After a few more sweet photos, James dropped me off and we said our last goodbyes. I never understood why people hired their own drivers just to drive them around. I always figured there was something about "driving" that made one feel more like a man...if you know what I mean. Anytime we go on trips or drive out to Palm Springs, I have to and want to be behind the wheel. Sometimes when I'm sitting shotgun and my wife is driving, (which isn't very often), I feel like I should be wearing tight jeans and a braided belt and sporting a muscle tee shirt. In other words, I feel more like a chick than a dude....(its kinda like the feeling I get everytime I update my blog).
Anyway, after saying all that, having James drive me around that last day or so I definitely understood the "hired driver" approach. My legs were extended to their full capacity, the door was opened and closed for me, and I felt like a rock star. A much better feeling than the one I just previously described. (Check out that leg room!)
Well, here I was in Times Square. It was noon and I had all afternoon and all night before my trip was through. What to do? First, I cruised around and took in the sights. I've seen Times Square on TV but never fully realized what it was all about. It was incredible! The billboards, the buildings, the crowds, the shopping, etc. I walked up and down a few different times open-mouthed and staring in awe at everything around me. I came upon the David Letterman studio, Bad Boy Entertainment, (I actually walked inside to get a glimpse of P-Diddy but two huge bodyguards stared me down so I quickly made a U-turn and went in the opposite direction) and of course The Naked Cowboy! (Note: There's also a Naked Cowgirl but she was like 95 years old so I passed on the photo opportunity).
I then decided that since I was on Broadway, I might was well catch a musical that evening. I stood in line for about 2 hours in hopes of getting a 50% off ticket for Phantom of the Opera. Luckily my two hours were not spent in vain and I was able to secure an orchestra seat for the 8 pm showing. It was now 4 pm and I have 4 hours to kill. What to do? No James to drive me around and I didn't feel like taking a taxi anywhere so I looked for a place to eat. And once again, as luck with have it...I came around a corner and there was the perfect place for a dude with 4 hours to kill: ESPNzone. I walked in, asked for a table for one (yes, I felt like a complete loser) and was ushered to a black leather lounge chair in front of about 10 TVs! My feet were still hurting from my jaunt in Boston, I was completely exhausted from the last few day's activities, and now laid before me was the ultimate sports fan's dream: Lounging in front of many TVs, unlimited diet cokes, chicken wings, and ice cream to top it off. I drank, I ate, I slept, and I rejuvenated my body. It was perfect!
Around 7:30 and after a few too many cross-eyed looks from the waitress, I finally paid my $17.00 bill and left for The Phantom. I have seen a couple different musicals including Wicked but there was something different about seeing one on Broadway....especially the "longest running musical on Broadway." It was awesome! Great acting, great costumes, and a great score. I helped others on the subway "enjoy it" was well as I sang a few lines out-loud on the way home. Not too sure they were impressed.....but those songs just get stuck in your head so easily....singing is the only way to get them out. :)
It was now after 11 pm and I was ready to call it a night. Here I am sleeping on the subway, in my hotel room, and my tearful goodbye with boarding ticket in hand.
The last few days seemed like they went by in the blink of an eye and yet were loaded with a lifetime of adventures. Did I experience a "rite of passage?" Maybe, maybe not. However, going on this trip by myself where I visited historic cities, attended legendary ballparks, walked Times Square, saw a broadway musical, and experienced "Ground Zero" up-close...I feel a little like Elfaba in the musical "Wicked" who said:
"Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I'm through with playing by
The rules of someone else's game
Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It's time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes
And leap...
And if I'm flying solo
At least I'm flying free
To those who ground me
Take a message back from me!
Tell them how I am defying gravity
I'm flying high, defying gravity
And soon I'll match them in renown
And nobody in all of Oz
No Wizard that there is or was
Is ever gonna bring me down!!!"
