Wednesday... Super Early, Post Election Day Morning

Amazing! Simply amazing...after all was said and done --  the voice of the people has been heard! Much to the shock and surprise of all those millionaires that were convinced that they could buy this election. The ordinary voters let their voices be heard and their votes counted.

It took long into the early morning of Wednesday -- for the other candidate to concede defeat. He was so sure that he was going to win  --that he had not even bothered to write a concession speech. And even though he, as he should, sounded graceful in defeat he still threw in a nasty dig about what a great president he would have been! Sure...he would, he could, etc.

The fact of the matter is, that the people in that other party, are completely out of touch with the realities most ordinary Americans face. Yes, the economy is important -- but so are the social issues, and you cannot separate one from the other. This, I think is what lost the election for the opposition party. They are perceived as caring only for the rich, and in the end -- thanks to Sandy, this point was, almost literally, hammered home to all those that this hurricane hit hard.

Up to the point the hurricane hit, there was uncertainty as to who was going to win the election  --  but...after...? There was no doubt in a lot of people's minds, after the hurricane, that they would not elect a guy that said that he would eliminate the agency that handles big disasters like this one. Because, what then? With what money were people going to pay for such a gigantic clean-up.

So at the bitter end, the Africa-American won...in a case of the people showing  all the so-called experts, that you should never underestimate the power of people communicating through their own personal networks and voting for the man who they believe really cares about them.

Finally -- Election Day: The Hurricane Sandy Impact

Yes! It's finally here...the day that for four years we have been waiting for....the presidential election day. I say we have been waiting for 4 years for this -- because since the day he was elected, certain groups made it their business to make sure that, the first African-American president elected in this country, would be a one-term president.

This has led to --  we the people -- being deluged with so much negative advertising, through all the possible media outlets -- Internet, print, and so on -- that we just wanted this day to come so we could get it over with. So much money has been spent trying to convince us that we should hit the reset button, and elect someone else, that frankly --  we have election fatigue.

And specially here in New York, still recovering from Sandy, with public transportation not yet fully working, with more than half a million people with no electric power, and with gas for cars mysteriously very scarce --  people want to show that we are not idiots - that we know who we want our next president to be. That we can see through the fog of lies and distortions that has been thrown at us.

I know of people that live in the hardest hit areas, like Far Rockaway, and Staten Island and others, that were making their way to vote, people that went first thing in the morning to make sure their vote counted. The turnout in minority communities was huge! Women also were out in large numbers, In my neighborhood, it was amazing to see that people that normally don't bother to vote -- suddenly realizing that this was an important, and more historic occasion than four years ago.

Thanks to the Sandy hurricane, many people suddenly realized that --- hey...maybe government should be there to help people, that when something this big happens you can't just leave it up to the states  --they don't have the resources for something this enormous. Plus, many of the people I know, believe that we don't want this country, which is an immigrant's dream,  to be open just for the very rich -- we want a country with a strong and stable middle class.

These are the people, I believe, that will give our first African-American president, another four years, because he  has shown, at least in his actions, that he cares more about the poor and the middle class, than those that are spending billions, trying to turn this country into the playground of the rich. Many of my friends have said that they will not go to bed -- until they can see if the voice of the ordinary people will be heard, and this country will remain the shining beacon that it represents, for the rest of the planet.

Recovering from the Hurricane--Sandy Effects Linger

Here we are --  a new week --  a new start. Slowly...we are getting back to normal. The buses and trains are almost all functional, the weather is a clear, crisp, sunny autumn type. People are quite relieved that the awful week that just ended, is now becoming a really bad memory.

Believe or not --- children are actually happy to go back to school -- they ran out of things to do at home. Parents were glad to send them back to school and go back to work. The commute to work was still a nightmare  -- what with the gridlock on the highways and the trains and buses that had you packed like sardines -- as the service for public transportation is still quite limited.

And then we have the lack-of-gas-for-our-cars blues.....To see the long lines of cars, and people with empty gasoline containers, snake its way for a mile or so near gas stations -- you would think that suddenly we are back to the 1970's and the oil embargo! It's amazing how people quickly panic or want to exploit a disaster. We heard reports on the news, of people hoarding gasoline --  and then trying to sell it on the Internet for absurdly high prices. As in the case of one man trying to sell 5 gallons for 200 dollars!

While this is going on, we remember that tomorrow we have a very important election to participate in. Here in the East Coast there are questions of where do people, whose communities have been wiped out by Sandy, go to vote. Provisions have to be made so that everyone has a chance to have their votes counted. We realize that it's critical to vote, as the outcome of the presidential election, and even the congressional and senate races, will determine what direction the United States will follow, at least for the next four years.

In spite of all the tragedy and drama caused by the Sandy hurricane, people here realize that this is a pivotal point in American history. And believe it or not, I know people who have lost, their homes, and are struggling to cope with putting their lives together, who realize that in this election every single vote will count -- and they are making every effort to vote!

Meanwhile, people continue to wait 2 to 3 hours in line to fill up the gas tank of their cars. Those that own small, fuel efficient cars, are trying not to gloat in the face of those people who have those big gas-guzzling vehicles, since -- as you can well imagine -- the price per gallon has skyrocketed. Even though the politicians keep telling people that gasoline is on its way, people -- I guess it's human nature -- still want to make sure that they have enough to get them through the work week.

And the big winners in all this tragedy? Why the home contractors, the trees trimmers, carpenters, plumbers, in short a lot of businesses are very busy reconstructing people's properties and their lives. Which, in a kind of poetic justice is quite ironic -- as Sandy destroyed so much...it also created hundreds of jobs that will benefit the economy....life can toy with us that way.

Finally Sunday -- New Hope After the Storm

It's been a very long week, it's true what they say -- time is relative. And it seemed to stretch forever after hurricane Sandy. Between the blackouts, the shortages of food and gasoline, the destroyed homes, broken and uprooted trees and the cold weather...it seemed the week would never end. But mercifully it did, we somehow -- in spite of all the drama-- managed to get through it in one piece and with new optimism.

The weather is very cold, but the sky is clear and blue, the sun is making things look brighter. The shock of the storm is beginning to fade, and people are getting their good cheer back. The cleanups are ongoing, neighbors are helping each other, thank goodness that there are more generous and giving people -- than those lowlifes-humans that crawl out and infest the neighborhoods.

The train and bus agency announced that service is up to 80% capacity, slowly--public transportation is coming back. This is great, because let's face it, when everyone tries to drive into the city to work--it's a huge nightmare! The highways become parking lots. The only positive  -- is that it makes people appreciate how great New York's public transportation system is. If you think about it, New York is a very green city. Because between the public transportation -- and most places being within walking distance (a pedestrian's dream) it prevents who-knows-how-much greenhouse gases  from polluting the athmosphere.

Anyway, slowly New Yorkers are getting back that old optimism and energy. And just like eleven years ago, we are going to pick ourselves up, rebuild and keep going. That's why I love living here--people don't let the punches that Life throws get them down, they fight back!

Yet Another Day After Sandy Hurricane

When you think you have seen or heard everything about hurricane Sandy, you take a walk around the neighborhood, or talk to friends and relatives and find out that --no...there's so much more, that this is very large and very deep. Many of us can only think of that other awful day, eleven years ago on September 11, as the yardstick with which to measure this new horrible disaster. There are still many neighborhoods without electricity, many fallen trees waiting to be disposed of, and still not all trains and buses are running.

To see whole neighborhoods wiped out, to hear from a friend that their house got flooded, that their cars floated away or got destroyed by the salt water of the ocean waves that just washed into their house, and now sand covers everything, it is heartbreaking. What can you say? People I know have lost all this and have no electricity and no heat, and now it's getting very cold.

And... sad to say -- that when we invited our friends to come to our place, so they could take a hot shower and just recover--they can't ...because they are afraid of the looters -- lowlife people who like to feast on other people's suffering. These thugs --animals behave better, so I won't call them that-- these thugs are going around breaking into the destroyed homes of people and taking what little is left.

In other instances, you have these hoodlums roaming in packs attacking desperate people who go to gas stations to get fuel for their generators or cars. In one instance, a miserable thug pointed a gun to a man that was just fueling his car, and demanded that the man fuel the thug's car instead! And where is the police? They have their hands full helping people and trying to prevent further anarchy.

I find it amazing that we humans, living in the 21st century, think that we are so civilized and so advanced, and yet when disasters strikes, that civilization peels off -- like a very thin layer --  from our minds and souls --- and some revert back to being savages...how sad for the rest of us....and them -- how sad.

Hurricane Politics

Hooray! We finally heard that gasoline tankers are coming and people will be able to get gas for their cars and/or their generators. Also more buses and subways are running, plus --finally---lower Manhattan is getting more electric power restored. We are not fully there yet... but soon we'll be back to normal.

