New York: Day Cinco

Morris had to get up and go to work on Monday and I got to lie in bed and watch him get ready.  That is the best feeling, trying to be nice to the person who has to go spend the day at the office, giving them that pity smile, tell them it won’t be that bad, then as soon as the door shuts roll over, cuddle up, and snooze. 

I woke up late and decided to go to the city to meet M for lunch.  I get all excited when I go on the subways by myself, feeling super savvy and independent.  This is not something you NY people will understand, but in AZ I drive everywhere and never have to look at train maps, so it’s kind of a big deal.  I even gave M a snarky little comment about not needing his help when he told me to call if I got lost.  Then I got lost.

Actually, I didn’t get lost, but I thought I got lost which is probably worse.  I forgot which direction the subway was headed and saw a stop that made me think I had gone too far.  I was so baffled at how I had missed the City Hall stop and I quickly jumped off and had to do the tourist thing and look at the big maps in the subway station.  That didn’t really do the trick right away and there were a few more subway attempts.  Eventually I think I got so lost and turned around after changing directions a couple times that I actually turned myself right.  But, I was still twirling in circles at the corner when Morris found me.  He told me it was cute, I said it was pathetic.  Then we ate at a cute little diner because my belly finally realized I ate Indian food the night before and it needed something boring. 

I walked him back to his building, WTC 7, and made my way to Battery Park where I spent most of my day.  It was such a gorgeous, mild day outside, warm in the sun, breezy in the shade.  The park runs along the Hudson River and had so much to offer.  Basketball, ping pong, tennis, volleyball, gardens, grassy areas, pool tables outside right by the water! How fun! 

I tracked down a little garden and had some fun in there with my camera.  There was one bee that I spent a lot of time with trying to get a perfect macro picture.  It’s not perfect, but he got tired of the photo shoot and I got a little nervous and we both moved on.  I parked my ass on my very own bench with a view of the water and the Statue of Liberty and did some reading (The Help, which I love and am almost done with).  It has been a long time since I have been able to get lost in a book outside in the middle of the day; It was perfect, but eventually I had to pee. 

I found a bathroom and walked around the streets of TriBeca for a little bit.  I wandered around the biggest Whole Foods in my life looking for something to snack on.  It was so huge, I couldn’t believe it.  I kept thinking how much the organic-crazed Tempe kids would shit on themselves in there.  They would love it.  But I found nada and went outside to the ice cream truck parked outside of M’s building while I waited for him to finish work. 

When he got off he came and found me and asked me if I would like to go inside.  Yes! I was so excited!  I gave my ID to the security guy behind the long front counter and he scanned it and gave me a Visitor Badge, then we typed the floor we were going to on the keypad outside the schnazzy elevators, then straight into Corporate World and the maze of conference rooms.    It was quite impressive.  The views of the city were beautiful from up there and Morris pointed out all the different buildings.  Then he took me to the last side and I got the most amazing view of Ground Zero and the 9/11 Memorial.  It was incredible to be inside the World Trade Center, this place that seemed so far away in the news ten years ago; to see the memorials from this perspective (the fences around the memorials are covered and pedestrians cannot see in yet) and to be staring right at the new WTC tower that is in construction; it made it fiercely real.  It made me remember how much damage was done that day and the scars left behind that a lot of us forget about.  It was a solemn and moving moment that I will hold with me. There’s a reverence in the air that you can feel around that area, humble dignity and the heaviness of tragedy, all mixed in with the normal lives of people who have to go to work every day in a building that inexplicably crumbled to the ground a decade ago.  I am sure, to people like Morris who work there every day, that it wears off …or maybe it doesn’t, I haven’t asked.  But I imagine that some days you forget or it just becomes part of the background; until an earthquake shakes your floor and you remember where you are and what happened there. 

We had our last meal of the trip together in his neighborhood at a restaurant called Mundo, a Turkish-Argentinean-Peruvian-fusion.  I love, love, loved the owner who told Morris that he should not hold Arizona against me, even though our state has its fair share of racist hicks and ignorant Republicans, because those dumbasses are everywhere.  It was much more eloquent coming from his mouth, but that is the gist.  Once again, Morris took advantage of my culinary ignorance and got all manly and ordered for us.  We had something called Red Sonja, a smooth, earthy lentil treat atop crunchy romaine hearts, and an Argentinean empanada with spinach and feta, and Haloumi (Greek cheese) wrapped and grilled in grape leaves.  This might have been my favorite meal of the trip. 

I have to say a gigantic “Thank You” to Morris who showed me the city like I have never seen it before.  His love for his home is beautifully apparent and incredibly contagious.  I have never enjoyed NYC so much and now I cannot wait to call it home.  M, you were fantastic company and the best tour guide ever. (: Gracias!