New York, New York! It's a Helluva Town!

 

by Pa Rock

Weary Traveler

It's been a long day already, and there is still quite a bit of daylight left to burn.  Everyone at Carla's house was up by 2:30 a.m,  and by 6:30 a.m we were in the air headed toward the Big Apple.  We rode in on Delta.   I am not a Delta fan ever since they stole the price of a KC to Boston round trip from me during the pandemic.  Today we got a deal and flew First Class on a small commuter jet - the price of the ticket were about the same as regular tickets.  Of course, it all evened out in the wash because the only extra that came with the First Class ticket was a seat that was a little more comfortable than a regular seat - no piping-hot breakfast, mimosas, or warm towels to wash our dirty hands and faces.  A protein bar and a small glass of tired orange juice was the extent of the pampering.

Delta Airlines, you still suck!

The cab ride from LaGuardia to our hotel, the Edison in the theatre district, was memorable.  Our driver, a Jewish man in his forties, was very verbose and entertaining and pointed out some of the sights as we worked our way into town.  He had a degree in education, but came from a family of cabbies and decided that is where the big bucks are at.  He must be doing alright because twelve years ago he was trying to decide between buying a sports car or spending a month in Greece, and decided to do both!

We arrived at the hotel at about 10:00 in the morning, but could not check into our room until 3:00 p.m., so we sought out a diner recommended by some of the hotel staff.  The food was lousy, but on the way back to the hotel we stopped by the Ethel Barrymore Theatre to see about getting tickets for a contemporary version of "Our Town."  I love "Our Town," a great play by Thornton Wilder.  Tim and I were in a production of that play at Crowder College many years ago.  I was Doc Gibbs, and he was Walter, the newspaper editor's son.

The man in the box office sold us two front row seats for this afternoon's matinee, and we have just recently gotten back to our room from that outing.  Front row is not ideal seating at the Barrymore because the patrons are close enough to the stage to rest their feet on it should they take the notion, but it was a great experience, nevertheless.  Richard Thomas (John Boy Walton) played the role of the newspaper editor, and Katie Holmes was his wife.  Jim Parsons (Sheldon from "the Big Bang Theory") was the stage manager.   When Parsons took his curtain call at the end of the production, if he had reached out his hand - and I had reached out mine from where I was sitting, we could have easily shaken hands.

Our room at the Edison is on the 6th floor and overlooks the front of the theatre where "Our Town" is playing.

Fun times!  We may catch one more show tonight.  Also talking about trying to have our evening meal at Ellen's Stardust Diner if we can get in.  That was one of my favorite stops during my only other trip to NYC.

More later!