savannah storytelling

I’ve always loved New York City, its energy, its frenetic pace, and its arrogance.  I love to watch New Yorkers hurrying down the sidewalks, careful not to make eye contact, the shoppers with bags from trendy stores I have only read about. The streets are filled with the color yellow as cabs fly up and down the avenues and skid around street corners.  I love to look at the theater marquees, the ads on the buildings at Times Square, and gawk with all the other tourists at the street performers such as the Naked Cowboy and Spider Man.

            There was a time in my teen years when I imagined living in New York City.  I would be twenty something, live in a loft in the Village, and work for a publisher or a newspaper.  I would have a group of Bohemian friends that would wear only black and sit in coffee houses at night reading poetry.  I would meet and fall in love with a handsome, brooding artist.  Oh well, that didn’t happen.

             I did go to New York recently to visit my cousin, Della, who lives in Northport, Long Island. We went to ‘the city’ and saw the play “ 9-5” at the Marquis Theater.  Our seats were on the front row and we could see the actors close and personal as they sang and emoted.  The play was much funnier than the movie.  We had lunch at a French restaurant, La Rivage, on restaurant row between 8^th and 9^th Avenue.  It was a Wednesday when the theaters have matinee performances and the streets were especially crowded.  From above, I imagined that we looked like a bunch of insects, scampering here and there as we fought our way back to Pennsylvania Station to take the train back to Long Island.

            I was disappointed not to get a picture of the Naked Cowboy, an outrageous  street performer,  who sings and plays his guitar wearing only a pair of briefs, a cowboy hat and boots.   Unless he is traveling, he’s at Times Square every day from 11 a.m. to 2 p. m. and claims to collect $200 to $300 an hour from tourists who take  pictures with him.  According to an article in the New York Post, his real name is Robert Burck and he lives in New Jersey.  He started performing in New York in 1999 and has become a hit with camera snapping tourists.  Since Burck was not there, my consolation prize was a picture of Spider Man.

            Burck’s real money comes from licensing his brand.  He recently sued Mars candy company for $4 million for violating his trademark by putting an animated image of a guitar strumming blue M&M clad in briefs and cowboy hat on  a Times Square billboard.  Mars settled the suit for an undisclosed amount.

            I didn’t go back to “the city” on this trip, but did see another play, “Crazy For You”, at a theater in Northport.  This play was almost as good as the one on Broadway. I spent the rest of my five-day stay walking the beaches, boardwalks and beautiful parks of Long Island and visiting with family.   My trip continued to New Jersey, where I spent the rest of my vacation with my brother and his family. There I met my beautiful eleven month old grandniece, Katie, and had a fun day with the ponies at Monmouth Race Tract. But, we’ll leave that story for another column.

            Getting home was difficult as the whole Eastern Coast was immersed in a serious summer storm.  JFK airport was a madhouse of frustrated travelers and long, long lines.  I arrived home a day later than planed and Savannah never looked so good.  Ah, Home, Sweet Home!