Taking a Bite of the Big Apple
Being a small town Oklahoma guy, I tend to align myself more with the south than with the Yankees up on the northeast coast. As such, I’ve never had much of a desire to visit New York City. However, when a high school friend of mine had the opportunity to go there recently for a seminar and invited me and a couple of other of our high school friends to tag along, I figured it would be the only chance I would have so I graciously accepted.
On the trip, there were some pleasant surprises and some disappointments. When asked specifically by the group what I wanted to do, I kept saying it didn’t really matter because anything I did would be a first.
One of the surprising things I learned quickly was that the subway system really is the best way to get around, and it wasn’t as bad or dangerous as the movies portray. My first night I was constantly on edge waiting for the crazy guy in a clown costume to show up and start disrupting everything, but luckily that never occurred. The worst that happened was a guy got on and started singing for money and after a half a rendition of My Girl to no appreciation he mumbled something about a tough crowd and went to the next car. Except for the ride to the Yankee’s game in the Bronx, the trains were never that crowded either. The subway was a pleasant surprise.
Another nice surprise were the parks, especially Central Park. Riding bikes around the entire park was a highlight of the week. Being a huge Beatles fan, I spent some great time in the Strawberry Fields section across from The Dakota apartment building where John Lennon lived and was tragically murdered out front in 1980. It was nice to see the memorial for him as a large group sat on the benches listening to a guy doing his best to sing Lennon’s songs. It was a peaceful and serene moment trying to “Imagine” a world of peace while sitting on a bench donated to the park area from the City of Liverpool, England.
The general people on the street were also a nice surprise. Of course, we were mainly in the tourist areas of Manhattan, so I’m sure that helped. Except for going to the Yankees game in the Bronx, we didn’t really venture away from that area much. I was glad the Yankees won that night because the crowd in the Bronx was very rowdy, much to what I expected.
There were a couple of blips along the way as well. The prices of food and the taxes are every bit as bad as you hear about down our way. The street vendors are the way to go when it comes to eating, and it is impossible to find Diet Mt. Dew and Diet Dr. Pepper. I thought it was bad to pay $5 for about three ounces of Diet Coke until our group went to a restaurant that considers itself more of “an event” than a restaurant, even though honestly something just as good could be pulled off at home for a lot less. I can honestly say I hope I never have to pay $176 for two burgers again.
The visit to the Big Apple was overall sweet, even though we bit off a piece of a worm at times. Thankfully, I’m back down south where now I can just enjoy my apple pie.
Randy Gibson is the CEO of RDG Communications Group, LLC, and president of Maloy PR.
