NYC: A Whirl-wind 2-Day Trip
By Kevin Reeves
Staff Writer
They’ve said it’s dangerous, expensive, dirty,
intimidating, relentless, criminal, cold and harsh. I found it’s
fertile, friendly, engaging, hypnotic, collaborative, inspiring,
intellectual, organic …and worth every penny spent. Of all the New
York City half-truths I’ve heard, "intimidating" struck me the
most. That was before I actually went there. Luckily, first-hand
experience is irreplaceable and undeniable.
NYC has a place —several
places, actually— for anyone and everyone. That’s not intimidating;
that’s exciting and accommodating. Submerged in a blender of
artwork, churches that steal breath from awe-parted lips, welcoming
smiles everywhere, transcendental architecture both ancient &
futuristic, characters dripping with dialogue, projects obvious &
hid-den: the NYC tourist wanders a labyrinth of revolving and
malleable, time-traveling Technicolor passages. In NYC, people are
not surrounded by history, culture, art, diversity, heart and
intellect. In NYC, people are the history, culture, art, diversity,
heart and intellect. And as cliché as this sounds, I could tell in
the first five minutes of a NYC stroll: the possibilities are
endless. Kevin Reeves at
Times Square in New York City, courtesy photo
Groggy and tired after a ridiculously cheap red-eye flight, I was
picked up by the flat-fee, clean and affordable Carmel Limo town
car service. I was a walking zombie, barely awake. But the thrill
of seeing a strange skyline from the car window re-energized me.
Curiosity and wonder hit. I was "not in Kansas anymore." My inner
globetrotter got frisky. Yet, I still felt apprehensive. I’d heard
about the rudeness, the fast pace, and the intimidation. After a
restful night at Manhattan’s Solita Soho hotel on Grand Street, I
showered away my anxieties and took a daytime walk through
Manhattan, dispelling all fear.
Hustling and bustling? Yes. Unfriendly? Not at all. Marching around
the concrete jungle, trying to find the entrance to the National
September 11th Memorial (a.k.a. "the 9/11 Memorial"), I encountered
NYC cops and others who could tell I looked lost. I was afraid
they’d misinform or sneer at me, from all the New Yorker stories
I’ve heard. Instead they reached out and asked if they could help!
There was no scam; just warm honest assistance.
I reached the 9/11
Memorial just in time for my pre-arranged entry. Two giant
depressions, where the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers had once
stood, yawn from the earth and conjure the obvious sense that
some-thing is missing. Where buildings once shot to the clouds,
there are now gallons of water surging down two gaping expanses.
And lining the roughly-1-acre footprints where each Tower had stood
is a perimeter plaque listing the names of nearly 3,000 people who
perished in the attack. The museum itself won’t open until
mid-2012, but seeing and hearing the reconstruction nearby invokes
the NYC spirit of fertility and rejuvenation. There was a
devastating catastrophe. And the city bounced back. From tragedy,
life springs again. The
National September 11th Memorial at ground zero in New York City.
Courtesy Photo
Equally inspiring is the
miraculously-unscathed Trinity Church (of the Episcopal Diocese of
New York), about 500 feet away, originally built in 1698, with its
current incarnation being rebuilt in 1846. Amidst suit-and-tie
businesspeople, honking yellow taxis, slack-jawed tourists and
urban chaos, this early example of magnificent Neo-Gothic
architecture stands defiant (thank you to the American Institute of
Architects’ late great co-founder, Richard Upjohn, for breathtaking
design, nearly two centuries ago!). Photo: Trinity Church, NYC, by Kevin Reeves
Trinity Church reaches
skyward from the middle of a cemetery boasting 330-year-old
tombstones. Talk about a time-portal: as soon as I stepped onto the
stone path winding through the impressive gravestones, leading to
the church’s massive bronze doors, I felt the chill and reverence
of something old. In front of the church is a tree sculpture, made
from giant sycamore that had been destroyed in the 9/11 attacks.
Staring down through the sculpture’s branches are unblinking
saintly statues perched upon church walls. I snapped a photo and
realized just how amazing it was, that the church still stood
unharmed. Photo by Kevin Reeves: In front of the Trinity
Church is a tree sculpture made from a giant sycamore tree that had
been destroyed in the 9/11 attacks.