One of my cousins, who had to take the bus from her job in Midtown Manhattan, back to her home in Brooklyn told me that, yesterday, as the bus went below 34th street, it was like being on another planet. She told me that everything was pitch black, the only lights, were the lights on the street of the police patrol cars or the national guard trucks, stationed at strategic intersections to make sure that no one even dared to think about looting, and also about any act of terrorism.

As she saw a woman get off on 14th street, flashlight in hand,  my cousin thought that there went a very brave woman, because she (my cousin) would NOT have had the nerve to step off into the utter darkness that covered that whole area. It was a very eerie sight also, to cross the bridge that was in total darkness. She can't wait for all the electricity to be brought back. Unfortunately, until the subway tunnels are fully drained and the engineers make sure that all the electric boxes and other stuff are safe, the power cannot be restored. So we wait.

The only thing many of us here are very disappointed about is that our mayor, caving in to political pressure had to cancel the marathon. Many of us thought that it would not only bring a needed dose of cheer to the area, but also much need money. But here, as in other matters, the politics of the presidential election, is poisoning the event, and even the recovery from the terrible damage that hurricane Sandy has left behind.

I am convinced that if this were not a presidential election year, with so much at stake for both the major political parties, there would not be so much bickering about the recovery and the marathon would not have been cancelled. Truthfully, I can't wait for the election to come and go, so that we can get on with solving the problems we face, instead of having to endure political ads in which each party throws buckets of mud to the other. I can't wait for November 7, 2012!

The Limited Bus Service Blues--Post Hurricane Sandy

Here we are, three day after Hurricane Sandy hit, getting happy for small things, like the return of limited bus service. Since people have to go to work, and the roads became a nightmare, as people tried to drive into  Manhattan, creating the mother of all gridlocks, the city decided to operate buses from certain key points in Brooklyn to take people across the bridges into Manhattan. This was all good, but when they said it was FREE, you can imagine the crush of people this created.

A friend of mine told me that it was unbelievable. She said that the lines were insane! People who had to go to work and had no other way of getting there, were getting in line since six in the morning. She said that when she finally was able to get into a bus, which reminded her of those crowded buses you see in the movies about third world countries, it was so packed that she was squashed against the door. And the bus driver kept telling people to announce well ahead of time the street you wanted to get off, she did, and told me that for her to get out, five people had to get out also--that's how packed it was.

Limited service also came to the subways, but they were only running in upper Manhattan, nothing was running below 34th Street, as lower Manhattan lost power -- due to an electric service station blowing up, and electricity being shut down on purpose due to the flooded subways. In Brooklyn, train service was also running, but only in certain areas, in other areas they were running shuttle buses, to provide transport where the trains were not running.

People whose business is to cut down trees were in high demand, so business was booming for them. Everywhere you walked or drove to you saw people cleaning up, in the most affected areas you saw all kinds of stuff discarded in front of homes and businesses. It was sad to see whole houses destroyed, and people trying to pick the pieces of their lives. The only consolation you could offer them was that at least, for those who were lucky, they had not lost loved ones. For those that lost loved ones, all you could do was console them.

More on Sandy...The Second Day After

It's interesting --  that when a major storm, or disaster happens, especially if it's in a large city, like New York, or in the case of Hurricane Sandy, if it hits several states, people who live outside of the disaster area get a distorted view of what happened, and is still happening as the areas affected are trying to recover. Most of this distortion comes from the way the media covers and reports what has happened, and is happening, by showing the worst hit areas, again, and again until you think that --goodness! it is Armageddon there.

They have been showing on TV the worst of what happened in New York and New Jersey, so many times, all over the world, that we have had friends and relatives from other states and abroad call us to see if we are still alive! Yes, for a time there we had no phone service--land line or cell--and yes there are many neighborhoods still without electricity, but no...we are not all submerged in water, the places that were destroyed are mostly on the shores, and yes there was tragic loss of life. But if you see, that thanks to preventive measures taken before the storm, most people did not lose their life or homes the situation is not as grim as the news media is painting it.

The other thing that really annoys --  is how politicians, because of the presidential elections coming in just a few days, are trying to inject politics in the recovery efforts. This is really disgusting and angering a lot of people. I was one of those that applauded the governor of New Jersey when he put politics aside and invited the president of the United States to go to New Jersey and give it Federal assistance. Bravo! too bad that others are too caught up in their agendas to follow his lead.

It will take a while for us to get back to normal, schools probably will close for the whole week, as there is no public transportation. Lower Manhattan is still dark, they have to pump the water out of the subway tunnels, but hey...we have been through other major catastrophes and we have pulled through. New Yorkers love a challenge, and by next week we will all be joking about this and selling the "I Survived Sandy" t-shirts!

Hurricane Sandy...After

Unbelievable! That's the word that comes to mind. In a very smart move, the people that run the power plants here, did a planned blackout just as the winds brought by hurricane Sandy began to pick up, so yesterday at about 6 PM we went dark.

This made the storm seem even worse, because now in the dark all we heard was the fury of the storm, and things outside banging and crashing. Luckily we were prepared so that we were able to follow what was going on by listening to the battery-powered radio, and we had lanterns that ran on batteries, and so we were not left in the dark.

But to our disbelief, as the storm was really whipping things around and the wind was blowing at really high speeds, as we looked out the window, we saw maniacs driving around! This even as the public officials were warning people on the radio, TV, and even by driving around in trucks--before the storm hit-- warning people to please, please NOT go out and drive, to stay indoors. The exceptions being that those who lived near the shores, were ordered to evacuate -- for their own protection, shelters were opened, this a full day before the storm hit.But no...there were people determined to stay, even though they were in the direct path of Sandy.

So it is not surprising, that we saw, as we drove around, that thanks to the preemptive shutting down of the electricity, that even though there were many, many trees that were thrown about, ripped from the ground, as if a giant hand was just angry and just threw them all over, and other stuff were thrown about---there were not any fires here, no major blazing infernos. However, tragically...those people that stubbornly decided to stay in their shore homes were horribly affected. The boardwalks were destroyed, houses were swept away, whole communities were destroyed.

The tragedy at Breezy Point underscored the tragedy of people not being prepared, thank goodness, that at least most people listened and left when they were ordered to evacuate. Tragically, people who had no inkling how to operate gas-powered generators, tried to use them, and as reported by an eyewitness, all he heard was a popping sound--an explosion--this at the height of the storm --  and next thing you know the wind just whipped the flames all around, and about 110 homes, were burned to the ground and firefighters could only watch helplessly as they burned, because they could not get near due to the winds whipping the ocean water too high--colossal tragedy!

But, as our governor said, we have to rethink our strategies for these kinds of storms, we have to rethink: should homes be built that close to the shore? And if we allow them, we must build smarter so that if another major storm comes-- tragedies like this don't happen again.

We got our electricity back around 4 PM, but we are the lucky ones, other neighborhoods don't have, there's no subways, no buses, and forget it if you want to buy gas for your car or generator, the gas stations either have no electricity, no gas or both. And as for the subways--it was very, very smart for them to have been shut down,

For after the storm passed it was unbelievable to see that the South Ferry station to have been completely flooded, so were other stations in the system in lower Manhattan. Had they not been closed down since Sunday, believe me--there would have been hundreds of people that would have been affected--it could have been a major loss of human life.We don't know when the subways and buses will be operational, but we can walk to the stores, we were not born with wheels, we have feet, and anyway New York has always been a place for pedestrians. We do miss our public transportation though!

The Big Hurricane: Sandy...During

Well, it's here. As I write this Sandy is battering the place, making a noise that is truly frightening, and I'm writing as fast as I can as the lights keep blinking, a sure sign that pretty soon we will probably lose power altogether.

 As we look at the TV (while we still can), it amazes me that there are still people driving around as the wind is howling, I guess it was a good idea for our mayor and the MTA to stop all subway and buses, and LIRR and Metro North service at 7 PM yesterday, otherwise you would have a lot of people with no common sense what-so-ever getting in harm's way.

Right now the storm is beginning to get intense, and all we hope is that people we know, friends and relatives, are taking the proper precautions, and made their preparations and stay indoors. We bought what we needed on Friday, stuff such as batteries, candles, flashlights, and battery-powered radios. Now we are just waiting.

As the lights momentarily all went out twice already, I think I best start getting off the computer and prepare, the storm is getting closer and I think that soon we will not have any electricity.

A Hurricane Spree

Ir's amazing what the information media will do to turn a simple act of nature into a major spectacle and event. A hurricane has formed and it's making its way up the East Coast of the United States of America. To hear all the hype about it -- they even have given it a name: Sandy -- you would think that the world as we know it will cease to exist!

Here in New York, the mayor, the governor and all elected officials are making sure that everyone knows what to do to stay safe, and we applaud them for it, but the hype in the media, about what catastrophic things might happen is getting too much. I was visiting relatives, and had to cut short the visit because all trains, railroads and buses would stop running at 7:00 PM.

