Funny Story

Monday January 11 Continued

So this past week was my birthday. I am not ashamed to say that I am now 28 years old. So that was last Tuesday. My dad was working and getting to the City and back during the week is a little difficult because of traffic and time. So my dad said we could do what I wanted this past Saturday (Jan 9). So I said that I would like to go see the Broadway show Fela! and eat at The Mermaid Inn in the East Village.

On Saturday I ask my dad before we leave are we parking and taking the train over or are we going to the City and parking at a garage. I do not get a clear answer. So I figured we would go to the City and park at a garage like we usually do. For those unfamiliar with all it entails, it can be very costly. For one the train is 8.00 a person (each way), then we have to pay 5.oo to park, and then we have our metro cards we have to get. So there is alot involved.

Well we are still driving and I can see the City coming up and we are passing the Statue of Liberty, I'm getting excited. Then my dad says, "It would probably be better to ride the train, huh?" "Well, okay," I say, thinking that it will be the same as any other time that we have parked and ridden the train over. But that was my first mistake.

We pull into this almost abandoned Park&Ride at Liberty State Park. It is cold and the wind is blowing furiously. So we walk to the ticker purchasing kiosk and discover that we only had to pay 3.80 for parking (if we even had to pay at all on the weekends, still not sure). So we get our tickets and still we both are thinking that we are taking the NJ Rail system which takes you into the City to Penn Station and then from there we would take the subway to Times Square and pick up our tickets at the TKTS booth.

Well we get help from a kind woman who tells us that if we are taking this train which is a light rail that runs through Hoboken and Newark that we need to get off at Exchange Place and from there we can get the NJ Path train that will take us to the City. So we wait in the cold and the train finally comes through. We get to Exchange Place and get the tickets we need to access the NJ Path train. Now I am nervous because we left our house at 10:30 so that we could get to the TKTS booth early enough to get good tickets for Fela! and our time is dwindling away. So we wait for the Path Train which is running late because they are doing maintanence and using one track. Eventually the Path train comes. We finally get to New York to the Path station there which is right on the edge of the WTC site which I didn't know and kind of threw me for a loop when I looked over and saw that it was right there. I still have not recovered from that day and I was not even in the city when it happened. So we walk to the A train at Chambers Street and I realize that I am going to have to navigate because my dad does not like the train and is unfamiliar with how to navigate this serpentine systems of rails.

We are able to take the A train to 42nd St and change to the NRW to go to Times Square where we will get our tickets in the nick of time and go see Fela!

Well we get to Times Square and we reach the TKTS booth and they do have seats for Fela! only these seats are partial view. And there is no way that they can tell us how much of the view is obstructed. Dad to his credit was willing to take the partial view seats but I explained that even though these are discounted seats it is not worth paying the money for these seats if you can't see. Another TKTS agent convinces him of the same. So it looked like the Broadway part of our day was over. Then we decided to call the theater. It sends me to Telecharge where the only seats they have are $122.00. Not cool. SO Dad says how about we go to the theater and see what they have there. I agree and off we go.

Once we get onto the street where the show is (the Eugene O'Neil Theater on 49th) it is evident that this show is in high demand. We get in line for the tickets and discover that what we have been told is true there are only $100+ seats left for the matinee. There was a man there who was selling his one orchestra seat for 62.00 but he only had one. Dad told me that he would pay that man so that I could go see the show which was so sweet. But that would have not been fair to my Dad who was looking forward to seeing his first Broadway show.

We headed back to the TKTS booth with hope that possibly they might have some tickets for the evening show. But we found out that the box office opens in the evening at 3 and that they are never truly sure what seats will be available if any. We peruse the offerings once again with about 15 min until 2pm when the shows are going to be starting. I figured that for my dad Chicago and Mary Poppins were definitely out but Memphis, a new show, looked like it could be worthwhile. So we ask a TKTS agent about that show and they say it is a love child of Hairspray and Jersey Boys. I loved Hairspray and I have heard good things about Jersey Boys so we decide to take a chance with 10 min til show time.

Side note: One of the hilarious things about going and trying to find an alternate show after we realized we wouldn't be able to see Fela! is that the people working for TKTS who were helping people by telling them what was hot on Broadway and what the shows were kept suggesting to us that we see Fela! I wanted to say, "Hey, guy you are not helping." Just rub it in!

So we saw Memphis and thankfully it was at the Shubert where they allow you to eat in the theater. I think Dad and I would have had a full course meal if we could have but we settled for a Kit Kat and pretzels. Memphis kept me entertained although sitting in a theater that was predominately white and watching a musical that is about 1950s Memphis, rock and roll and racism (comeplete with lead character interracial relationship) was a little awkward. But the show was good. My dad didn't appreciate the profanity but barring that I think it was a solid show not the best I've seen but good. The true star is the female lead Montego Glover. She has an amazing voice and she is a very good actress.

After Memphis we both were starving and thanks to being back on the street we were cold. So we decided to head to the restaurant.

I was able to figure out that we needed to get to the BDFV so we could get to the Lower Eastside. We arrived on 2nd Ave and made it to The Mermaid Inn. Fresh seafood in lower Manhattan yet overpriced. I ordered a shrimp cocktail, lobster sandwich, and Old Bay fries. My dad had a beef short rib, braised greens and mashed potatoes. At the end of the meal you get a fortune teller fish and a demitasse of chocolate mousse with whip cream.

After our meal in the toasty back room we got back on the subway to go to the Magnolia Bakery at Rockefeller Center because we were too cold to walk the 20 min it would take to get to the Magnolia on W 10th and Bleeker.

We made it fine and the Subway thankfully drops you often directly beside the shop on 6th Ave. I got my birthday cupcakes and dad got his Carrot cake snack for the Cowboys game he was anxiously waiting to get to. We got back on the subway and made it to Chambers St.

We made it back to the Path train and we made it back to the Hoboken light rail and eventually back to our car. Then home to eat our baked goods and for my dad to get home in time to see the second half of the game.

Earlier in the day, in my mind, I was so frustrated. We had taken three trains to get to New York in order to pay 3.80 for parking. And on top of that we missed getting good tickets for the show I wanted to see. But then I had to talk to my mind and my emotions and think about the fact that 1) Dad and I got to go to New York again, together 2) I learned a new way to get to New York 3) I got to brush up on my subway skills which always makes me feel good 4) I got to add another Broadway show to my repetoire and 5) I had a good time through it all.

Patience can be annoying to develop but it is worth having. We have to be just as patient with others as we would with ourselves and even more so. Plus if you are patient you reap the benefit.

"Let perseverance (patience) finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:4