Day 48, June 2, Fun with Family in NYC

We have to be in NYC for 3 days for Doug to rehearse with the consolidated chorus and then perform. The performance is tomorrow night, and Patrise can’t wait to leave New York. This is a summary of my feelings about New York.

"This city is insane! There are just too many people all in a hurry, each living in their

own bubble,oblivious to anyone else on the street. There are throngs of people

everywhere disregarding traffic laws or common courtesies. I guess you really must

enjoy this type of stuff to live here. It is not for me."

As for Doug, he has no interest in living in New York either. However, he does not share my disdain and dislike for the place. He finds it interesting and, in part, fun to experience and fun to observe. Enough of our New York opinions, on with the story.

We started the day together having breakfast at a local restaurant called Applejack Diner. It was a couple of blocks away from our hotel, and we enjoyed the walk to breakfast. Doug had a mushroom and cheese omelet, and I had a waffle and ate some of Doug’s omelet. After breakfast, we took another Lyft ride to the United Nations. Doug had scheduled a tour of the facility for us at 11. Due to NYC traffic we made it 5 minutes late, but we weren’t the only ones. After checking in, then going through security screening, we eventually joined our scheduled tour group and then found ourselves captivated by what goes on in the United Nations.

Did you realize that the UN Secretariat has over 40,000 staff around the globe? And this does not counting the employees of the numerous UN affiliated entities like UNICEF, World Health Organization (WHO), UNESCO, etc. And this number does not include any of the UN Peacekeeping missions -- currently there are 17 -- around the world. The Security Council was in session during our visit, so we could not see the assembly room where they convene. It is a really large building and the General Assembly Hall looks like it can hold 500 people or more. All 193 member delegations can seat six delegates. Then there is room for observer delegations (Palestine and The Vatican), for major NGOs (Human Rights Watch, Doctors Without Borders, etc.) and then two levels of rooms on each side of the hall for official interpreters. The UN has six official languages: English, French, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, and Russian.

Here are pictures of some of the other chambers, we were privileged to visit, as well as assorted photos from the building interior.

After the tour of the UN, we split up. Doug went to choir practice and I was left on my own for a few hours. I went to a nail salon. I had had such a terrible nail job done by a nail tech in Connecticut; I needed to have it redone. Then, I decided to get some lunch and walk to Barnes & Noble to get a copy of the latest John Grisham book, Sparring Partners. I had a wonderful tofu salad at Just Salads and sat outside enjoying the sunshine while consuming my lunch. I then proceeded on a long journey to Barnes & Noble, making the journey by walking, since it would take the Lyft drive double the time to get there, due to traffic. However, I did not factor the delays caused by the huge numbers of people walking on the sidewalks on 5th Avenue. Here are a few photos that I took on my walk. This journey took over 10,000 steps to complete, but I did eventually get my book and made it back to the hotel.

Doug and I reunited for dinner after his rehearsal was over. We were invited to dinner at our cousins William and Donna Hooker’s house. Donna had prepared a lovely meal of baked salmon, brown rice and asparagus. It was delicious, and we both enjoyed the lively conversation before and after dinner. We are really just beginning to get to know the two of them, having first met them about seven or eight years ago; it was great spending time with them.

(Patrise, Billy, Donna)

(Patrise, Donna, Billy, and Doug)

After dinner, I had to go back to the hotel to meet our grandson, David Paul Hooker who (at our invitation) had decided to come join us for his grandfather’s performance at Carnegie Hall. Doug stayed an continued his visit with Billy and Donna. David Paul is a rising sophomore music major at Norfolk State University. He plays a trumpet and is attending college on a scholarship for him to play in the band. He is a very talented musician and both of us are very proud of him.

He lives in Baltimore, so he took the train up to New York and he is staying with us at our hotel until we leave on Saturday to head to Baltimore. He will get an opportunity to ride with us on the RV when we leave. I am sure that experience is what compelled him to come and visit with us in NYC (smile). He arrived in town around 8 pm and made it to the hotel around 8:45 pm. Needless to say, the 18 year old was starving. I took him to dinner at Rosie O’Grady’s, and he had a Caesar salad and a cup of onion soup. During dinner I got a chance to hear him talk about his first year of college and all of the wonderful experiences that he has had in the marching band, concert band, and jazz ensembles at Norfolk State. It was a rare opportunity to hear him talk on and on without being asked questions. He clearly is happy and is enjoying his collegiate experience.

When David Paul finished dinner, we dropped by a deli on the way that I discovered on Tuesday and we each got a dessert to go. I even got something special for Doug. We headed to the hotel and shortly thereafter we were joined by Doug. He spent some time catching up with David Paul in his room before retiring to bed.

All in all it was a blessed day! Tomorrow is the performance day. David Paul and I will take a tour of the city while Doug practices. We will be able to have breakfast and dinner together and I look forward to that.

Additional sights of New York from the day....