Now, the good thing about living in New York City,  is that (thank goodness!) you can walk to most places, but if it's nasty, windy, rainy weather -- you would rather take the subway or the bus. But, no.... now everything is  being shut down. Many of us believe that part of this over-cautious actions has something to do with politics. As we have had really bad storms in the past and the transportation system has never been completely shut down, but this being a very important election year, well...who knows.

The other thing that amuses me is how people, I guess pushed by all the hype on TV, radio, Internet, etc., are flocking to supermarkets and buying everything they think they will need in case the big disaster strikes.

It was really annoying, when I went to do my usual Sunday shopping, for just a few items, the parking lot was full, and there were very long lines at the checkout counters. I had to wait nearly 45 minutes to pay for four items, because people had whole shopping carts full of milk, bread, cases of bottled water, meats, etc, in huge quantities -- just in case. In case of what? If the power goes out---all that stuff will spoil...they are not thinking clearly.

Anyway, it has become sort of like a ritual now, they are saturating the media with this, to the point that you really wish that the whole thing would just come and get it over with. I know of people that actually were disappointed when the other big hurricane, Irene, went by, and the disaster was not a bad as the hype had predicted. Let's see how this one plays out.

A Lighthouse on the Island

New York is a fascinating place to visit, but most people think Manhattan when they visit New York, and go to the same old places. But there are other interesting places that are worth a visit. Places that take you into history, and at the same time offer you a great view and a chance to enjoy nature and forget the skyscrapers and noise of the big city.

Such a place is the historic lighthouse located in Fire Island. This is a great place to go, as it combines history, nature and beaches all in one place, and honestly -- you feel as if you've stepped into another world. Recently we took some friends that came from abroad to visit this place, and they could not believe that they were still in New York.

Now the lighthouse itself was originally built in 1826, but at only 74 feet in height, it was not effective in its function of signalling ships that land was near,  so it was taken down and its stones were used to build the terrace for the present lighthouse. The new tower that was built,  measures 168 feet in height, and was lit for the first time on November 1, 1858. Originally the color of the tower was a creamy yellow, but in 1891 the color was changed to alternating black and white bands, which are the colors that it has at the present.

Even though you can get to it by car, by taking an approximate 3/4 mile walk from the Robert Moses State Park, Field 5 parking lot, there's a nicer way to get there. We took the nicer way, which was taking the ferry from Bayshore to the Kismet port and then walking for one mile to reach the lighthouse. I said the nicer route, because on the ferry you have the great views as you slowly approach the island and then as you walk to the lighthouse you get to see the local sights. It's really fun!

When you get to the lighthouse you can view the historical documents and artifacts. And then, if you have the energy, you can climb the spiral, staircase, which has 156 metal steps, and two more small ladders, to go to the top. Once there you can go outside a circular veranda,  and enjoy a fantastic 360 degree view of the surrounding area.

Of our four guests, two decided that it was too much for them, but the other two that went up with us, got rewarded with panoramic views, and they took many good photos. Afterwards we all went to one of the nice restaurants near the Kismet port, after that -- we took the ferry back to Bayshore.

If you want more information about the Fire Island Lighthouse, just search on the internet, you will find out how to get there and other important stuff. Believe me, this is a very nice trip to take for those who live here or those who are just visiting.

Freedom of a Rainy Day

To most people a rainy day is a downer, a disappointment.... no blue sky, no clear sunshine, etc. But to me a rainy day is a beautiful day. The rain kind of calms things down, people clear out, they run inside to avoid getting wet--and blessedly-- the streets and sidewalks clear out, leaving it to those few persons that actually enjoy walking in the rain.

Things look calmer, the rain makes little reflecting pools and mirrors of most surfaces, so that even the most plain and colorless landscape looks interesting. Have you noticed how in a lot of movies when they want to make the scene more dramatic and interesting they add rain? It's because rain adds an element of mystery -- an air of uncertainty, that makes you think.

I also, love the fact that a rainy day reminds people that no matter how much we think we control nature, we can't control it. We may rant about too much or too little rain, but we can't control it, and this  drives some people to distraction! To me -- rain just shows us that we are but one small part of the larger scheme of nature.

Flying Like A Fish

Ah, the wonders of modern life...where you can now go from one part of the planet to another in mere hours. That's what I thought to myself, when I recently went on a long weekend trip to visit relatives. After booking the flight, I had visions of being in one of those modern jets, where, as you see in the print and TV ads, the seats are very wide, you have a TV monitor and the food is real, not a plastic imitation and so on.

Sadly, the reality was otherwise. First, I wound up practically on the last row at the back of the plane. And to add insult to indignity, this plane had a seat arrangement of eight people seating across. The configuration was two seats, a very narrow aisle, four seats, another very narrow aisle, and then two more seats. I'm not kidding when I say that the aisle was so narrow, that only a skinny child could walk normally on it, the rest of us had to walk sideways. To say that we were packed like sardines would not have done it justice, sardines have more space between them than we had.

also, the seats were so narrow, and arranged so close to each other, that even when not reclined, the seat in front of you was practically in your face. Which made trying to view anything on the monitor in front of you, kind of like a challenge. At least they gave you plenty of water and snacks for free! Wow, what generosity!....after I had to pay a hefty prize for the ticket.

Luck was with me on the seating arrangement, because even though I was placed on the middle four seats, at least I had the aisle, thank goodness for small bits of luck. To kind of complete the picture, the flight was very rough, as the plane ran into turbulence. The pilot kept reminding us to stay seated and to keep the seat-belt on. As if that made any difference on the roller-coaster ride the plane and my heart were taking.

At least we made it in one piece to our destination, and everyone clapped when the plane landed safely, I'm always thankful for small miracles, and to me landing a plane safely, qualifies as such. Although I must admit, my fantasy of a glamorous flight, remains that:  a fantasy --- don't believe the ads, they only give you that fantasy if you are willing to pay a small fortune, and frankly, I'm not paying it.

Public Cellphones

The plague of cellphones has reached critical proportions! It's as if everyone on the planet now owns and uses a cellphone, at least it's what the latest news research says. It seems to me, that there are people who have this urgent need to constantly be talking to someone. I mean, in the supermarket, the train, walking down the street, there's someone talking on this mobile wonder.

This leads to some confusion, since now we can't tell the crazy people from the "normal".  Thanks to the wonders of Bluetooth, the local wackos can now pass unnoticed by us. Because, frankly--you can't tell if they are talking to the voices they hear in their heads or to someone on the Bluetooth cellphone.

There's an old lady in my neighborhood, who before the cellphone -- was looked askance by people who saw her on the street talking to herself, now nobody gives her a second look. The other day on the train, this woman carried a whole argument with her boyfriend, screaming loudly and hanging up on him several times. all this while discussing highly personal matters, that--truthfully -- we did not want to hear.

Don't get me wrong, I like the cellphone, it's just that maybe some people should discover the sheer joy of a silent moment, that could be anywhere from an hour to a few hours. And go back to rediscovering the energizing, and recharging of their mental and spiritual batteries that a few moments of silence can give them.

First Time Mountain Hike

There are times when you want to challenge yourself, just to prove that , hey--you still got it, or just to show somebody else that you can do something outside your comfort zone. Well, don't ask me why...but I decided, this past summer, that I needed to prove to myself and to a friend of mine who's an outdoors fanatic, that I could hike up a medium height mountain.

He set up the challenge, saying that this was an "easy" hike, that he had done many times, and it would be a "piece of cake", why---even a child could do it! This was too much for me, and I (like an idiot with an easily tricked ego) fell for the trap.

So here we were on a super early, sunny morning, with hiking boots, a small knapsack filled with snacks and water, setting out to hike to the top of this medium-sized  mountain. It looked easy enough to me-- and then we began the hike.

We had barely been out going up for an hour, when I began to feel that perhaps I had made a mistake, maybe this was a bit too much for me. But my friend said: nonsense! you just have to warm up, you'll be fine! Well, by the third hour, my legs were getting shaky, so we had to stop and rest. My maniac friend wanted to hike for one more hour, before stopping to rest.

Keep in mind that we were hiking up the side of the mountain, and the ascent sometimes got a bit steep, so it wasn't easy. Many times I had to take brief stops, just to catch my breath. My friend on the other hand, was as fresh as if we had been walking on a level, flat  ground, and kept urging me to not give up, it was just a few more steps--and we would be at the top.

Sure we were.....about three hours later we finally made it to the top. By this time my tongue was hanging down to the ground from all the panting I was doing, just to be able to breathe! But my friend, annoyingly cheerful, was was commenting on the wonderful view, the great exercise, and how good this was for our health. Needless to say, it took me a bit longer to join in his celebration of the great views and so on.

