lee of ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ and Dolly Levi of ‘Hello Dolly’. No matter who you remember playing these characters on screen, Marilyn Monroe or Streisand – Carol originated them! But above all, there is no other creation like Carol herself. You fall in love with her the moment you set eyes on her.
At age 92, nothing has changed, her saucer eyes, her broad grin, that bowl cut hair style, the platinum blonde hair, that child-like enthusiasm with a heart of gold and above all, above all – that voice! I have had the thrill of seeing her on stage many times in my lifetime: 3 times as Dolly in 1970, 1978 and 1995. Once as Lorelei Lee the ultimate diamond loving gold digger the 1974’s ‘Lorelei’, the musical stage version of ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’. In film she will be forever remembered as Muzzy Van Hossmere in Julie Andrews’ ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ as Carol sang in a vocal range from a high ‘C’ to the lowest note possible in ‘I’m Just A Jazz Baby’ and ‘Raspberries!’
On April 30, 2011, my good friend Jeffrey Shonert and I had the thrilling absolute surreal honor of sitting in front of Carol Channing and her late husband Harry Kullijian at the premier of her life story documentary “Larger Than Life” at the Tribeca Film Festival here in New York. This was thanks to the larger than life heart and love of my dear friend, entertainer and author Richard Skipper. As the film ran I could hear Carol commenting on the film to her husband – two Carol voices at once – surreal!! Richard, I am forever indebted to you!
Once a year The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C hands out lifetime achievement awards to the greats of entertainment. Since their inception in 1978, in all this time, Carol Channing has never been honored. How they have overlooked and bypassed this legend is a travesty and embarrassment. What to me makes it worse, last year seemingly having run out of names to give it to, they gave it to mad magazine poster child David Letterman. How throwing watermelons off a roof while stupidly grinning into the camera merits a lifetime achievement award over the life’s work of Carol Channing is beyond me! She has entertained us since the 1940’s, has worked tirelessly for Arts In Education. She IS theater!
My dear friend Richard Skipper, personal friend of Carol Channing, is championing the cause to finally having Carol be given her due. PLEASE, if you love Carol, are a friend of mine or just a show biz lover, please sign the enclosed petition to correct this unjust oversight and GIVE CAROL CHANNING THE 2013 KENNEDY CENTER HONOR ! Please sign the petition here: http://www.change.org/petitions/the-kennedy-center-honors-give-carol-channing-a-2013-kennedy-center-honor
Thank you !
Hans Von Rittern
The trailer for ‘Larger Than Life’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJ_aQMAP5xM
Two of the biggest hearts in show business, both Hello Dolly’s themselves – Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey = priceless! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcazoYIRIoo
Richard Skipper’s blog http://richardskipper.blogspot.com/2011/08/carol-channing-deserves-2011-kennedy.html
Past Kennedy Center honorees http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/honors/history.cfm
Photo of the day: GEORGE ZIMMERMAN “FUCKING PUNKS…THEY ALWAYS GET AWAY!”
“Fucking punks!, these assholes, they always get away.”
Cop wanna-be Zimmerman’s said to a police dispatcher when he spotted doomed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
I am stunned, horrified but sadly not to too surprised at the ‘not guilty’ verdict of racist George Zimmerman. Myself being a white American with many international friends, I am embarrassed to be an American right now. Europe is looking at us in puzzlement at our gun obsessed racist society and politics. This is a throw back to the old south justice. How is it that everyone could see the facts, every logical, rational human being could see Zimmerman had hateful intent to not let the nigger get away – all except for six blind women on that jury?? Obviously in racist Florida, it’s open season on young black boys wearing a hoodie, walking home with a package of Skittles.
Open season on hoodies
Zimmerman’s brother Robert Jr. and blue-eyed wife Shellie are just the same, white-wannabe racists. Listen to his brother’s interviews on CNN’S Pierce Morgan show. The brother has an air of entitlement and arrogance, seemingly insulted the murder has even come to trial. Watch and look at his bleach-blonde wife’s face at trial. It is a face of haughty better-than-you supreme attitude. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Lest they forget, 50% of their DNA is a “minority” Latino DNA, but they feel themselves to be Aryan supremacists.
