at one point, there is total gridlock and this ambulance is blaring its sirens. a grey haired gentleman who had a grey moustache wearing all black, black slacks, smart black shoes, and a black polo type shirt was midway through the crosswalk when the ambulance appeared at the end of the line of traffic. he steps into the street and starts waving people through against the lights and whatnot.
when he finally managed to get the ambulance passage, he returned to the sidewalk and i said,
good job.
he smiled and said,
they were just sitting there.
it is nice to see a man take charge. i love it. then he walked away. an unsung hero.
which reminds me of the smells. the scent of urine in the air, wafting on the breezes, the exhaust fumes billowing by. upon reaching central park and the handsome carriages one is met with the scent of manure, carriage after carriage lined up and they've got no horsey potty, so there you have it. we had to dodge a bit of dog doo while walking through the park as well.
before we got there we passed a couple living window displays. the artist caught our attention. he was splatter painting, which doesn't look like it requires a great deal of skill. just slamming paint on a canvas. so we watched for a moment while he tried to make it look interesting, then noticed the three guys sitting on a couch in the next window. there was a t.v. with its back side to us, and they had their faces painted (orange, not sure what team that was supposed to represent). when we watched them they started jumping and waving a big foam finger and making faces. there was an oriental guy in the middle of an african american guy and a white guy. that was cute. then we noticed another window and walked back to it. there was perched a beauty queen. she was just standing there and waved at us when we stepped back to gawk at her. her display was arguably the least interesting of the three.
so in central park we wound around the paths and saw koi and mallards and whatnot. chatchka animals you can see anywhere really. i knew the zoo was in that vicinity (sp?) so we searched out some real animals, though i've lost all interest in seeing caged beasts.
we found a nice bridge and crossed over the lake, but the wall was too high and my girl couldn't see over it into the water.
blasted.she said.
reminding me of what it is like to be a child. i was on a mission to get us to lincoln center so i didn't let her doddle on the bridge. plus it was hot. and i wanted to stop somewhere shady if we did stop.
across this bridge we found a little inlet for the lake, and it was yeucky. typical urban pond. afloat with all manner of muck.
people were perched on rocks and lying out on the grass sunning themselves and eating lunch. smoking cigarettes. soaking up the rays.
the park was nicely buffered from the sounds of the city until you crossed the bridge and found an amusement park type area where there were carnival rides, etc. i had to get away from that.
mom, let's go see.my girl asked.
nope, your dad has to do that with you.
she didn't argue. she knows it's pointless. i'm not into the whole carnival scene. if we do that at the fair or somewhere, i take a book. or go see a show while they do that. what can i say, i'm over it.
so we leave the park, i didn't let her climb any rocks or anything. i just wanted to get to lincoln center at that point. so we sat down across from columbus circle, by a fountain with the front part of a ship sticking out. a tribute to those who died in maine, fate unfeared, ...something else, can't remember, but it was a lovely statue/fountain that actually had water in it. the library fountain was dry as a bone. we stopped for a moment to check the maps the pianist had loaned us.
so we find lincoln center and make our way into the state building. the aged african a merican security guard was reading a newspaper and said he didn't know there was any kind of tour going on today.
trying to throw me off the scent. so we wandered out and bought ben and jerry's cherry ice creams and parked ourselves across from the juliard.
the people there were great. the marble planters were nice and cool. we sat under trees and rested, we'd only sat down at lunch since we'd gotten off the train. we'd been walking for about three hours at that point. i was pretty tired.
renee sat for a bit, then began building little boats out of leaves and twigs. her intent was to sail them across a large reflecting pool, but i wouldn't let her.
so we waited until just before the time we were to go in and found our group and entered. the other little girls we were with were taking ballet. slight of frame, all. so i will leave you here and get to the whole subject of bodies and the lincoln center tomorrow. i'm done for now. peace.
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