But at the end, it did pay off--at the top of the mountain was a small restaurant, offering good food, sitting on an outdoors terrace, to fully appreciate the wonderful views of the countryside. And once we ate delicious and farm-fresh food, I was able to ignore the pains and aches that were beginning to descend on my body.  I guess, it was a good hike, in spite of how miserable I felt (aching body) afterwards.

Paper Political Pollution

Sometimes it seems that every time there`s an election, whether it`s local, statewide, or nationwide, it seems that the candidates are determined to throw an avalanche of paper at would-be voters, so that (they think) those voters will be inclined to vote for them. But it seems to me that the opposite effect happens, at least with me. The more flyers, emails, posters, or what-have-you that the candidates send my way  - the less likely  I feel like voting for her or him.

It`s just that you tend to get campaign fatigue. How many times must I hear that so-and-so is a crook? Or that the planet will be a better place if this particular candidate wins, rather than the other. No, I want, for once, for each candidate to clearly and rationally explain to me and other voters, what precisely are you doing to fix the problems that we now face. And do this without treating us, the public, as if we are complete idiots who can`t see past your hot-air campaign ads.

Sadly, because politics is so dirty and so ferociously brutal, that many decent people won`t run for any office, for fear that they and their family would be dragged through the mud. So it goes on, and in my opinion it`s a pity, because it means that we are stuck with mostly mediocre politicians. Oh well, such is the norm nowadays, I guess we must wait for better times.

The Orphaned Creatures

A lady I know is a devoted animal lover, if she sees any creature large or small, that is in trouble, she is there to lend a helping hand. Sometimes she gets carried away and takes on a responsibility she cannot handle, that is when she calls the people she knows to give her a helping hand., and I`m one of those people.

The other day she called me sounding desperate -- oh please, you must come over, I have a big problem that I cannot solve by myself, can you help me? So I went over to her place, and she shows me a box. I`m thinking  -- her problem is a box? -- Then I look inside, and there they are: three really young ducklings. Oh, I say, what in the world are you doing with these three baby ducks?

She tells me that when she went for her usual stroll in the park, she found them. And when I asked her if she looked for the mother duck, she claims she did, but could not find her, and she just would not leave them there to die or be eaten by a predator. But she did not know where she could find an animal clinic and could I help her find one, and could I please take the ducklings home with me.

I told her that, yes I would find an animal clinic, and then I had to take the ducklings with me on the subway and to my home. As soon as I got home, I called an animal clinic that was not too far from my place and explained the situation to them. I asked them if I could go there that same day on an emergency basis, and bring the duckling to them.

The receptionist, at first hesitated, but hearing the desperation in my voice, said OK. So I immediately went over there, as soon as she saw them, she said -- oh no... they are very sick, we have to put them in isolation! When I asked why, she said that they had some kind of parasite on their feathers, and maybe that`s why the mother duck abandoned them. Can you save them I asked, she said they would be quarantined and the veterinarian would have to check them and make a diagnosis.

I decided to take the number of this clinic, and the doctor`s name give it to my friend who found the ducklings and let her continue her good deed with them.

The Outer Borough Journey by Cab

Has it happened to you that it`s late at night, you don`t have a car, and don`t want to take public transportation. What to do? In the case of my group, we decided to take a taxi, since we all lived in Brooklyn at that time, we saw a yellow cab and waved it to stop.

Of course, being that we were the only people this driver saw, he immediately stopped. But before letting us get in the cab, he asked us where we were going. Now, let me explain, in New York it is against the law for a taxi driver to ask you where you are going, but this late at night they get picky --  and there`s really nothing you can do about it.  So, not being dumb, we just got into the taxi first, and then told him where we were going. This made him very angry. He shouted that we tricked him, but then we reminded him about the law that said he had to take us where we wanted to go, even if it was outside of Manhattan.

He told us that he would rather not make a dime of money rather than go to Brooklyn. We had a ten minutes fight with him, finally he said OK, OK I`ll take you there, but only on one condition, that we first go to the house of the guy that is supposed to take over the next shift, and then he can take you to where you want to go.

It was an unusual arrangement and we did not know whether to trust him, but he said look here`s my license number, if I am lying, report me to the Taxi Commission. We finally agreed, and he proceeded to take us to this weird place in Brooklyn, where --  sure enough -- another guy took over the taxi and took us to our destination.

After the fact we got quite thoughtful, thinking that we were crazy in what we did, that this guy could have turned out to be a maniac that could have harmed us, but I guess that luck was with us that night, but we agreed to never do something like that, ever again!

Bread and a Bottle of Water

One learns a lot about the culture of other people when traveling. Especially when you get out of your comfort zone, and travel to other countries. This happened to myself and two friends when we made our trek across Europe. We had started our journey in Spain, and needles to say, as Americans who had never been outside the U.S.A., we received a culture shock in Spain.

The first thing we noticed there, was the weird (to us) customs as regards when businesses would be open, especially restaurants. We had arrived in the morning, and figured that after settling in our hotel, we would go out and explore the neighborhood around the hotel, and perhaps eat lunch. But, to our dismay, we discovered that every restaurant that we went to, was closed.

When we asked why, we were told that lunchtime had passed, and now we had to wait until six o'clock to eat! As we were really, really hungry we thought, oh no! we are going to pass out from sheer hunger! So we went back to the hotel and asked the concierge about this strange custom. He explained to us that businesses closed until six so that after lunch, people could go home and relax.

But what about us? What about people like us who are hungry, but all the restaurants are closed? He laughed and told us we could always go to the bars and eat "tapas". We asked what the heck were "tapas", and he explained to us that these were like little appetizers that were served in places like bars, so that people could enjoy themselves, and at least the bars were always open.

So, we looked at each other, and off we went to a nearby bar, were -- sure enough -- there was a whole basket full of these "tapas", which looked like little round pastries, with different kind of fillings. We proceeded to make pigs of ourselves and ate the entire basketful of "tapas". Needless to say, this brought on the waiter or bartender who scolded us, and told us not to be so selfish!

After getting out of there, an idea occurred to us: as soon as a supermarket opened, we went in there and bought ourselves each, two bottle of water, one of those long loaf of french bread, some cheese and some fruits. So that no matter what time it was we would always carry something to eat with us. This way we wouldn't be dependent on the crazy eating schedule they had there. And it finally cleared for us the question we kept asking ourselves -- about why we saw so many people walking around with a bottle of water, a loaf of bread and a fruit or a chunk of cheese. These people had gotten smart -- they wouldn't go hungry! And now...neither would we!

The Not Seaworthy Would-be Sailor

For some reason that I can't comprehend, some people are afraid of being in a boat. The mere thought or mention of this mode of transportation really scares these poor persons. I have a friend that would dearly love to take a cruise, to anyplace, except -- that as soon as he gets near a boat, panic set in. He literally freezes.

Asked about where he thinks this phobia originated, he says that he vaguely remembers, that as a small child he was taken by boat across a well-known river. Halfway through the journey, as he tells it, suddenly the boat got caught in this wild storm, and it nearly capsized. My friend said that he felt very concerned about the trip from the beginning, but as he was a child, he had no choice, and was dragged into the place.

 I tried to tell him that he's missing a lot, that he has to face his fears, and just get on a boat, and he'll see for himself how easy it is. He  finally gave in, when they announced that the Statue of Liberty would be open, once more, to visitors. And like I told him.....you can't fly or go by train to get there. Let's see what will happen. I  hoped that curiosity would conquer his fears.

Much to his surprise, he enjoyed the trip we took, going to a historic place, where you could check out the history of the area you were visiting. However, even with all the modern stuff, my friend did not feel safe at all. He kept complaining about everything. But most of all he rails against ships and says that if it were up to him--his travels would be strictly either by plane or by train.

A Sunset Skyline

If you want a beautiful sight, to me, there's one that is just as beautiful as a sunset over the mountains in nature, and that is the light show that is painted on the sky and the man-made mountains of a city's skyline.

Riding on the elevated train, just as the sun begins to set, a look out the window rewards you with a dazzling sight. The many purples, fiery oranges and dark blue sky is suddenly highlighted by the man-made lights springing up from the many buildings on the horizon. There you see black silhouettes, of multiple shapes and heights come alive with dots and squares of lights.

As the train moves on, the city seems to come alive as darkness falls. And you suddenly feel, as you observe this grand display, that despite all the savage acts that we inflict on this planet and one another, there's still much to be proud, much to congratulate ourselves on accomplishing.

Crickets: A Summer Symphony

When talking about the weather...which one is your favorite season? For me it's the time in late summer and early autumn. Why? Because that's the time when all the chirpy insects seem to awaken and begin their noisy and amplified serenade to each other.

You have during the day the very loud hum of the cicadas, sort of like someone scratching a grater. Then in the evening a chorus of crickets takes over, and keep their song all night long! Ah, how romantic! you say, well --- no....At first it sounds great --  with many notes being sung, here a long one, there a short one, also a persistent one. But after a while it wears you down, and you just wish that they would shut up!

