Scandinavia-The Big Apple

Aug. 9, 2006-Red Alert

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It’s all my fault. Every time we leave on a trip I wonder if there will be anything to write about. This morning the terrorists provided me with plenty. In case you were living under a rock, there was a red alert for flights from Heathrow to NYC. No carry-on bags were allowed. The U.S. was imposing an orange alert. When we got to the Akron-Canton Airport at 7AM and went to check in at Air-Tran we were told that we had to remove all liquid, paste, and gel products from our carry-on. That included toothpaste, lotions, water, hair gel, lip-gloss. We grabbed our medicine from our cases and tossed our kits into checked luggage. We’ll re-organize when we get to New York. Amazingly, the flight left on time despite announcements that crews were delayed since they too were caught unawares and had to go through their bags and eliminate the “contraband.”

David went to buy something for breakfast and there was a guy ordering a beer. Mind you, it was 7AM. He asked us (rhetorically) if we saw a problem with having a beer that early. I took it as a legitimate question and answered that if he needed a beer at that hour he had a big problem. He then said that with what was going on with the airports today we all had problems.

The saddest part of this latest bit of terrorism is that the standard will now be set at a new level. Liquids, gels, and pastes will join the list of items to be confiscated along with nail clippers and cork screws. David agrees with me on profiling. It makes no sense to him if you’re looking for a white murderer to detain blacks. Why was the little old lady in front of us who was traveling with her church group made to undergo a physical search at security and at the gate? Why don’t we consult with the Israelis who don’t go through this nonsense & employ more humane methods? They talk to each passenger. That’s it, just talk. They’re trained to profile by behavior.

Aussie Connection

For those of you who didn’t know, Syd and Janet Bruce, our friends from Australia, stayed with us in Akron, drove through Canada and met us in NYC. They were waiting in our hotel lobby when we arrived. Our first stop was Katz’s deli on Houston in the Lower East Side. We gorged on pastrami sandwiches and were grossed out when we spotted two pastrami and American cheese sandwiches waiting to go. I thought that was illegal.

Janet had been urged by an uncle to go to Borough Park in Brooklyn. We headed there by subway after lunch. It was a long sad trek on the wrong train that involved much map reading, backtracking, and querying passers-by before we gave up and headed for the discount ticket booth. We scored tickets to The Color Purple only to be told that there were limited site lines. We opted for orchestra seats to The Wedding Singer. The theater is right across from our hotel, The Milford Plaza. We’ve stayed here before. It’s serviceable and in a great location.

While we were waiting in line for tickets, Syd was running around trying to cash American Express Traveler’s checks in U.S. dollars for U.S. dollars at any number of banks. He finally convinced someone to call AmEx and verify the numbers to make sure they were valid. The bank workers were singularly unhelpful and unfriendly. He had no trouble cashing the checks in Seattle and Toronto. Even though New York has worked on its user-friendly reputation there’s room for improvement. But, I must say that the women in Prospect Park who offered their condolences when telling us we were not in Borough Park were compassionate. The off-duty concierge on the subway who gave us various tips on getting to the TCKT kiosk, how we should have gotten to Borough Park, and information on timing our trip to JFK for our flight overseas was inspiring.

I’m already missing the kids. Alex is shopping for a dress for Homecoming. Talia will turn 4 Aug. 15, and Rylee is seven weeks old. She’ll be 10 1/2 weeks when we return. In an attempt to augment my guilt Daniel quietly mentioned that the second month of the life of a baby is the best. He went on to make sure I realized we’d be missing half of her life. That’s my boy! Well, I intend to be an integral part of the life of Rylee. She will never know what she missed those 3 1/2 weeks.

Afterwards

The Wedding Singer is a Mama Mia type musical set in New Jersey in 1985. It was a movie by the same name. I didn’t see the movie but the play was my kind of Broadway. The plot and lyrics were predictable but it was energetic, had raucous rock music with a strong beat, and fabulous staging. The cast was tops and their limber bodies covered the stage in an endless display of raw edgy sensuality. The costumes were reminiscent of some clothing at the Discovery Shop, a re-sale store where I volunteer. They were vintage.

We’re off to bed now. Tomorrow we’ll have new adventures.

Toby