Zodiac Wheel decorations. Photos provided.
By Billy Chism
TOCCOA, Ga. | I have traveled to New York City several times since my first visit in 1979, but never during the Christmas season. My wife and I, along with a friend, made the trip on December 11-15.
Chism
New York City is the most populous city in the United States, with 8.5 million residents. Combine that with visitors from all over the world, most packed into Manhattan, and you’ve got something special.
Walking down Sixth Avenue, with all the glitter and bright decorations, was anadventure in itself. At crosswalks, I marveled at how hundreds of people going one way seamlessly merged into hundreds of people going the other way.
Decorations were magical in New York City.
We ate in nice restaurants – la bonne soupe, Del Frisco Grille, Becco, Tavern on the Green, Bryant Park Grill, Rampoldi. We stayed at The Warwick, a 38-story hotel.
On our first morning waking up in NYC, our doorman advised us to take the subway rather than a taxi to Battery Park, where we were scheduled to board a ferry at 9 a.m. for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. If you missed the ferry, another would depart in 20 minutes.
Patti and I had made the same ferry ride some 10 years ago, but our friend Laleah Henderson, who lives in Buckhead and has been a frequent visitor to NYC, had not.
Laleah Henderson and Patti Chism, friends since first grade, in front of The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center.
Not only did Laleah want to see the Statue of Liberty up close, she wanted to climb the stairs inside the statue leading to her crown. So we did, while Patti smartly took the elevator to the top of the base, where the copper statue is placed.
At the top of the base is a narrow walkway that wraps around all four sides. One
side offered us a fabulous view of lower Manhattan’s skyline. The sun shone
brightly across the water. Freedom Tower never looked better.
We saw a great play: Kimberly Akimbo, winner of five Tony Awards this year, including best new musical about a dysfunctional family. It’s a heartbreaker of a play but one of the funniest I’ve ever seen.
We also enjoyed Shucked, a popular new musical comedy set in Iowa. It was fun and rollicking. But Kimberly Akimbo is the show I can’t get off my mind. Talent abounded in each show.
Freedom Tower
Finally, we attended The Metropolitan Opera for the final performance of a Spanish opera, Florencia En El Amazonas. Subtitles in English allowed the audience to follow the story. What a way to end the week!
Between 1895 and 1916, more than 15 million people passed through this U.S. immigration processing center. Most of these “new immigrants” were from southern and eastern Europe. They and their ancestors became an important part of our nation.
Emma Lazarus, an immigrant herself, wrote a poem in 1883, which 20 years later was inscribed on a bronze plaque and placed near the base of Lady Liberty. The Statue itself had been unveiled in 1886.
The poem’s final words read: “Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tosst to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Was NYC better at Christmastime? Yes. Beyond the incredible decorations, everyone seemed to be in great spirits. There were smiles everywhere and lots of good cheer. Just like at home.
What a nice pre-Christmas holiday!
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
Follow Us