I mean, I wouldn't want for them to disappear, the place would seem empty and colorless, without the cricket's sounds. It really adds color, and another dimension, to the whole summer palette.

The Many Faces of New York

Having lived in a very rough neighborhood in Brooklyn, as I was growing up, has made me a bit  wary of trends and people. You learn in that kind of neighborhood -- that not everyone is honest or can be trusted to treat you right. This wisdom, I've found out , can be applied to almost any other facet of your life.

For example, when you hear the name New York, certain images flash into your mind: the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State building, the skyscrapers, and so on. But if you stop to think about it, a lot of the images of New York that people worldwide have in their minds, are manufactured by either the news or the movies. Which means that unless you have lived here for a while, you don't know the real New York.

This point is illustrated, to me, by people I have met that have come just as tourists, who express a view of New York, that is distorted by what they have been shown by these media. If you go by what the movies show, New York is either  populated by super rich people, who live in these fabulous penthouse apartments, and get driven around by their private chauffeur. And, oh yes the only "ethnic" people you see are either the taxi drivers, the newspaper kiosk guy, and so on. But rarely are these "ethnic" types portrayed as being part of the "elite".

Except,of course,  if we are talking about the other way New York's people are portrayed: as super evil villains out to destroy the good parts of the city, for their own selfish purposes. Unfortunately, for some reason, these evil people most always are portrayed as the "ethnic" types. Which makes me uncomfortable, since in the real New York, the super rich and the not-quite-rich "ethnic" types, tend to live side by side in a kind of parallel situation. They see each other and sometimes interact with each other, but it's like there's an invisible wall that keeps them from understanding how the other side lives.

And they do not interfere with one another, each assuming the wrong thing about the other side. Which is a pity, because a good conversation between these groups, once in a while, would -- I think --be beneficial for everybody concerned. But that's just one person talking....you may have another opinion.

The Rule of Opposites on the Subway

Have you ever noticed that no matter what it is you are waiting for: the bus, the plane, or what ever, that the one that you are waiting for is always the last one to arrive. This seems to be one of those unwritten, but unshakable Life's law of things that are put there to drive you crazy.

The worst is when I.m on the subway, and have to get to my destination at a certain time, that I cannot be late. It doesn't matter which train I have to take. If there are four track, and my train is supposed to arrive on track one, I can bet money and win, that trains on tracks two through four are going to zoom by. And my train?...It usually shows up late, or even better -- never shows up at all!

Sure they air announcements over the loudspeakers, but unless you have a very good ear for mumblings, you can't understand a word, all you hear is a word here and there and lots of static. This is why I carry a map and the latest routing changes on an app in my cellphone. Otherwise, I would be like those many lost souls that wind up getting lost, if their regular train doesn't show up.

Dining Out Joy

Too many people condemn the fast-food places as a contributing to the problem of obesity, or they call the parents who take their children there,  horrible names for not giving those children a "home-cooked meal".  What they don't realize that these places are not all bad or evil. They serve a big segment of the people who like to eat out, but can't go to the regular restaurants because most of the times the prices are outrageously high.

So to keep the illusion that, hey---we can afford once in a while to eat out, these people go to the fast-food places. And I say why not? What's wrong with wanting to go out to eat with your family and not have to take out a loan to do it.  I understand completely the feeling of wanting, once in a while, to get out of the house, and take the family and treat them to a different cuisine -- so what it it happens to be some burgers and fries! At least the whole family can afford it.

Believe or not, these excursions are one way for people to feel that they at least can keep their dignity, for not only do these fast-food places give them a chap meal, but they also are one of the few places left, that will offer entry-level employment to any person willing to work. In today's economy that 's a big positive.

So, next time you pass one of these places, think a little, before you look down your nose at them,.

The Other Broadway

Everyone has heard of Broadway. The famed place where you have all those theaters and shows, where people who want to be stars, or who are stars, go to shine and showcase their talents. But that's not the Broadway I know, or want to talk about.

There's also a Broadway in Brooklyn, a far more interesting place, at least to me. This Broadway is a collection of small shops, restaurants, newspaper kiosks, beauty parlors, senior citizen center, bazaars, flea and farmer's markets, and so many other colorful entities. They are run by people from many different parts of the world, who amazingly, get along and help each other. There exists a camaraderie among them that is refreshing to see, in a world too often divided along so many ideological lines.

Walking from one corner of a block to the other, you can get goods and foods from people from the Caribbean, Middle East, Europe, Africa, America, the Orient and everything else in between. To me it's a virtual testament that deep down, we can put our differences aside, and focus on the matters we all share in common.

After all, we all want to live well, have a nice place to call home, take care of our families, and work in something that makes us feel that we are contributing something to society, and get rewarded for it. As for the other Broadway, the one in Manhattan, where the fantasy world is played out in songs, dance and drama, it's nice....but it doesn't surpass in beauty and grandeur Brooklyn's Broadway. Where the real world is playing a better harmony.

Nightime And The Taxi

To understand the life of a person, you sometimes have to switch places with them, not always physically but mentally. We, too many times, believe that we know how this or that person, in a given profession, is supposed to think and work, in short: we stereotype them. We sort, and bundle people together, based on our preconceived notions.

Unfortunately, we all, at one time or another fall into this mentality. Myself , for example, used to have this weird ideas as to what kind of person became a taxi driver. That is, until a good friend of mine became one. The stories he would tell me about the different kinds of people he would pick up, were enough to make your hair stand on end.

Many a times he would, based on his gut instincts alone, just drive-by a person, and not pick them up. Aha! you might say, discrimination! Well, no..not really, you see, he quickly learned that being a taxi driver was a somewhat dangerous job. As he never knew if the person he picked up, was some kind of maniac, a criminal, or someone high on something -- and would try to do him harm.

As it sometimes would happen, that he would pick somebody up, against his better judgment, and was later faced with the choice of getting into a fight over the fare, possibly risking his life, or just getting the heck out of there, without the money -- but with his life. As he told me, the worst time was late at night, supposedly the best time to make more money, since people didn't want to take public transportation, but also all, unfortunately, when all the drunks and whacked out people would also be out there.

But he had a family to support, and he had to be driving the late shift. It finally got too much for him, when one night, one of his fares pulled a gun on him, and he was forced to talk this guy into sparing his life, after the guy robbed him of the little cash he had made that day. After that incident, he said that the money wasn't worth it, and got out the taxi-driving business.

I think of him whenever I hear some people complain about how rude, or prejudiced this or that taxi driver was to them. How would they feel if they could see the situation from his point of view.

Haggling for the Clock

You don't have to travel to some exotic bazaar abroad to find yourself in a shop or store where you can argue, or as some would call it "haggle", with the seller to see if the item can be bought cheaper. Most of the time this is done out of necessity, especially when in a lot of places nowadays -- things are way, way overpriced.

This happened to me as I needed to buy a new clock-radio. You know... one of those old-fashioned electric devices that have AM and FM radio, have a clock, snooze, sleep, and alarm buttons, and so on. Why not an iPod or something similarly smart and cutting edge --  with features that practically ask you whether you want cream and sugar in your coffee? Because, frankly....I'm cranky in the morning, and want something simple and uncomplicated to wake me up.

Anyway, here I was at the electronics shop, one -- that, by the way, is perpetually going out of business, looking over at several different models, trying to decide which one was the most convenient for me. Now the prices were totally out of line for the size and features that most of these clock-radios offered.

The one that I was looking at, was a small rectangle shaped boxy radio, about five inches in length and three in width, which probably would cost -- at the most -- ten dollars. The man tells me forty dollars! Looking at him in disbelief, I tell him -- you must be kidding me! OK, OK he says, for you ---  thirty-five.

No wanting to be ripped-off, I start heading towards the door, the guy follows me saying -- fine, fine, you are twisting my arm -- twenty dollars, but not a penny less! I head out the door, and he comes outside to chase me saying -- you win, you win -- it's yours for fifteen dollars! Practically running away from this store, I just kept walking, and went to another shop that gave me the right price from the start, without the aggravation.

A Strange Trip

You never know what's going to happen when you get on a bus. Sure, you know what your destination is, but it's what happens on the way there that is always a question mark. Since I'm a person that tries to conserve energy, I take the bus whenever I can, instead of using the car. Most of the time the ride is uneventful, at other times things can get strange -- it all depends on the kind of people that get on the bus. And believe me, you get to see all kinds.

A couple of weeks ago, in the middle of the worst heat wave this summer, I decided to go by bus, to a place that was too far to walk in the brutal heat and sun. So I'm standing at the bus stop, when this semi-good-looking young guy approaches the small group that was standing -- waiting for the bus.

Unfortunately for us, this young guy seemed to be under the influence of something, as he was bare-chested, holding his shirt in his hands and waving it like a flag. He had a bandana tied around his forehead, and was laughing and shouting how high he was, as he kept jumping into the oncoming steady stream of traffic that kept zooming by -- daring them to hit him!