Next time you get a chance to "fly solo." Next time you get a change to "trust your instincts." Next time you get a chance to "defy gravity." I would recommend you go for it!
"Close your eyes and leap!"
It will definitely be worth it and could be the "rite of passage" you need in your life.
ps (MAD PROPS to the girl in the picture above for realizing what this trip would mean to me. Not too many wives would've encouraged their spouse to take a trip like this and yet Lou Ann wanted me to go! Many of my friends and family think I am the luckiest guy in the world when it comes to games, sports, etc... But being married to Lou Ann tops the "lucky list" for me. With respect to James....She is definitely......DA BOMB!!!!! Thanks babe. I definitely don't deserve you!)
12 comments:
Nice. I am still trying to decide if I like that picture being on your blog. Oh well, I must admit though, that's a pretty sweet toe touch for just 2 weeks ago!
You are rivaling Joshua with that russian Lou--Nice!
Thank you for calling it a russian...I kept calling it a russian and my niece that takes dance politely informed me they are called toe touches not russians....guess russian is not PC anymore? Who knows.....guess I'm getting old and using old terms now.
You're just mad he put in on his blog before you could dedicate an entire post to it on your's. And I have to say, since this is dro's blog, while I very much enjoy your picture of a Russian/Toe touch, I have to give it up to Dro for all those awesome pictures of himself. I like to imagine the scene for each one of those where he asks the waitress/fellow opera goer/random dude on the street/naked cowgirl to take a picture of him. I also like to think about the expressions on the faces of the passerbys. Priceless.
Sounds like an amazing trip and I can't wait to do one of my own now! Thank you for the excellent documentation. The picture on the subway really makes it better, no matter how many crusty looks you got from gang members while taking it.
Thanks Maines. At first you feel a little weird asking someone to take your picture...especially if you're by yourself but after awhile, you just gotta give in to being Joe Tourist. I had that camera around my neck the whole time. It was sweet. One time, we were packed in on the subway after the baseball game and I took a picture of everybody. One dude muttered, "And we make fun of Asians for taking strange pictures?" So then I pointed my camera at him and said, "Cheese."
I don't think he thought it was funny. :)
Having a blog isn't gay. Wearing a braided belt isn't gay. Quoting Wicked from memory and comparing yourself to a female character in the Wizard of Oz is gay.
So says the guy with the tight jeans, braided belt, and tucked in pink tee shirt.
True Cort, having a blog isn't gay until your blog name becomes "Jumping Turtle".......That's when you know you're gay.
Thank you Dro!!! I couldn't bring myself to slam you for not taking the Russian Lou on a trip. Nor could I slam you for centering your vacation around baseball. I couldn't even bash you for comparing yourself to a witch in a musical like so many of our "brothers" compare themselves and their plights to the people from the scriptures. However, when you wait to go see a musical on broadway(albeit, my favorite musical), you just might have changed your support from yes to no on prop. 8. Be a real gay married man! Take your family to a Padres game on one night and THEN go see Phantom the next night. If you have the wife and kids in tow, there will be minimal looks and less questions raised. Dro, you are huger than the amount of favors Loubige has in the spouse bank. Go Halos! Signed Madame JP Giry
I want you to take another trip soon just so I can read all about it. This was so much fun!
Louann, I am so impressed with your toe touch picture. Who knew you could do that?!? That was great:)
Still intrigued by the entire rite of passage concept as applied to your trip (which others might describe in a less hyperbolic way as being a mini-pre-midlife crisis) and anxiously awaiting the signs of the inner metamorphasis that generally accompanies a Rite of Passage, it occurred to me that your trip lacked one thing. I'm sure James would not have been bothered in the least to take you to Bethpage at 2:00 am to await a possible tee time on the Black Course. This would have truly made your trip epic and would have mitigated some of the homophobic response that the Phantom episode has created. Next time - Bethpage.
OK then no wonder you don't need the olympics. You have your own gymnastics right at home! Who needs TV.
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