Climbing to the Sky

It is truly mind-boggling to sit in the living room of our Manhattan apartment and watch the rebuilding at Ground Zero. Yes, the site of the terrorist attack on 9/11 that left only rubble is just down the street from us. Now one of the replacement skyscrapers towers above us. It seems it grows each day. It wasn’t so long ago that it first jutted into a corner of our view. Now it dominates. It climbs closer and closer to scraping the sky. As I sit here, at this moment, a huge crane is lowering the structure of one more floor into place. Tomorrow it will be another and then another. The first replacement tower is to be completed in time for the 10^th anniversary of 9/11 on September 11, 2011.

Conde Nast Publishing with its 3000 employees is the first tenant to sign a long term lease in the initial replacement tower designated as One World Trade Center. Many more tenants are anticipated. Also being constructed on the site with a completion date of September 11, 2011 is the 9/11 Memorial with fountains, pools, and trees.

Perhaps the two photos to the right will provide a small representation of this mind-boggling construction process. More information is available at the port authority website.

Stay tuned to this blog for an account of our trip to Philadelphia to see and hear the Wanamaker Organ…the largest organ in the world.

Stan the Man    

Mind-boggling Transitions

We have all had many transitions in our lives. I’ve probably had more than most. Yes, a mind-boggling number of transitions. A number that’s overwhelming when I begin to count them. Some go un-noticed others are marked with ceremonies and special events. Transitions always mean an ending of one chapter and the beginning of another: Weddings, divorces, changes in jobs, changes in place of residence and many more.

But this is the time of year for another type of transition: graduations. There are probably thousands of them across this country. Graduations from Middle School, High School, Undergraduate college graduations and graduations from graduate schools just to name a few. Each one is a transition for the graduates. It marks the end of an era and opens the door to the next, sometimes more difficult and often mysterious until the next transition is upon them.

In the last month Katherine and I have had the opportunity to attend and participate in the celebrations around two such transitions. The first was Katherine’s son’s graduation from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He received his Master’s Degree. He had 12,000 fellow graduates. The keynote speaker was the author, Toni Morrison. It took place in the Rutgers football stadium in a pouring rain. Umbrellas and ponchos were the garb for the day. Now he is into the next chapter of his life looking for a job in a difficult employment environment.

Secondly, we traveled to Spokane, Washington for the graduation of Katherine’s granddaughter. She graduated from North Central High School with 250 classmates. That graduation took place in the Spokane Opera House with a brilliant but cool sun shining outside. In the fall she will be transitioning into her new chapter. She will leave home and enter a college in St. Paul, Minnesota.

In this day and age reaching those transitions and moving into the new chapters that face them is a mind-boggling accomplishment. We congratulate them both and wish them the best in their future pursuits.

Stan the Man    

A Mind-Boggling World of T-shirts

With the advent of tourist season in New York City I have become intrigued with t-shirts. I realize it isn’t only the tourists wearing them. Tourist season is actually year around here but t-shirts increase drastically with improving weather. It is hot in New York City this, the first week, of June. Coats and sweaters have been shed by everyone who is able and t-shirts rein. They are everywhere. They stroll along the Hudson River, they rush up and down Broadway, they clamor for Broadway tickets, they inundate bars and restaurants. It’s truly a hay day for a student of t-shirts. Of course, it is not about the t-shirt itself but rather about the message they put out into the world.

What I don’t understand is the willingness of people to serve as walking billboards for clothing companies. Why would anyone pay good money to buy a t-shirt that is emblazoned with Old Navy or Abercrombie & Fitch or North Face or Eddie Bauer just to name a few I see regularly on the street? There is also Nautica, Hilfiger, Timberland and Pink? Folks pay big bucks to own these garments then become not only free advertizing for the retailer but they paid for the opportunity to advertize for them. There just seems to be something wrong with this picture. Now the subtle hint of Nike indicated by a small slash doesn’t seem so intrusive but “Old Navy” seems like I’m being screamed at. Oh yes, then there are the “I love (heart) New York” t-shirts that are the big rage for tourists. What a great marketing ploy. You give me $15 and I’ll give you the opportunity to advertize my product, in that case New York City. Also popular since 9/11 are NYPD and FDNY who of course were the first responder heroes.

In my younger years I was a runner. I ran in many 5K and 10K races and eventually worked up to half marathons. A t-shirt was always given to the participants. I had many and wore them proudly. It signified an accomplishment. I still see a few of those and admire them even though mine have all gone the route of the rag bag. T-shirts for causes like the Diabetes Walk or the M.S. Bike-a-thon, I can see. They advertize a worthwhile cause and an accomplishment of the wearer. It still is mind-boggling to me why people are willing to use their own hard earned money to be a sign board advertisement for corporate America.

I do have to say, some t-shirts are entertaining. I want to read the ones some women wear but am embarrassed to stare at their breasts long enough to read the message. The best one I have seen lately was wore by an older man stating: “I am old enough to have seen it all, heard it all and done it all. I just can’t remember any of it.” I also enjoyed this one: “I’m not totally useless. I can be used as a bad example.”

These I can identify with.

Stan the Man  

Mind-boggling Numbers!

They come from all over the U.S.A. From the West Coast, the East Coast, the Southwest, the Midwest. From the Deep South, from the Northeast and even from New Jersey they flock. All parts of the Earth are represented. They travel from Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Australia. China and Japan are represented by large numbers. The courageous ones travel individually, others come in school groups or in families and multitudes come in tour groups. They speak strange languages. They bring money with them and leave billions of dollars here every year. They obstruct the pedestrian flow as they meander about looking in store windows and up at buildings that scrape the sky. They crowd onto buses and steal the available cabs. They seem to enjoy the opportunity to stand in lines for hours waiting for an opportunity to take a tour boat to the Statue of Liberty or an elevator to the Top of the Rock or the Empire State Building. Broadway productions are another of their favorites. Usually, hanging from their necks are expensive cameras for taking pictures of their companions adorning the Wall Street Bull and much more.

Yes, if you have guessed I speak of tourists, you are correct. Last year a mind-boggling 48.7 million of them came to New York City. This City of some 9 million residents is already crowded with barely enough breathing space for those of us who live here. Still we make room for them and encourage them to come and to stay until every last penny they have is spent. Mayor Bloomberg’s goal is 50 million tourists for the current year and judging by the crowds already, I’m sure we’re well on our way. It appears that the tragedy of 9/11 has added numbers. Everyone wants to see ground zero. Tourism is a major industry here. It provides much needed assistance in climbing out of the financial hole caused by the bankers on Wall Street. Of course they are already out of their hole, judging by the enormous salaries and bonuses they report.

Orlando, Florida, the home of Disney World, out-did New York City last year with a reported 5.1 million visitors. That’s a challenge New York City can aspire to: Surpass Orlando! Los Angeles had a measly 23 million.

It’s mind-boggling to experience the hordes, to attempt to go about your everyday business while they take over the city but we love them. Come and visit, we need your money. Take a look at the photos to your right for a glimpse into New York City tourism.

Stan the Man