Naturally, we kept our distance from him, as we tried to ignore him  and keep talking among ourselves. Of course, he noticed our behavior and made a beeline for us as he kept telling us -- how crazy he was, all this, as he kept jumping in front of cars, that did their best to avoid hitting him. We kept desperately scanning the distance for our bus, as the guy appeared to wander off about a block from the bus stop.

When -- finally! we saw our bus headed our way. Hooray! we said, we can get away from this lunatic! But, no...the guy came running back and quickly got into the bus, as the doors were about to close. To my dismay, he took a seat right behind me. And then proceeded to take a backpack he had with him, took out a deodorant and proceeded to apply it. Then he took out a different shirt, put it on, then he began shaving with this portable electric razor. In all, he acted as if he were all by himself in his home. After shaving, he then took out this thermos, and began drinking from it, what smelled like alcohol. Mind you, he's ranting to himself and the world, all kinds of weird stuff.

While he's doing all this, the rest of us on the bus, did our best to pretend that what he was doing, was as normal as reading the newspaper. The bus driver, just kept glancing at him occasionally from the rear-view mirror. It seemed like an eternity, but I reached my destination, and as I got out, actually felt sorry for this guy. Here was a young person, who from his actions and by his demeanor, gave the impression that he was not ignorant or uneducated, yet was destroying his life -- for the temporary illusion of feel-good that whatever he was on, was giving him.

On the Playground of Science

There's a place in New York -- in Flushing, Queens, to be precise -- that makes you feel as if you have stepped into the future. This great place is the New York Hall of Science, located in Flushing Meadows Park in Queens.

A little background history: the Hall of Science was first built as a pavilion for the 1964 World's Fair, but it proved to be so popular, that long after the fair ended, the Science Hall was left as a sort of Science Museum. And it has now sort of become New York City's hands-on science and technology center.

The place can be reached by bus, car or train. But your best bet is by train, to avoid the hassles of parking. Taking the number 7 train to the 111th Street Station, and then walking three blocks south, going down 111th street, gets you there. You have to pay a reasonable fee to enter and then the fun begins!

Last summer, myself and a small family group went to visit, and there were so many wonderful science exhibits, the great majority of them interactive, that we had to map out a strategy so that we could see the most interesting ones that day. Because believe me -- you need more than one day to enjoy all the different exhibits.

For children of all ages, to me, the best exhibit is the Science Playground, which is outdoors. Here I remember, we were able to explore, hands-on, several scientific principles of sound, water, sun, wind, balance, motion, sight--as well as use simple machines to illustrate other principles. It was so much fun, that you forgot you were learning and actually testing science!

For example there are a series of mirrors that once you turn them toward the sun, you focus the sunlight on certain small targets hooked up to small windmills. This causes these windmills to turn, which as they turn -- cause connected pipes to release a mist of water on the people on that part of the playground. There are also balancing boards, that depending how you step on them and move, produce different musical notes. And other fun stuff.

Of the exhibits that are inside, there are so many that you interact with --  that it's not possible for me to list them all. I can only mention some of our favorites. One of those was this machine that told you how much you weigh -- in gallons of water. There's also an exhibit that lets you leave your shadow imprint on a white wall. Another one, lets you create a whole symphony of sounds and music, just by stepping and moving in front of this screen that is activated by your motion.

My family had a real fun time, which is why this is a place that we go to every year. Because apart from the permanent exhibits, they always have new things and events that illustrate one scientific principle or the other, in a fun and interesting way. And, for those that want more, they offer -- for children and adults, all sorts of teaching events, all geared towards making science and technology more open and accessible to the general public.

This is one of those places, that if you want to see the future of science and technology develop right before your eyes, you should not hesitate to visit it. You can find the details of how to get there and the other information about it on the Internet. if you love science and technology, do not miss visiting this place, you will not regret it!

The Beach Ride

When you depend on public transportation to go any place, you have to deal with all kinds of dramas and delays, not to mention with all kinds of situations. But that's the beauty of it, because if you ever get tired of your routine, a trip on the bus will bring you in contact with the unexpected or just with a challenge. How you deal with it will either leave you angry or just laughing, but at least you'll have had your adventure for the day.

This is the point of view that four of us had, when we decided to go to Jones Beach by bus, because it was the cheapest mode of transportation. Never mind that the trip was about an hour, and the bus left you quite a distance from the water's edge, still it was cheap.

What we didn't count on, was that quite a few other people had the same brilliant idea, and when we got to the bus stop there was a very, very long line. By the time we got on, we were squashed against the doors, we couldn't even see the driver.

This being a hot, humid summer day, we were suffocating and gasping for fresh air, as it happened that the people near us apparently did not believe in using deodorants, and frankly they stank! The one hour ride seemed to last an eternity, however, thanks to the overcrowding, the conductor did not check for tickets and -- hooray! we at least had a one-way, free ride to the beach.

Party Etiquette Dilemma

Why is it that whenever you are organizing a party, no matter how careful and inclusive you want to be, you always wind up with people that feel insulted because you did not invite them? It doesn't matter that you explain to your uncle or friend so-and-so, that -- hey, this was not your type of party, word always spreads around that the party was great --  and you left them out.

This is the problem I face, being part of a huge family ---  where even if you are a cousin five-times-removed you are still considered family! Naturally this presents logistical problems, as there are several generations involved, and sometimes a party for the younger set, may not appeal to the older crowd. And there are times that a compromise just doesn't work. You also have the questions of in-laws and friends of all involved, which if we invited everyone, would require us to book a stadium!

So it falls, usually to me, as I'm always elected to make the guest list, to decide who is invited or not -- depending on whose occasion is being celebrated. Naturally this puts me on the spot, as word quickly spreads about any party, with people calling me to make sure that their name is on the list. However, it isn't always possible or desirable to invite everyone. So I choose the names carefully.

Over the years, I have learned that there are people that want to be invited to a party, just so they can snub you and not show up. Or there those people that want to be invited just so that they can feel popular, but they also never show up. The way I have learned to deal with these kinds of people, especially if it's a catered affair or at a party hall or restaurant, where you pay per person, is that I send them invitations, but don't include them on the list I give to the caterer, the party hall, or the restaurant.

This way I don't get aggravated because I'm not paying for people that have no intention of showing up to the party. This, of course, while saving me money and aggravation, makes some of these no-shows angry, when they find out that....no, nobody missed them, because they were not ever put on the list of actual guests. But, you know what? I don't care, because these are the kind of people that if they do show up to your party, will complain about everything and try to ruin it for everyone else. So who needs them!

Subway Entertainment

There's always something going on in the subway. You never have a chance to get tired or bored, because whenever you think that maybe today it's going to be a normal day, something always happens. There I was, trying to read the newspaper, while at the same time keeping an eye on my surroundings, just in case...And then, it happens.

You see, we have become so used to all sorts of strange people doing all kinds of weird stuff on the train, that the weirdos have to be creative to get our attention. After the train left the station, we passengers were jolted out of our cocoons. This guy, that nobody paid attention to when he got in, started blowing this trumpet really loud, making the most horrible sound you can imagine.

As we all pretended that it didn't bother us, and refused to look at him, he let out another blast of that awful trumpet. Then, laughing loudly, let us know that ---  yeah! I know you heard me! And guess what?! I'm going to keep blowing on this trumpet giving you all a nasty headache, unless you all give me money to stop!

Now, you have to admire, in spite of yourself,  a man who has the sheer audacity to blackmail an audience who will only be his prisoner until the train makes its next stop. Some people were actually so impressed by his incredible boldness, that they actually gave him money! They took it as a really unique take on the usual playing of some random music to get people to give money.

Not me, I just thought he was incredibly annoying, and did not contribute any money to him, but I must admit that his technique was at least out of the ordinary, and for that earned, if not my money, at least a measure of my respect.

Outdoor Eating on the Go

One of the best thing, to me, of living in New York, is the variety of cuisines you can get from an outdoor food vendor. I mean, because of the rich cultural mix we have, with immigrants from practically all parts of the planet living here, you can get some really interesting foods from the food carts found all over the city.

My own particular favorites are the middle eastern food carts that sell gyros, falafels, and other assorted middle-east dishes. The flavors and the quality of the foods are sometimes better than some fancy restaurants, and of course you can't beat the very reasonable prices. You literally can find Indian, South American, Chinese, Japanese, Caribbean, and other international cuisines represented among the food carts vendors.

Not to be forgotten among all these exotic foods, is the ever popular hot dog, with the classic toppings of either onions or sauerkraut and mustard, yum! And the classic roasted chestnuts and pretzels can still be found, as people just love the aromas of these foods.

Naturally, this public preference, has sparked a bunch of complaining from the established restaurants. Especially those that charge you a ridiculously high price for food, that sometimes is not as good as the street food vendors', with the restaurants sometimes demanding that the city ban the food carts, because they take business away from them. But the popularity of these carts, has made it tough for the city to try to ban them, although they keep trying.