A
registered National Monument, standing basically a stone’s throw
from Ground Zero, managed to live on. The structure, artwork,
stained glass, statuary, cemetery, stewards, and ambience –both
inside and out– inspires faith: faith in the human spirit, faith in
resilience and survival, and faith in a Higher Power, be it Mother
Nature, Father Time, cosmic connectivity, or a divine intellect
behind all this and more. As a cynic who usually considers
spirituality to be more personal than organizational, and more
private than public, I was transformed by the spirit of this place.
It’s a must for any fan of history, architecture, spirituality,
artistry and contrast. And it’s all right there, slipped between
Wall Street high-rises, oozing with inspiration and peace, both
free of charge.
That evening, after joining the throng at Occupy
Wall Street and watching the NYC police keep protesters at-bay from
the old-money constructs of big business, I met my friend Victoria
(the Brooklyn art-loft master tenant and self-sustaining furniture
designer) for a Broadway Show. We entered another world: one of
high-flying wire-work fist fights, athletic actors running and
jumping off the balcony where our seats were located, Grammy
award-winning musicians’ original songs, and moving sets that made
us forget they were sets at all. Photo by Kevin Reeves, The New York Stock Exchange
The Foxwoods Theater on W. 42nd Street (at 7th Ave.) is the
quintessential Broadway Theater, and sizzles with the excitement of
high-end stage production. I am not a big musical theater fan. I’ve
always sat back and rolled my eyes, when characters burst into song
for no apparent reason. But I figured it was important to see a
Broadway show, while in NYC. I’m glad I did! The grandiose
theatrical experience is too unique to pass up.
The next day, pouring rain and chilly temperatures kept me from
Central Park and other planned pursuits. So I improvised, going
instead to the NYC Museum of Modern Art (MO-MA), at W. 53rd Street
between 5th and 6th Avenues. Often identified as the most
influential modern art museum in the world, the NYC MOMA includes
drawings, paintings, sculptures, furniture pieces, photography,
blueprints and designs, prints, illustrated books, film, and
electronic media. I was dazzled by the "Talk To Me" exhibit, which
explored the communication between people and objects.
Showcasing several interactive art
pieces, "Talk To Me" displayed projected animation that would shift
and change de-pending on where I put my finger on the wall, and
some great robotic contraptions that practically begged spectators
to start pushing buttons and pulling levers, to see what colors,
sounds, and movements would be produced before our eyes. The more
permanent pieces included my personal favorite, "Christina’s
World," by Andrew Wyeth (1948) depicting a woman pulling herself
across a giant yellow field, toward distant ominous farmhouses. I
immediately envisioned various stories behind the painting, just by
observing the subject’s tenacity and determination, as she
practically writhed off the canvass in desperation.
Courtesy Photo:
"Christina’s World," by Andrew Wyeth (1948)
Even a blank wall, by a
set of elevators, was art itself –pulsing, glowing, and fading from
pink to purple, then to blue, then to orange. I couldn’t resist
standing against the wall and taking a picture of myself, engulfed
in color. When tourists seek gifts that are functional, creative,
and unmistakably "New York" themed, they need look no further than
the MOMA’s massive gift shop, with its walls, aisles, and islands
of gifts large-to-small for all age groups.
Kevin Reeves at the MOMA wall.
Courtesy Photo
I
ended my NYC stay chatting with Victoria and her artist friends
back at the Williamsburg (Brooklyn) loft she oversees. Enjoying
good wine and fun company, hearing the drizzle on the fire escape
outside, my ears pricked up when her friend said: "There is nowhere
in the world like New York. You can just come here, and mention to
everyone you meet what you’re into, and what you love to do. Before
you know it, people are offering you money to do what you love:
whether that’s taking photographs, or making furniture, writing
stories, or baking cakes. Everyone wants to inter-act, collaborate,
and make use of one another’s abilities." So true!
Do
yourself a favor. Watch the Travel websites for deals. The moment you see NYC
airfare you wouldn’t mind paying for a quick getaway, pounce on it.
Schedule in advance. Shop for decent lodging. Throw some caution to
the wind, and treat yourself to the unique magic of The City! I’m
already itching for more.
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