Huey Lewis once said, "New York, New York isn't everything they say, but no place I'd rather be."
I met Nate my freshman year at BYU where East Coast met West Coast. He was from Connecticut and I was from So. California. He was a Yankee fan and I was an Angel fan. He played lacrosse and I had once heard of lacrosse. But I still thought he was cool enough to be my friend so we became just that. We've kept in contact since and I thought since I was coming out for a Yankee-Angel game then what better way to experience Yankee Stadium for the first time than with my East Coast friend. Here he is acting all cool and professional-like a few minutes after picking me up.
Well, I was currently on my way to see if Huey Lewis was right. Got up early, jumped in the sweet, purple rental and headed back to LaGuardia Airport. Everyone told me over and over that driving in New York is insane....I decided to believe them and not challenge that fact. Plus, when I woke up after my stint in Boston, I could barely move my legs. I didn't want to have to park and walk another "thousand miles" in New York City.
Anyway, it took me about 5 hours and was saddened when I pulled into the Hertz parking lot. My rental and I had gotten very close over the past 2 days and now we would be parting ways. Not only was I going to challenge public transportation but my friend Nate Quigley would be arriving from Florida and said that he would pick me up near Rockefeller Center around 5 pm so we could go to the Yankee game together.
I met Nate my freshman year at BYU where East Coast met West Coast. He was from Connecticut and I was from So. California. He was a Yankee fan and I was an Angel fan. He played lacrosse and I had once heard of lacrosse. But I still thought he was cool enough to be my friend so we became just that. We've kept in contact since and I thought since I was coming out for a Yankee-Angel game then what better way to experience Yankee Stadium for the first time than with my East Coast friend. Here he is acting all cool and professional-like a few minutes after picking me up.
Anyway, after dropping off my rental, I purchased a ticket on a mini-van of sorts to take me to Rockefeller Center. I finally arrived a couple hours later (everything you hear about crazy drivers and traffic NYC is true!) and made my way to the "top of the rock." Not sure if most of you know what that is (I didn't but Nate told me I had to do it)...it's the GE Building where the TV show 30 Rock is filmed and is the headquarters of NBC. It has 70 floors and is the 32nd tallest skyscraper in the world. Realizing all that, I definitely had to pay the $20 fee to get to the top where an observation deck awaited my arrival. As you can see, the view from the top is unbelievable! I loved seeing Central Park from up top. Definitely worth my 20 bones.
By the time I worked my way down, it was near 5 pm and it was time to hit Yankee Stadium. Nate picked me up (did I mention that he was using his dad's chauffeur for the day and his real name was JAMES....as in "Take me to Yankee Stadium, James." For some reason I just thought that was funny).
After picking me up, we were off to the place: Where legends were born, "Murderer's Row" was created, and Lou Gehrig considered himself "the luckiest man on the face of the earth." To say I was giddy would be the understatement of the year!
We arrived around 5:30 pm and had time to take in the sights. I had to continue my tradition of purchasing a hometown hat in the stadium store and Nate (in order to combat my Angels gear) bought himself an Andy Petitte jersey #46, (which happened to be Nate's baseball jersey number in high school). We then made our way to our seats....would you believe about 10 rows right behind home plate?!?! (When you are going through a "rite of passage" things like this just happen, don't they?)
After watching some batting practice, the game began. It was like Fenway all over again. Fans were friendly enough. Angels dominated (of course) and I enjoyed every minute. I had experienced Yankee Stadium. It's simple enough in its structure; however, nothing matches its history nor its grandeur and now I was a part of that. No amount of money can substitute the feeling that I had during that game or the feeling that I will have in future when I think about this day. Thank you Yankee Stadium for the memories. New Yorkers are getting a new stadium but they are destroying history in the process. At least I got to experience it before that fateful day happens at the end of the year.
The end of the day had come. We decided to stay at Nate's parents house for the night who still live in Connecticut about an hour away. On our way there though we experienced about a 3 hour delay due to a semi-truck jumping the median going in the other direction and demolishing a car in its path. We were about 200 yards from the accident when it happened and both sides of the freeway were completely shut down. Everyone basically turned off their cars and walked towards the accident to see if anyone survived. As you can see it was quite the collision.
Around 2:30 am, we finally arrived at the house and I was exhausted both physically and mentally; however, I still had a day left. I had seen and been a part of Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium lore. I had walked the Freedom Trail and reached the "Top of the Rock." I was having an out of body experience and knew it didn't get any better than this. However, I still had one day left and had no concrete plans except to enjoy New York City as only a tourist can with chauffeur James by my side! How could I go wrong.
Tourist traps....HERE I COME!!!
7 comments:
Nice hook up with Quigs. I bet his name is Jaime and goes by James, because, well he's a chauffeur. Makes me want to go to Yankee stadium before they tear it down.
Accoarding to Wikipedia, a rite of passage "is a ritual that marks a change in a person's social or sexual status. Rites of passage are often ceremonies surrounding events such as childbirth, menarche or other milestones within puberty, coming of age, marriage, weddings, and death."
According to some guy named van Gennep, "rites of passage have three phases: separation, liminality, and incorporation. In the first phase, people withdraw from the group and begin moving from one place or status to another. In the third phase, they reenter society, having completed the rite. The liminal phase is the period between states, during which people have left one place or state but haven't yet entered or joined the next."
I would say at this point in the journey it appears as if Jon is still in the liminal phase and I am anxiously awaiting his re-entry into society. Reading Jon's experiences has made me think of other individual rites of passage that have profoundly affected contemporary society. Some obvious comparisons include: Moses at Sinai, Gahndi and the Salt March, Washington crossing the Delaware, Lincoln at Gettysburg, Joseph in the Sacrad Grove, Martin Luther King marching in Selma, and Don Quijote tilting at windmills. To these inspiring rites of passage we can now include Jon at Yankee Stadium. I can't wait to see how it ends (and I am hoping that there is no eventual change in his sexual status).
Kyle, first of all...(as I tell my students) Wikipedia is not a source you can trust when doing your research; however, my trip to Fenway and New York should be compared to Lincoln and Ghandi. I guarantee it was much more enjoyable for me than it was for them.
Ghandi starved himself to prove a point and had to walk around in a diaper and Lincoln stifled himself with those black clothes and top hat trying to prove to people that he was in fact an honest politician.
And although I did return to Laguna Beach....there has been no change in my sexual status....at least not yet. :)
I don't know if it is just me but I am thoroughly entertained by Dro's pictures of himself. He can make a picture of a rental car or eating a sandwich entertaining.
Hell
Thanks for the Wikipedia tip and, since your sexual status is not apparently going to change, I guess we are now waiting for menarche. Suerte!
Dro, your trip looks like it was a lot of fun. I am going to New York next month to try out for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. This was not my idea, but after much coaxing from my wife, I'm doing it. My trip is going to be a little different than yours. I'm taking the redeye from Burbank at 5am, I have the tryout from 10am-2pm and then I'm back on a plane home at 6pm. It's going to be brutal. However, my wife says if I somehow get on the show and make at least $25k then we can take another trip to Europe next year, so that at least gives me some motivation. Your trip looks like a lot more fun.
Blaise
"Menarche" that's funny. I cut my toe on the trip and it started to bleed profusely. Not sure if that qualifies or not?
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