Most people here agree that New York would be a pretty boring place, food-wise, if these multi-ethnic food carts were forced to get off the streets. I myself, have signed the many petitions that have been circulated to save the street vendors. After all they are part of the fabric of New York life.

The Shadow of Poverty

There are times when we just don't think about how other people live, we just think of ourselves, and our problems. Sometimes magnifying those problems in our minds, and thinking we are in such a horrible situation, and poor us. But there are moments, as you interact with other people, or when you are just walking, riding, or driving --  going from here to there, where an image hits your senses and suddenly your problems seem small and irrelevant.

Such a moment happened to me, as I was walking home, from food shopping at the supermarket. Across the street , walking in the opposite direction, was this very frail-looking and, very skinny older man. He was well dressed, and what struck me was the sign he was carrying, which read: I'm Hungry -- Please Donate Some Food. It shocked me. Here I was complaining to myself about the ridiculously high prices of the stuff I had just bough, and here was a man who would be happy with even one of the items.

What struck me was this was not your usual disheveled, or grungy looking beggar, this was a man who looked dignified and well dressed, and had been brought so low, that he had to swallow his dignity and beg for food. I crossed the street and asked what he needed, he told me if I could give him some bread and milk. I gave him what I had, and told him about a food pantry that I knew of, that would give him food, no questions asked.

I had to look away, so as not to embarrass him, then went on my way. The thought that kept running through my mind: what had happened not only to this poor man, but to us as a community. What had happened to the so-called safety net that was supposed to be in place, so that a person would not have to beg in the street if they were hungry, when times got tough? As I kept walking home, I just wandered what had happened to us, have we really become that selfish, that much focused on only ourselves, that we forget our fellow human beings? I just wonder.

The Not So Old Lower Manhattan

Have you ever noticed that sometimes change and progress doesn't always mean that things improve? Sometimes change will come to a neighborhood, and while it  might seem on the surface that things look cleaner, shinier, more modern...the change can destroy the character of the neighborhood, indeed even take its soul away.

To me this happened on the area around the the entrance to the Williamsburg bridge in Manhattan, the area around Delancey and Essex streets. This area was an enclave of cheap shops, especially clothing and fabric shops, and also cheap rental tenements. If you needed quality fabrics or clothing that didn't cost you a small fortune, or find cheap and affordable rentals, you would head to Delancey Street.

There you had a so many little shops to choose from: coats, handbags, office wear, shoes, fabrics so you could make your own clothes, and so on. The owners would haggle with you about the prices. Also the little restaurants, or bodegas that would sell you a great variety of food from all corners of the world.

Most of the owners were recent immigrants or the latest family members to take over the business that had been open for years. No matter, the feeling was one of discovery, of family, where the merchants genuinely cared about you the customer and everyone felt equal. The buildings were old-world, little brownstones with architecture and details that reminded you of the Dutch (the first Europeans that owned Manhattan). In all --  the place felt alive and was always buzzing with activities.

The other day I went by, and was genuinely saddened when I saw that half of the old buildings were gone, and a sign proclaiming that a new hotel was being built here, right at the entrance to the Williamsburg bridge. Most of the quaint shops were gone, only a few have remained open, as this part of Manhattan has become yet another victim of greed, as the real estate value here has zoomed out of sight. The old, nearly historic buildings have been replaced by characterless glass boxes, that are too big and tall.

The shops that are now open are colorless stores, all part of the big chains that are slowly taking over Manhattan. And as you can expect, the store owners there couldn't care less about the customers, it's all about making money, and so-called high fashion. Gone are the different small retail stores that offered you service, quality and variety. No more fabric shops, or the shoe store, with an actual shoemaker there, no more quality handbags store.

No, everything now is sold by chain stores, with most of the stuff made outside of the country. The soul of the neighborhood has been drained. The people you see now are so concerned with looking "fashionable" and "in" that it's like being in a place populated by mindless zombies.

On a bright note, I did find a few survivors, a few little shops, practically holes-in-the-wall, where you could get the best food, cakes, and party decorations ever. I hope that next time I visit, these places will still be there, but with the new hotel opening, I don't hold my breath.

The Feel of People

To get the tone of a neighborhood, all you have to do is listen to its noises. It's amazing what you can learn as you walk through a place, with your ears attuned to what noises people make. For it is in this unguarded moments that people express their true opinions.

This was brought home to me as I walked in Manhattan, and started paying attention to the conversations of random persons walking by. For example, in the upcoming presidential elections here, people are all over the place as to what they believe is important.

It seems that everybody has filtered whatever the politicians are saying, through their own particular problems, and have come up with bizarre or plausible points of views to support their particular candidates. And the worst part is -- that if you engage any of these people in conversation, they get too passionate defending their particular brand of politics, and if you don't watch out, you're involved in a huge fight.

The funny thing is, that from the way these people speak, they care less about the bigger picture than what they think this or that particular politician can do for them. And of course, depending on the neighborhood you happen to be in, the topic of importance changes: sometimes in a small way, sometimes in a big way, but it changes.

It's no use telling this or that person to look beyond their own narrow interests, as they will call you biased and ignorant, and close their minds to further arguments. And so it goes for politics, good luck to all the politicians, they are going to need it, for we the people are sure fickle.

An Aggressive Fortune Teller

Have you ever felt that sometimes strange, and wacky things happen just to you? That everyone else has "normal" things happen to them, but, oh no...not you. It's as if you are a magnet for the strange and weird. Well, that's the feeling that my cousin and I felt, as we were vacationing in Spain in the city of Granada.

We had arrived there by train, and after settling into our hotel, decided to explore this very beautiful city. So there we were checking out the famous Granada Cathedral of the Incarnation. This is a very imposing building that took nearly 180 years for it to be fully built. It was started around 1523, and was not finished until around the year 1704. There are many different architectural elements reflected in the Cathedral, which make it very impressive, and unique looking.

So there we were, just coming out from touring the inside of the Cathedral, and commenting that we certainly had taken many pictures, when we see this colorfully dressed woman approach us. Before we knew what had happened, she had grabbed my cousin's right arm by the wrist. My cousin tried to break free, but this woman had a strong grip on her. When I yelled at her -- to stop this! what the heck are you doing! She just told us in a solemn voice that she was a gypsy and it was her duty to read my cousin's hand to tell my cousin her fortune.

Now, we had been warned by the hotel staff about the gypsies that were roaming around the Cathedral, ready to pounce on you. But we didn't think that they would be so pushy. So my cousin told this woman, that -- no thank you, she didn't want her fortune to be read, and made a fist with her hand. The woman got really angry and threatened to put a curse or jinx on us.

 I immediately sensed that this situation was not going to end unless we gave her money. So I took out a few euros, and said --look my good woman...this is all you're getting from us, but if you don't let go of my cousin's arm, you are getting zero! She looked at me, and says -- first you give me the money! Not being a fool, I said, no... let her go or we call the police and you wind up losing everything.

At that she relented and let go her vise-like grip of my cousin's wrist, and said --fine! give me the money and you don't get a fortune told.....your loss! I told her we couldn't care less, just to go away and leave us alone.She took the coins, and promptly ran, muttering all kinds of nasty things about us. After that, we were a bit more careful as to who we let get near us.

A Loss and the Train Conductor

Fate sometimes is good to you -- in spite of yourself. As events unfolded the time we were traveling from London to Paris, by train via the Chunnel. The three of us had just boarded the train, and were very excited to take this mode of transportation. We found this better than taking the ferry across the Channel, as some of us suffered from seasickness.

Anyway, we made ourselves comfortable and as we kept busy talking about our plans for Paris, we kind of lost track of time, and before we knew it -- we had arrived. This kind of threw us out of sync, and we just hurriedly grabbed our stuff and ran out of the train. We got into a taxi and made our way to the hotel. As we go to the front desk to check in, we found out -- to our shock and horror -- that, oh no! my friend, the one who had our prepaid hotel vouchers, had left her handbag on the train. That handbag had all her important papers like her passport, Eurorail pass, money, and all the prepaid vouchers for our trip across Europe.

Naturally we went into panic mode. Luckily, my friend had made her trip arrangements with a travel agent back home, who very wisely, had kept copies of everything we needed for the trip, including the hotel vouchers and our passports. So my friend explained to the concierge at the front desk what had happened, and asked if she could call the travel agent from the hotel's phone. So that the agent could fax the required voucher and the passports information to confirm that yes, we were who we claimed to be, and that indeed the hotel had been prepaid.

The concierge, very kindly, let us do that and -- thank goodness -- the travel agent faxed all the papers and we were able to check in, once the concierge verified that everything was in order. My poor friend, though, was besides herself, thinking, oh no...now I'm going to have to go the Embassy, now I have no money, what am I going to do?! We calmed her down and told her that we should rest and leave that for the next day. She reluctantly agreed.

