Bright Lights, Big City!

by Pa Rock
Streetwalker

Our group left Kansas City early this morning, in what seems like a whole other lifetime. We had a short flight to Detroit which was blanketed in snow, beautiful snow, followed by another short flight to the Big Apple. The only snag in today's adventure was that one of the airport baggage throwers somehow managed to rip the handle off of my suitcase.

Our first (and only, so far) celebrity sighting was Mr. Al Roker of the Today Show who was boarding a flight at LaGuardia next to the gate where we arrived. Dapper Al was dressed to the nines in a black suit and top coat, and crowned with a black, wide-brimmed felt hat with a bright blue feather in the band.

After checking in at our hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn, our entire group walked to Ellen's Stardust Diner for a meal. The waiters were all singers, loud and aggressive singers with dreams of making it on Broadway - which was very close by. They sang songs of the fifties and sixties, and served and waited tables between numbers. One of them said that every musical currently playing on Broadway has at least one former waiter from Ellen's in the cast.

After supper we walked a few blocks to Rockefeller Plaza and watched the ice skaters. Carla and I separated from the group after that and strolled over to Fifth Avenue. Soon we were on Broadway right at Times Square - which isn't square at all. The enormous billboards and lights were amazing. All of the shows that we will be seeing this week were right there - and it is just a couple of blocks from our hotel!

Carla asked me if I would like to live here, and I think that I would. Of course, for that to happen I would have to have many layers of clothing and come up with a grocery cart!