I am too drained from the exhaustive coverage of this disgusting outcome to go over every detail of the trial, you know them all – but one trial testimony sticks out and should stick in your mind. The local news interview of a woman who lives in the neighborhood was used in evidence against Trayvon:“Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. I’m black, OK?” the woman said, declining to be identified because she anticipated backlash due to her race. She leaned in to look a reporter directly in the eyes. “There were black boys robbing houses in this neighborhood,” she said. “That’s why George was suspicious of Trayvon Martin.”
So by default, Trayvon is black = Trayvon is an armed criminal. So it was heavily implied at trail. I suggest the defense stupidly did not make this following connection: Trayvon Martin is black = therefore he could be a great golf player like Tiger Woods, General Colin L. Powell secretary of state, Tyler Perry Hollywood actor and billionaire, Harry Belafonte singer or – president of the United States!
The racist interview of Robert Zimmerman – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuzRK-mclzg
Photo of the day: SEARCHING FOR MODERN DAY MARILYN MONROE
Photo of the day: MODERN DAY MARILYN – The Marilyn-esque look will last forever. I was strolling through the east village and came across MM staring down at me through the window of the wonderful 125 Second Avenue vintage shop “ENZ’S”. This mannequin has so many MM references: the cherries from her ‘The Misfits’ dress, the halter top from the famous subway skirt blowing scene in ‘The 7 Year Itch’, the pouting lips, the droopy eyes and lashes, the famous flip hairdo with an updated color – it’s Marilyn!
The east village is one of the last vestiges of what the entire “village” used to be like. Odd, unusual shops filled with quirky items, retro and hand made looks and even quirkier shop owners. Sadly in the Bloomberg/Quinn era the flavor of our ‘originality’ is quickly disappearing in favor of high rent chain stores and the ever cancerous growth of the New York University (NYU) campus. I truly hope in 2025 I will still be able too wander along some of our streets and find a Marilyn pouting at me through the window of a funky shop.
Find and shop ENZ’S: http://www.enzsnyc.com/about/
Address: 125 2nd Ave New York, NY 10003 Neighborhood: East Village (212) 228-1943
(917) 841-5989
http://www.enzsnyc.com
Nearest Transit: Astor Place (6) 8th St-Broadway (R, W) 3rd Ave-14th St (L)
Hours: Mon-Sat 12 pm – 8 pm
Sun 1 pm – 7pm
Photo of the day: MMMM = MACY’S, MT. RUSHMORE AND MARILYN MONROE !
Photo of the day: MMMM = MACY*S, MT. RUSHMORE AND MARILYN MONROE ! – To celebrate the summer of 2013, Macy*s launched the ‘American Icons’ campaign celebrating everything American and our American fashion designers. The one human being chosen to represent the USA is not Elvis or any of our current celebrities, but none other than the eternal blonde Marilyn Monroe! Marilyn is now a clothing brand, a merlot wine brand and a part of so many other things. She is wealthier in death than she ever was in life. Fifty one years after her death in 1962, her image, innocent sex appeal and allure continue to captivate our imaginations. Come to Herald Square, turn the corner and walk down 34th Street, and there you will see Macy*s ‘American Icon’ huge banner. What images did they choose?: the American flag, the Coney Island Ferris Wonder Wheel, the Empire State Building, Levis, Mt. Rushmore and Marilyn Monroe!
Original May 2013 press release: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/05/14/macys-american-icons-campaign-launches-tomorrow-wi/
P.S. Out of all these ‘American’ fashion designers – whose clothes are really made in America??
Photo of the day: A DAY AT THE MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
Eyes of wonderment – KAVISH SINGH
Photo of the day: A DAY AT THE MUSEUM or THE WONDER OF SCIENCE – The Natural History Museum on Central Park West in New York City is a guaranteed place of wonder for any children of any age. Their eyes widen with excitement as they enter the doors, oooohs and ahhhhs followed by “I want to see the dinosaurs! No, I want to see the meteors”! Just hand them a map of the museum with their chaperone – and set them loose!
