Big Apple Blog

The following was announced yesterday via many news outlets:

Because of New York City’s strong economy, tax revenues are running higher than expected, with an anticipated surplus of $3.9 billion in FY 2007.

The Mayor is now talking about creating a “rainy day fund” with some of the surplus funding. Mr. Mayor, every day is a rainy day for NYC cyclists. It’s a shower of illegally parked cars, open car doors, and gridlock. How about using some of that funding to increase safety for cyclists so more people will be comfortable riding their bikes?

Here’s a great YouTube video that shows how other cities have done this. The purported “Greatest City in the World” needs to take notice. Click here for video.

I have had the pleasure to travel quite a bit during my life. Every once in a while I get into a conversation where people go back and forth about the most memorable places they have visited. I remember standing on the top of Whistler Mountain for the first time on a clear blue day with a snowboard on my feet, but that’s not at the top of my list. I remember driving across the bridges of the Florida Keys, cool but not on top. Strangely enough, the top three places I remember visiting all involve horrific acts of violence.

First on the list is Auschwitz. I remember getting off the bus and almost immediately feeling cold: even though it was a warm spring day. The thought of what had occurred within the gates was overwhelming. Walking into the gas chambers where innocent people were put to death was a moment I will never forget.

Second is Hiroshima. The thought of what occurred in a flash of light was hard to comprehend. The mass destruction, death, and lingering effects on the populace once again made me feel cold and hopeless.

Third is Ground Zero. I stood on top of the World Trade Center in 1999 and I do not like heights. I remember holding on tightly to the guardrail. When I moved to NYC in 2003, I remember exiting the subway and seeing fences covered with pictures of those who were lost and the gaping hole in the skyline.

Why am I bringing this up? Well, on my trip to Boston I encountered the most striking memorial I have ever seen. The New England Holocaust Memorial sits right on the Freedom Trail. There are six glass towers that represent the six death camps. Each tower is covered with engraved numbers representing the tattoos given to those in the camps and there are quotes from those who both lived and died.

Inside each tower you stand on a metal grate. When we were there it was extremely cold and warm air emitted from the grates turned into steam. The symbolism of gas rising to greet you as you walk through was eerie.

I certainly did not expect to see this memorial when I started on the Freedom Trail, but it is the one thing about my trip that I cannot forget.

Maybe it’s just me, but don’t major governments around the world have better things to do than to play the equivalent of million dollar video games? Seems like health care, human rights, global warming, renewable energy, and other such issues could use some funding. When will “grown ups” actually start acting their age?

WASHINGTON (CNN) – China last week successfully used a missile to destroy an orbiting satellite, U.S. government officials told CNN on Thursday, in a test that could undermine relations with the West and pose a threat to satellites important to the U.S. military.

According to a spokesman for the National Security Council, the ground-based, medium-range ballistic missile knocked an old Chinese weather satellite from its orbit about 537 miles above Earth. The missile carried a “kill vehicle” and destroyed the satellite by ramming it.

While in Boston over New Year’s it was actually so cold that the Orange hat did not cut it. It’s a great hat, just not the warmest. Maybe it has to do with the fact that it has been worn so much that it is slowly disintegrating. One day I will try to pull it on and I am sure it will vanish into a cloud of orange polyester.

I had not used the hat artistically in a while and I was inspired at Boston Common. I saw the statue from across the street and it measured up perfectly in my mind: just the right height, just the right head size. Not only that, it was a statue dedicated to my profession: education. All the stars were aligned!

We actually stayed in Cambridge which is just northwest of the city. I had to catch a glimpse of what the competition has to offer. The “Hahvahd” campus is pretty much the quintessential picture of a college campus; a little secluded, plenty of courtyards, statues, squirrels running everywhere, and a whole mess of bricks. No ivy though. Maybe it was in hibernation.

It was a ghost town since it was break time and we pretty had the place to ourselves. I don’t know what this building is, but it looked cool. Next time we will have to go when tours are available.

One tradition Ariel had heard of that had escaped my cultural knowledge was the tradition of touching a statue of John Harvard for good luck. Touching the statue’s foot is supposed to bring you luck in the admissions process. It’s kind of amazing actually; the foot it visible from a good two hundred yards away because it’s so shiny from all the hands that have been placed on it. From the moment I heard about the tradition, I knew the head would not be my aim. The hat boldly went where it has not gone before.

We were able to secure a car for New Year’s (thanx Lynne and Ralph!) and made a spontaneous trip to Boston. The first item of note is that the temperature was approximately 30 degrees colder than in NYC – and it was not that cold according to locals. It was a little shock to the system after the spring like conditions in NYC.

The second shocking thing was how nice people were. NYC is brutal in terms of social etiquette, or lack of it. I admit to getting fed up with the massive amounts of people and acquiring a new sense of letting people know what I think of their behavior without batting an eye. After visiting Boston, one of my New Year’s resolutions is not to let the NYC vibe turn me into a surly, quick tongued bitterman. After all, a man of my stature (lack thereof) might just have his teeth planted firmly in the back of his skull one day for popping off.

It is actually amazing how little time it took me to adapt to the New York City lack of etiquette. I hope I can lose the impulse to tell someone off as quickly as I gained it, but I have a feeling I have my work cut out for me. It’s actually a fine line here; if you are quiet and polite you risk not being served – if you are rude you are, well, normal.

Of course we were in Boston over a holiday and visited mainly tourist areas, but almost all those you run into associated with working with tourists in New York City have a fairly stolid and uncaring air about them. All that to say, it was hard to get used to people being polite to us and actually practicing good customer service.

We were dutiful tourists and walked the famous Freedom Trail. It’s pretty cool that the trail is a brick path you can follow from one famous place to the next. It’s hard to get lost.

We drove a car to get to Boston, but once there relied on the “T” to get us around. It’s like a junior circuit subway system compared to NYC, but it was efficient and clean. It was just weird after living in NYC to base your activities on when the subway stops running.

We stayed at an Inn off just off the Harvard Campus, more on that later. Happy 2007!