Relatives ask me sometimes if I ever go to the major New York City events: Macy's 4th of July fireworks show, the lighting of the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Plaza, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the big one: New Year's Eve in Times Square.
(Answers, in order: twice, never, always out of town on that day, and HELL NO!)
The "never" and "hell no" are the primary reason I'm at home in my apartment in Queens tonight instead of at Rockefeller Plaza watching the lighting of the giant Christmas tree. My office is half a block from Rockefeller Plaza (yes, we've been hearing Christmas music from the sound system setup since yesterday morning). From our office windows, we can even see part of the crowd that started forming throughout the afternoon. There are an estimated 100,000 people out there right now and I really didn't want to get stuck in that!
As for New Year's Eve in Times Square... you got any idea what a security nightmare that is? In order to keep out alcohol, drugs, guns, terrorists, etc., the NYPD locks down the Times Square area for several blocks in any direction. They keep people trapped within a ring of barricades like cattle for hours.
So no, I probably won't be found at any major NYC event, even though I live here and could get to any location easily on the subway. It's the crowds that keep me away-- I'll just watch the event from some other location, thanks!
[Upper photo courtesy of me-- early one December I took my camera on a tour of some of the city's Christmas decorations.]
0 comments:
Post a Comment