Quick New York Trip

With all that has been happening in my immediate world, I never figured that I would find my self standing in Times Square with three days until Christmas............but there I was.

My son, Dash Riprock, insisted that I accompany him for a quick trip to New York so that he could attend a casting call for a movie. Initially, I couldn't see how I would be able to go there with him, but things came together and we both made the drive to the Big Apple. There was a huge amount of traffic heading north but things went rather smoothly. We located our destination..........a somewhat seedy looking black door. The casting company was located on an upper floor. We were there early......way too early......and we had some time to kill........so we started walking around. (by the way, it costed us $29 to park in an underground garage for four hours)

Ok..........we figured we would head toward Times Square.........of course......and by golly, we actually started walking in the right direction. I was a bit surprised at how many people are walking around and how much activity is around that early in the morning in New York City.

I remember saying to my son that there was no way in hell that I would want to be here on New Year's Eve.............no way.

It is quite a sight though.

There is a feeling I get whenever I am in Manhattan.........it feels like I have tons of cement above me.......especially when I enter one of the buildings. Its hard to explain that.

On one corner, there was a large crowd blocking up the sidewalk. Turns out it was the Good Morning America folks broadcasting something Christmasy......hehehe.......or should I say... hohoho. I am not a crowd person......I need some space. You can't enjoy anything when there are all of these people crawling up each other's rumps trying to get a better look at what's going on.

You would think they were giving away free stuff on that corner..........but no, just ABC doing their thing.

There was a distinct chill in the air yet we continued to march along a look around, we still had a lot of time to kill off.

Christmas decorations wherever you look.

We walked past Macy's department store. We tried to imagine what it must be like right there when they hold the annual Thanksgiving Parade.

Each window is decorated for the holidays........and nobody does it better than Macy's.

Every once in a while, we would hear sirens screaming and echoing through the cavernous monsterous buildings. Each time I heard them, my thoughts immediately were taken back to 9-11.

We managed to find ourselves at the News Corp building............News Corp is the parent company of Fox News. On the ground floor, you can stand outside the windows and see inside the studios as they are on the air. They have some kind of yellowish film covering the glass which makes it difficult to get a decent picture, but this photo will at least give you some idea of how it looks. You can see Brian Kilmeade, Gretchen Carlson, and part of Steve Doocy in this picture.

One of the group of people standing outside that window, was holding up a "Steelers" scarf...........BOOOOOOOO! Needless to say, me and my son made it known that we are Ravens fans........hehehe. After some typical choice football rival verbage.......we all shook hands and wished each other a Merry Christmas..............better luck next year Pittsburgh......hehehe.

The neat thing about Fox News, is that the celebrities will exit from the building and meet and greet their fans. We stuck around long enough to see Steve Doocy. He is a great guy. He posed with my son for this picture. Of course, security was around, standing watch, but this celebrity has no problem mingling with the fans.

As we walked away, I looked back and snapped this picture. The woman in the very center, facing the camera and holding a cell phone to her ear is former Miss America and current Fox & Friends co-host Gretchen Carlson. You can see the security guy hovering around her. Looking behind the planters to her left, you can see Steve Doocy still hanging out with the fans.

These Christmas decorations are HUGE!

No stroll through Manhattan would be complete without walking past the Radio City Music Hall. The last time I was ever there was when I went to see Todd Rundgren's Utopia......back somewhere around 1977.

Right up the street from the Radio City Music Hall, is the NBC studios. Didn't see Conan O'Brian anywhere, but we didn't go inside. That's my son, Harry Hollywood, with the nice sweater on.

Around the corner from the NBC Studios is Rockefeller Center. This is a picture of part of the NBC Today Show outdoor set.

Another large Christmas decoration at Rockefeller Center.

Ice skating..........in Rockefeller Center.......at 9 in the morning!

The famous Rockefeller Center fountain.

And you cannot miss this HUGE Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center. It's a major attraction each year and appropriately gigantic. As much trouble I had putting lights on my Christmas tree this year, I can't even comprehend the enormity of the job they had to put lights on this tree!

Well...........there I was. A last minute, unplanned whirlwind trip to New York City at Christmastime. I enjoyed every minute of it. We walked back to where my son needed to be for the audition....he did his thing.....and we headed home to Baltimore. A little father and son bonding opportunity.............and we both needed that.

I rescheduled my cardiologist appointment for Friday............he will have to wait until January 31st to see me. I feel fine. All in all, while in New York, I walked about 50 blocks in a cool brisk air and we walked in a fairly quick pace. I had told my son, "If I make it until you do your audition and I am still breathing.......I will have passed my stress test". I passed it. I didn't drop to the ground....had no trouble breathing.....no chest pain.....everything was good.

A few observations about New York City:

• It seemed like foreign people have taken over.........I don't mind that they are immigrants........I just would like it if they could actually speak the english language.
• There is a Starbucks on every corner.
• Police are everywhere.
• And what is up with all of those people at every turn trying to hawk haircuts at some barbershop. They were even handing out flyers to bald people!
• There is no horizon.
• You are always in the shade when in New York City.
• Alot of blind people walking around........I don't quite understand that.
• Everyone that we encountered was helpful and friendly.