Living In New York: Stay In or Go Out?

When you live within walking distance of a major city (like Manhattan) and you don't work (like me), you're faced with a decision every morning: stay in or go out. The problem with staying in is that it feels like you're missing a day of vacation. The problem with going out is that you're going to have to put out a lot of energy.

Yesterday I got out. I hoofed it seven blocks to the subway. With the threat of rain, I took an umbrella. I also packed an extra pair of shoes. Plus I took a book to read in case I decided to have lunch or read in the park. (My friend, Marsha, who recently visited, put it this way: You don't go into Manhattan without a plan.)

Here was my interesting day that I would have missed if I'd stayed in.

Dog Walker.

On the elevator down, a young man had just picked up a large dog to walk for one of his clients. Another big dog already was with him. I asked him if it was hard to manage large groups of dogs with so many people on the sidewalk. He said because of the pack mentality, most dogs walk calmly when the walker is focused on them and their walk. But the dogs know when the walker is not paying attention (like when they are talking to a stranger on the elevator). That's when they will misbehave, i.e., pull on their leash or bark. And, indeed, the dogs were starting to pull different directions until we parted paths.

Camera Crews. 

I spotted two different camera crews readying to shoot scenes for the TV shows "Suits" and "The Good Wife". I didn't see the actors, but they were there somewhere inside their trailers I'm sure. Unless you have all day, you don't want to wait around since it takes all day to set up for 20 minutes of shooting.

A Change of Weather, a Change of Clothes.
It didn't rain as predicted. Instead the sun came out, and I was burning up, so I bought a summer shirt off the sale rack at Bloomingdales and had the sales woman clip off the tags so I could wear it out of the store. Sweet!

Eat on the Street.
I grabbed a hotdog with mustard and sauerkraut. I spilled mustard on my new shirt.

Beggars.
On the subway my fellow passengers and I were subjected to a speech by a young man with a red face and handsome features except for rotting teeth. He spoke in a hyper fast way: "Believe me, folks, I'm more embarrassed by this than you, but I have to tell you, I'm in a pickle. I, of all people, see the irony of this situation because I have my degree in Communications and here I am begging in the subway."

He got a few dollars, but not from me. I'm pretty sure he was in need of his next fix. I hand out McDonald's gift cards when I have them.

I did give a dollar to an old woman holding out a plastic cup later that day, though.

Angry People.
Later, while walking in West Village, I saw a man running away from a woman who was yelling: "I f**king hate you! You better never f**king come back here." Then the man sort of slowed his pace and turned around to walk back. That's when she bent forward, made two fists and screamed at the top of her lungs: "GO AWAY!" And he went away.

Always Have a Plan.
The place I wanted to go to was closed on Mondays. Crap. The park I wanted to read in was too shady-looking and there were a couple of old guys talking to themselves.

An Impromptu Date in West Village.
An employee at a sidewalk cafe, Zucca Trattoria, was handing out menus and telling people that "Happy Hour" was all evening tonight and they had a rooftop. A quick text to my husband, and I had a dinner date in West Village!

Impatience on the Subway.
On the way home, a man and two women were not sure if they had the right train, so one was holding her foot in the door to keep it from closing. After a little while, too long for the subway, several riders started yelling at her to "Close the door!" One added, "you stupid b***h".

Being Friendly on the Subway.
Later on another train, a lady squeezed in next to me and leaned forward to be polite. I told her to "Go ahead and lean back, you've probably worked all day." She laughed and the guy next to her started talking about his day: He'd been emptying trash at the New York City Police Department. He recently lost his accounting job.

I'm glad I went out.

Here are some more West Village photos from the day.

One Way to Meet Your New York Neighbors

I posted on my apartment's bulletin board that I would pet sit--not for pay, but just to be neighborly, and I've had three calls! This weekend I watched this guy whose name is Boo Radley. Boo met me at the door each time I came to feed him, and he played with me like a puppy! Boo's owner is a young woman who is trying to get a play published and very likable. She has promised to buy be me a drink sometime. (-:

Paper Dress at Papyrus

New York Statues: Alexander Hamilton and De Witt Clinton

I chose to take a friend to The Museum of the City of New York because we needed some "quiet". The day before she and I had been absolutely worn out by the city: masses of people, miles of concrete sidewalks, crowded subways, honking taxis, and noisy restaurants. Plus we'd stayed out pretty late that evening. . .ahem.

(You may want to read about my first visit to this museum here.)

A friend and reader of this blog, Benny, recently suggested I write about some the city's statues. And here is a photo of a colossal statue of Alexander Hamilton located on the north side of the museum's entrance.

We all have some understanding of Hamilton's role in history, but I didn't realize how much New York pays tribute to him. Check out this map of Hamilton's New York created by the New York Historical Society.

The statue of De Witt Clinton's is ensconced into the south end of the front of the museum.

Below is a paragraph about Mr. Clinton from Wikipedia. I suggest you read the whole article. Did you know he was responsible for the creation of the Erie Canal? Remember singing "Low bridge, everybody down. . ." in grade school?

 ". . .  an early American politician and naturalist who served as an United States Senator and was the sixth Governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely responsible for the construction of the Erie Canal. Clinton was the leader of New York's People’s Party and was a major rival of Martin Van Buren. . . .He heavily influenced the development of the New York State and the United States."