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 (MOMA), 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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