theoldwolf

Impressions of New York, Redux

Things I did...

1) Attend ComicCon NYC 2009. A mind-bending experience. I've never seen such a conglomeration of chaos in my life. Small Press, Big Press (Marvel, DC and Dark Horse), Artist's Alley, manga, celebrities (Peter Mayhew, Robert Culp, Lou Ferrigno, cosplay everywhere (some incredibly tacky and some phenomenally intricate), figurines, used comic dealers, the list goes on and on.

Here's a panorama of the floor:

Hello, Nurse!

Brooke McEldowney(9 Chickweed Lane / Pibgorn) & his daughter Nicola (The Snark Ascending)

These are some really, really stupendous people, who generously gave of their time and with whom I shared a lovely dinner at Piccolo Angolo

Dark Heroes

Take your favorite manganette home:

Or a monster:

2) Stayed in the Pod Hotel on East 51st Street - clean, tiny rooms for a great rate

3) Saw a dear friend whom I've known since we were both 3

Wish I knew what had happened to the rest of us...

4) Eat an incredible gut-busting sandwich at the Stage Restaurant and Deli

5) Eat an incredible gut-busting dinner at Flor de Mayo on Amsterdam Avenue. Chinese/Cuban cuisine... how's that for a combo?

6) Visit Ground Zero

The Ground Zero Cross

Foundations in place

7) Eat hot knishes and roasted chestnuts from the street vendors

A story: When my cousin was married, our Italian grandmother paid for her and her husband to go to Italy on their honeymoon on an ocean liner, and paid for herself to go along as a "chaperone". Nonna worked in a paper flower factory all her life, making a pittance - and when asked how she had managed to save up the funds for such an excursion, she replied, "Don't buy-a hotdog onna street-a." This was her way of saying that she never spent money frivolously, and it became a watchword in our family. Except I never followed it, which is why I'm not rolling in wealth. But life is too short...

8) Eat a killer veal goulash at the "Soup Nazi" restaurant.

(If I seem fixated by food, it's hard not to do in New York - you can't turn around and spit without hitting some amazing restaurant).

9) Get my computer bag stolen, and have it returned. Miracle on 34th street, as it were...

10) Experience crazy weather. Single-digit glaciality and 50-degree paradise within 3 days...

11) Visit the New York City Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

12) Visit the graves of my grandmother and grandfather in New Calvary Cemetery in Queens. Took the subway/bus out, did about 10 miles worth of walking, and felt very warm that I was able to pay my respects for the first time since they passed away.

13) See Coraline at an IMAX theatre in 3-D. Wonderful movie. Simply delightful fantasy withs spectacular animation.

14) Visit any number of other sights, old haunts, former homes, unique neighborhoods, and other such like.

A most fulfilling trip. More strongly than at any other time, it came home to me that you can't live in the city for 18 years and not have it become part of your blood. It felt like "coming home", and I was actually loth to leave, as expensive as it is to live there.

The sights, sounds and smells of the city seemed so natural to me... the wet, steamy smells above a subway grate, with the roar of a northbound express clacking up from the depths, took me back 50 years, and I reflected more than once that I have seen a lot of water pass under the bridge. More than half a century is a significant block of time, and I'm grateful I'm still in good health and able to enjoy such excursions.