If you have the time and extra expense, take them to the Hayden Planetarium’s theater in the round for the “Journey to the Stars”, a 1/2 hour show narrated by actress Whoopi Goldberg (on tape, not live). “Featuring extraordinary images from telescopes on the ground and in space and stunning, never-before-seen visualizations of physics-based simulations, the dazzling Journey to the Stars launches visitors through space and time to experience the life and death of the stars in our night sky, including our own nurturing Sun. Tour familiar stellar formations, explore new celestial mysteries, and discover the fascinating, unfolding story that connects us all to the stars.” The film is projected on the domed ceiling of the planetarium convincing some of my little guests that the ceiling was actually turning.
Back inside the museum you have five floors of difficult choices to make: Dinosaurs – over 2 billion bones – the largest bone collection in the world, stuffed animals from all over the world, butterflies, space exhibits, rocks and minerals, ocean life, more dinosaurs and endless fascinating gift shops.
Rhinoceros family in the graslands of Africa exhibit
Spooky skeletons
I took my 35 students from India there Monday and they were like kids in a candy shop. Immediately the groups split up into their hierarchies. Cool girls together, science geeks together, boys who wanted to see how many fun things they could buy, the bewildered, etc, and one loner polite boy named Kavish Singh. On our trip he expressed no interest in buying anything for himself or his loved ones back home. “It is not necessary” Kavish said wisely for his eight years. “I don’t want anything, my money is just for emergency purposes.” (‘Oh boy I thought, if that woulda been me…’) I tried in vain to get him to buy a souvenir to no avail, he stuck to his earnest guns.
Kavish had kept to himself the whole trip and was always very quiet. I did discover he believed King Kong was real and that he was a very introspective, shy boy. So when we got to the museum, to my great surprise, he came up to me to hold my hand and wanted to come with me and our chaperone Ankur to tour the museum alone. “Well, you have us all to yourselves, what do you want to see? Meteors?” “No.”, Butterflies”, “No”. “Dinosaurs…” Kavish said quietly with a nod.
A sense of wonderment
Ok, so up to the top fifth floor we went. As we reached the top, he transformed, his shell was dropped and he wandered ahead, his heavy back pack on his shoulders, to marvel at what he had only seen in books and movies. “Oooooh sir, are they real?” “Yes they all are! You are the boss here, you take us where you want to go!” The rest was magic. The little wheels in Kavish’s mind were spinning a mile a minute. He wasn’t the serious little man he had been, but was a little google-eyed boy. His face broke out into beams of smiles he seemed to feel safe to reveal. It was a joy for us to lead him through the giant Dino-turtles, winged serpent like creatures hanging from the ceiling, gigantic bones and then on to the stuffed animals in their natural habitats, including soils, and vegetation. “Do they ever come alive” Kavish asked sheepishly. He knew his belief in King Kong had already been thwarted, “No,” I explained, “that was only in the movie ‘A Night At The Museum'”. He wondered and thought, reflected on the animals some more, “but perhaps if we turned out the lights and left, then we could look in the windows and see what happens?” Since our bus was waiting to take us back to the airport, I advised we will have to wait for another late night to see what really does happen in ‘a night at the museum’. . .
Photo of the day: MEET 35 OF MY NEW FRIENDS FROM INDIA
Photo of the day: MEET 35 OF MY NEW FRIENDS FROM INDIA – Through my friendship with Ajay and Ankur Bansal of the India Unexplored travel agency in India, I get the sheer joy of showing stary-eyed students the city of their dreams. Since they come from all parts of India, the reaction to New York ranges widely from bewilderment, confusion, to the thrill of recognizing places from their movies and music videos.
The children in this group ranged from age 8 to 15, so therefore their reactions varied greatly. The group always is divided into the expected subsections. The cool pretty girls, the science geeks, the way too cool coming-of age guys dressed as ‘NYC’ as possible, the introverted, the shy and the terribly obdeient to parents and tradition. It amuses me greatly to watch this predictable age old tradition and dividing up carry on. Can you pick out who is who in this group photo?
