I've been in the Big Apple for three days now, and I have a variety of impressions.
Everything is the same, and yet it is a little different. Let me amplify.
The last time I was here, there were no world trade center towers. They had not yet been built. The same, because of a travesty, is true as well today.
One thing that jumped out and slapped me in the face is how cleaned up the subway system is. I could not believe what I was seeing. I was expecting gangs, thugs, teeming masses of poor unsavory types, graffiti galore, and instead I have been met with people who are courteous, clean trains, no graffiti, and intricate tile work embedded in the hall ways of the underground corridors. I was astonished at what I was seeing.
I can't believe all the places I have already been--World Trade Center, the piers on the East River, Battery Park, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (stunning), the flagship store of Brooks Brothers (6 floors of clothing), the the Body Worlds display , Wall Street, Central Park, among others.
We have hoofed it everywhere we went, along with the help of the MTA. We have covered miles and miles of ground by walking, and my dogs are talking to me . . . no, they are barking, to be honest. Thank heavens for our middle son, who can get me to where I want to go! (N.B., #3 son could do it just as well, but he is too busy auditioning for shows to be a lot of help to this neophyte).
