Copy of Email from Fernando received on 4 July 2007 on New York !
QUOTE
lost it.
No, not my mind. I lost the file that contained the first draft of this letter in my computer and now I have to start all over again. Sigh!
Last May 26 I went to New York city for two days and two nights to attend the wedding of a young lady who I love like a daughter.
This was my first trip to New York city and I prepared for it as if I was going to battle. I spent weeks on the internet researching the ratings of the different hotels in the area and the best airfares and so on.
After much deliberation I chose to fly into Newark International Airport and stay at the Millenium Hilton (right across the street from the fallen World Trade Center) in lower Manhattan.
The flight from Fort Lauderdale airport to Newark was pretty ordinary but the shuttle van ride from the airport to the hotel was something else. You know all of the jokes you’ve heard about how aggressive NY cab drivers can be? Well, this guy fit the description to a “T.”
I have never seen anyone squeeze a Ford van thru so many tight spaces in my life! He put that thing thru spaces where I wouldn’t even try to fit a skateboard. There were at least 13 times that I thought that he was going to kill a pedestrian or at least maim someone. He must have missed that many shoulders and elbows by a coat of paint and I made most the ride wincing at his near misses.
Once I had myself settled at the hotel I went to a little deli on the next block called “The Stage Door Deli” and had one of the best ham sandwiches I ever had in what had the air of a typical NY city deli. (Well, at least from what I was used to seeing on TV.)
After eating I decided to do a little sightseeing/orientation walkabout so using a little map that the hotel gives all of its customers I explored the area a bit to locate diners, stores and subway stations.
That evening I rode the subway to get to the rehearsal dinner which took place that evening at 6pm at a place called “Fred’s” which I learned is one of the toniest watering places in NYC inside “Barney’s” dept store.
The dress code was classy casual and I don’t know if it was a “faux pas” but I was the best dressed rider in the # 4 subway train that evening.
Anyway, the rehearsal dinner was very nice. I met the groom for the very first time and he struck me as a decent young fellow. He is also, I am told, a very successful young attorney.
I had a great time! The food and drinks were great and the company fabulous. I met some very interesting and successful people and I the dinner lasted till 11:00pm. By, the time I got back to the hotel it was midnite and for some reason I was hungry again. No problem. Right smack in front of the hotel at the street corner was one of NYC’s ubiquitous hot dog stands.
New Yorkers always brag about how good their food is and I must say that the aroma of cooking beef coming from that hot dog stand was fantastic. I ordered a shish-ke-bab and it was finger licking good. Then I hit the sack and slept till 10:00am.
The very next day I went back to the deli and had one of the very best breakfasts I’ve ever had. Afterwards, I whipped out my little NYC map and walked around the area and made it as far as Little Italy and Little Chinatown.
Sometimes I felt as if I was in a New York movie set. Everywhere there were crowds of people just like in television NY street scenes. The crowds, the cyclists, the street people the cabs the tourists the hot dog stands the street vendors, there were all there.
That evening I took a cab to the Synagogue for the wedding and during the ride we passed by the Chrysler and Empire State buildings so I got a little more sightseeing in as a bonus.
The Temple was located in the corner of a quiet tree lined street. The ceremony began on time and the presiding rabbi turned out to be a brilliant orator with a sparkling sense of humor. I liked his style a lot. After the ceremony everyone went downstairs to a very large hall where we were served a very lavish dinner complete with a live band that was pretty darn good.
We danced, we ate, we took photographs but by 11:55 I was ready to leave as I had to get up early the next morning to be picked up by the shuttle that was to take me to the airport for the return flight home.
I must say that New York was not as intimidating as I thought it would be. Perhaps, it’s my personality, I don’t know but everyone was helpful and kind and no one was the least bit rude to me. True there were some area of town that were not “tidy” but I’ve seen much, much worse in other parts of the world.
Right now I am relaxing at home enjoying my day off this 4th of July and taking time out to catch up with my overdue correspondence. In true South Florida fashion it has rained all day so this is a good a day as any.
My parents are fine and so are my brothers and sisters back down in Miami. Every now and then I make a “pilgrimage” to Miami to get a taste of Cuban cooking and my mom’s café cubano. Although, there are some Cuban diners opening up in Ft. Lauderdale the bulk of them are really in Miami. Oh, and their prices are more reasonable. A cup of Cuban coffee that I can get for $0.35 in any dive in Miami goes for $1.00 here. Outrageous!
Even though we are getting into our rainy season our governor has us under a state of “drought” measures. It has gotten to be so bad that we are only allowed to water the grass once a week on a Sunday.
Part of the problem was that in anticipation of heavy summer rains the water control people pumped a lot of reservoir water out into the ocean because they were afraid of flooding if they didn’t do so. Well, because the expected heavy rains did not come the water levels in the reservoir dropped to such low levels that they had to impose the mandatory restrictions to try to stave off a crisis.
What’s in most folks minds, however, is what kind of Hurricane season are we going to have. Is it going to be a “quiet” one, or are we going to experience another Katrina or Wilma? That’s what we’re nervously awaiting to find out. Hurricane season started last month and it does not conclude till November. UNQUOTE