On Sunday, July 7th we first visited the Statue of Liberty. The high rate of security overwhelmed them a bit at first. To watch their eyes grow wider and wider as the boat drew closer was endearing. Some children just grow very quiet and look studiously up at her. Here she was! The statue they had seen in every movie, “Did you see ‘I Am Legend’?! That movie was cool!” I always point out to them that the statue is not standing still as it first appears, that she is breaking the chains of oppression at her feet and is moving forward towards freedom, “Oooooh!” I always ask – do you know what the 7 points in her crown represent? “The 7 continents” is the most frequent answer as opposed to the correct answer, the 7 seas. I then ask them to take 2 American pennies out of their wallet to show them just how thin her copper skin is, there is always amazement at that. Despite the oppressive heat wave we took the time to make sure everyone got that one special photo with Miss Liberty – you know, you get on your knees and photograph upwards so that friends and Miss Liberty are all in one shot. Then it’s the race for the gift shop. “I wanted more Liberty Statues” one adorable girl exclaimed. I assured her, once we got to Timers Square, there would be dozens including many live ones for her to choose from!
Next it was on to the 9/11 memorial. More stringent security. Since half the group was of such a young age, I had to explain the whole tragedy to them and the importance of the site. Many had thought the waterfalls would be above ground “you know, like Niagara Falls.” I told them to look up and imagine 110 floors of people working at their desks possibly about to loose their lives. Silence and bewilderment came over their faces. ‘But why?’ their faces seemed to say. How do you explain terrorism to an 8 year old? I tried in the gentlest manner possible, trying to explain “hate”. Many also sought to touch the ‘survivor pear tree’ and felt it was a true miracle.
Since they wanted an American lunch, where else but – McDonalds on Broadway with the live piano player, this was very exciting to them. They were like kids in a candy store. Very happy and very placated. We then walked around the City Hall area and waited for our bus to take us to the Empire State Building. What was incredible to them was that it was built in just 13 months. “That can’t be sir? It is not possible to construct such a thing in so short a time.”
Out of respect, I am called “sir” – it is endearing, an old age culture of respect and a bit surreal. Some dared to call me “Sir Hans” but that was tried by only 1 or 2 of the older boys. Imagine this soft little voice calling you “sir”, it warms you heart to the fullest.
The Empire State Building was the third time they were subjected to the heavy ‘welcome to New York security’, this is how our lives have changed. Security guards took away a golf ball from a little boy. I was furious and in disbelief. I had an umbrella which I could have dropped down as a missile, but this little boy’s NYC golf ball he had bought for his dad was confiscated?!? (I bought him another one at twice the price, but I was NOT going have this be his memory of the Empire State Building!) Once we got to the top, having come from the other side of the globe, I was asked if that land mass to the west was Canada – I had to explain, no…”it’s Jersey”. 
Our final stop was the much requested Times Square. The ooohs and ahhhs were abundant. Each older student was required to hold the hand of a younger student. I lead the group holding up an American flag they could follow, we were quite a parade. “Sir! This is where we should have spent the whole day!” Most of them just wanted to shop, try on Nike sneakers and buy as many I ♥ NY t-shirts as possible, and oh yes, and buy many little mini Liberty statues.
Here is where our culture differs greatly from India’s. We made our meeting point by the red glass TKTS stairs. As we waited I looked in their bags and would ask them “so – what did you buy?” Many of them responded that they had not bought nothing for themselves, but something for their sister, father, brother or mother. It was truly humbling. One little girl was so proud that she had bought a red, white and blue teddy bear with big eyes for her little sister, “I know she will like this very, very much.” I couldn’t have loved them more in that moment. Now it was time to head back to their hotel in Long Island City and continue their NYC adventure Monday . . .
FAVORITE QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Is King Kong really real? Where does he live now?” asked 8 year old Kavish Singh with thoughtful wide eyes and wonderment. I had to bite my tongue from laughing and remember I believed in Santa Claus till 5th grade, so it was with a smile I tried to explain that it had been an animated doll – he seemed disappointed.
NEW YORK CITY - IN THE WIT OF AN EYE 