Another Day on the Cheap!

New York is awesome! We were going to the Statue of Liberty, but it was so foggy that at best we could have seen her kneecaps. (We later found that the ferry wasn’t running anyway due to the fog.) Instead, we went to the World Trade Center. My wife was very moved by it. Personally, I wasn’t as much. Right now its a big construction site, basically. I really expected to be more moved. After, we walked around more and went to this old church (the name escapes me at the moment). The church itself was beautiful, but what interested me was seeing Alexander Hamilton’s grave. My wife was more interested in the other grave stones. Most were illegible, but it was interesting to see anyway. Next, we went to see the Native American History Museum. This was really cool. The artwork there was really beautiful, but what made it most interesting was there was a man who was shooting some informational video on the Taheenee People. (I am sure that is misspelled, by the way.) I loved hearing about the native people of Puerto Rico and surrounding islands. Now it makes sense how my wife has some Native American heritage. Since she lived in New Mexico, I erringly figured that it was Pueblo. Now, I see how ridiculous that was.

From there we decided to try to get tickets to Wicked. We got there early and waited in line for the rush tickets. We were the first ones there, but it is a lottery that is open to the general public. As 5:30 drew nearer the line started to wrap around the building. We did have fun in line talking with those around us. We went in and I felt like Charlie buying that Wonka Bar. Just my name, and the number 2. Success or failure. 6:00. Time to open the chocolate. Ever so slowly each name was revealed as the wrapper was peeled back. One final name. One last hope. Nothing. Maybe we will have to try again, but the probability is slim.

At first I was just going to buy tickets for the Tuesday show, but I found that we had gone over budget earlier and really couldn’t afford them. Better luck next time? Maybe, or maybe I will just use that time to enjoy ourselves another way.

So now what? Well, my cousin lives around here, so I call him up. (Actually, we had spoken previously and this was our backup plan.) At first we were going to eat at a really busy noodle house, but I really wanted to see his restaurant and meet his boyfriend (though 6 years is more than just a boyfriend). That was really nice since I had not seen him since my last visit around ten years ago. The food was awesome, and I had some infused vodka that was delightful.

After a huge meal, we got the last two tickets to an off-Broadway show called Dog Sees God. (I don’t know if the anagram was intentional or not.) It was a really fun show about what happens to the Peanuts gang in highschool. Its a bit of a dark comedy. The plot was a bit formulaic for its type, and some of the blocking was off (a fact my wife pointed out), but the writing was good and the acting was passable for some of the performers and great for others. There was some incredibly genuine moments. If anyone is reading this, go see
it. Its great entertainment, especially for $25 per ticket!

After we stayed to meet the cast. They all seemed cool, though I felt sorry for Eliza Dushku since she attracted people wanting to sell her autograph on eBay like the birdseed I saw thrown on the street attracted pigeons. I was tempted to yell at them to back off, but I figured it would accomplish nothing but freak her out, embarrass my wife, and piss off a lot of people. I don’t get celebrity worship.

When I met Eddie Kaye Thomas (I did have to look his name up just now) I was satisfied thanking him for the great performance and a handshake (and in case you are wondering, I will be washing it along with the
rest of me tonight).

Last, we came back here. Home Base.

Before I end this very long post I just wanted to comment on an observation I had today. Its eerie the way that people react to the homeless. What it most reminds me of is the concept/state of being referred to by Stephen King in the Dark Tower as Todash. Partly in another world. One where people can not see them, but they can sense them. Crowds part, but no one looks at what they are avoiding. Sometimes time almost seems to slow down or stop when one of the city’s destitute comes around. The whole thing is surreal. You feel
guilty for not helping and guilty if you do. So we try to ignore it, and pretend the chimes don’t exist even as they drive us slowly mad.