Bright and early the next morning, we ate a quick breakfast, determined to do what we could to go to the Embassy to get my friend at least a copy of her passport. So we go to the front desk and ask the concierge how to get there. But before we could even ask him, he calls my friend, and tells her that he has a package for her, brought by messenger early that morning. She's puzzled, who could have sent her a package? So she opens it, and lets out a scream, what's wrong? we ask, what's in there?

Look! look! she say's, I can't believe this...oh wow! thank you good angel, thank you. There in the box --was her bag with all its contents intact, nothing missing, not even the money. And pinned to it was  a very brief note: To the lovely young lady, who was so excited to arrive in Paris, that she forgot this very important handbag, I looked inside and found the voucher to your hotel. As I don't want your vacation and enjoyment of our great city to be spoiled, here it is. Happy vacation! Your train conductor.

We just stood there in disbelief, we never --  in a million years -- thought that my friend would ever see that handbag again, much less with its contents intact. The anonymous train conductor did not even leave his name, but we made sure to write a letter to the company that runs the train, praising him and telling them to thank him for us. It certainly made our trip to Paris a more enjoyable experience.

A Clear and Sunny Tuesday

Eleven years ago, on another Tuesday, the morning was beautiful. As I looked out the window, the sky was a clear blue, the sun was shining and there was a hint of Autumn in the cool air. I was doing my usual morning routine: listening to the traffic and weather report on the radio, as I got ready to work.

As I looked out the window I thought, it might be a nice day to go out. Then, from the traffic helicopter the pilot is saying that there's smoke coming from one of the towers at the World Trade Center. This caught my attention, what?! it can't be! -- At first, the traffic-helicopter pilot said that maybe a small plane might have accidentally crashed into the tower. At that I immediately turned on the television, this is impossible! I thought, there are a million safeguards against this happening. As I watch the smoke coming out of one tower, I start calling everyone I know, telling them to turn on the television.

One of the people I called is one of my cousins, who worked as the superintendent of a building in Queens, from whose rooftop you could see, across the river, the two towers. As he is on his cell phone talking to me, watching one tower burn, from the roof of his building in Queen, and I'm watching the live report on television, we both watch live as the second plane comes, accelerating in speed, and slams into the second tower. Now my cousin is a tough man, and he told me that he felt as if somebody punched him in his heart and tears just ran down his face, when he saw this.

His thought was: why? we are a nation where people come here from all over the world, because of the promise of a better life -- why this horrible action? Because it dawned on both of us and the rest of my friends and relatives, as we frantically tried to communicate with one another, that this was a terrorist attack.

Fate was kind to us in that we did not lose close friends or relatives, but that did not diminish the pain we felt. To know that neighbors who had gone to work, were not coming back, that people who were just trying to make a living, were made targets because of hate. It was a hard thought to contemplate. We spent that day trying to find out where this or that family member or friend was.

One of my friends, who worked on the 88th floor of one the towers, got saved because of a toothache. Monday evening he called his dentist, who had an office five blocks from the World Trade Center, about this toothache, and the dentist gave him a 7:30 AM appointment, for Tuesday, September 11, 2001. He went to the appointment, worrying about getting to the office late. Only to come out and seeing one of the towers spewing thick black smoke, and people looking up at the sky as the sound of another jet was fast approaching and then feeling the impact of the second jet hitting the other tower. And people realizing that this was serious, and him just thinking -- about his fellow workers who were already there.

One of my cousins was on the last subway that went under the World Trade Center, on its way to New Jersey, before the towers collapsed. And then the countless friends that just ran for their life as the shock wave of dust, smoke and debris covered everything in lower Manhattan, like a volcano eruption.

I remember going there with my camera, the following week, on September 18, 2001, to record in photos, the destruction. The whole place was coated in a gray, sticky, ash -- honestly, you would have thought that a volcano had erupted and this was volcanic ash. But is was more gruesome, when you went to the site of what had been two majestic, and imposing towers, all you saw was this huge pile of still burning and smoking ruins. It broke my heart, for you see, I too had once worked there. Just that August, I had shown one of my visiting relatives the pride of New York.

The saddest part of all this, is how the politicians appropriated this tragedy for their own gains. Most of us here in New York wanted the twin towers to be rebuilt exactly the way they were. But, oh no...the politicians of all stripes and parties made it their agenda -- to use this to push their agendas, without much regards for the feelings of the families and friends of the victims. To me, it is shameful that the promised museum honoring those that died on that horrible day, is still not fully open to the public.

At least this year, politics is being kept to a minimum, the ceremonies are being kept simple, with politicians excluded. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, a fitting tribute and museum will finally be open, and the memory of all those innocents whose lives were so brutally cut short, will be honored in a respectful and joyful memorial. So that the world will not forget who they were, and remind us that we are all brothers and sisters. That no matter from what part of the planet we come from, what our background is: we are all human beings and should have respect for each other.

Falling into Autumn

Hooray! Finally... the scorching heat, the unbearable humidity, the dreaded three H's are coming to an end. No more forecasts of Hot, Hazy and Humid weather. Autumn is just around the corner. This along with Spring are my two favorite seasons.

This is when Nature shows her most beautiful colors. In the Spring it's all about new beginnings, flowers blooming, the green leaves returning to the trees, the grass changing from dingy yellow to emerald green, birds and butterflies coming back after hiding from the cold of winter.

And Autumn is at the other end, now the leaves change from green to a variety of colors: golden, purple, orange, flaming red, and so on. The air becomes cool and crisp, you don't have to chew it to breathe it again.

The gray haze hanging over everything begins to lift and the sky stops looking milky gray and turns glorious blue. The children go back to school, and the adults go back to the regular office routines, with summer  vacations memories fading as fast as the summer tans.

Winter is too far away to even worry about. This is a time to just enjoy this beautiful season.

Time for the Screen of Magic

There's still one place left, in today's increasingly expensive society, that can transport you to places far away whether in time, space or mind, and all for under 20 dollars per person. This place is the local multiplex, where you can view the latest or  catch vintage movies. To me, movies are one of the best invention that the human mind has created. For it allows a collective of  people to put into visual, musical and spoken form what the mind thinks and sees.

You might find the particular movie entertaining, simply awful, inspiring, funny, tragic, and many other descriptions -- but it always engages you. It transports you out of your little world, and into a new perspective, and another way of perceiving the many different sides of reality.

Naturally, depending on the multiplex you go to, that reality can be influenced by the size of the screens each particular movie is assigned to. I discovered that at my local multiplex. To my reckoning, they have about 10 screens, ah -- but all screens are not created equal! After many visits to the place, I discovered that they have different screen and viewing room sizes, depending on how popular -- the owners think --  a movie will be.

For example: when we went to see what is commonly called a low-budget, indie movie the screening room, was not much bigger than a living room, and the screen was about the size of one of those large, flat-screen TV. Really, there were --  I would say -- about enough seats for maybe only 60 to 80 persons... tiny. But for the big-budget, latest expected summer blockbuster, they dedicated about three screens in the larger auditoriums, made to hold about two to three hundred persons, and the screens there were really panoramic in size.

It was a bit disconcerting to find yourself exiled to the smaller auditoriums, if your movie did not meet the criteria, set by heavy advertising on the studios part, of being the next big thing. No matter, you still could enjoy your escape out of the mundane and into the made-up world or reality of the particular movie. And since that is what you wanted to do in the first place, the screen size really didn't matter.

But, you say, why should I go there, when I can catch whatever I want on the Internet. Because, yes you can watch endless choices on the Internet, but nothing can replace the feeling of shared fun that you can get a a movie theater. I have been to movies that at the end, the audience is clapping or cheering. And it's that feeling of camaraderie with our fellow human beings, of being part of that crowd, in person, that not even the Internet can duplicate or replace. Otherwise movie theaters would have all closed a long time ago.

Freezing in the Aisles

Everyone has to go food shopping at some point in the week. I mean, we all got to eat right? Now, This is a task that should easily accomplished: you go to your local supermarket, maybe with a list of what you need to buy, find the items you need, pay for them and go home -- right? Well, at my particular supermarket -- it's not always that simple.

To start off, even though it's 90 degrees outside in the summertime, you have to bring a jacket. Why...? Because they have the air conditioning set at antarctic level - you can practically see your breath. And if you don't have that jacket, you'll be so cold --  that you'll be barely able to move, and even with the jacket, your fingers you'll get frostbite. The poor workers there, wear up to two jackets so that they don't get sick.

Now, you may ask, why do I even bother to go there to shop in the first place -- aha, because they have really good prices, and many promotions where you can get points --  to get items way cheaper than the competition. But this makes them a bit careless, and at times it seems as if the workers feel that they don't have to follow normal supermarket procedures.

As in, for example, stocking extra in popular items, or even being consistent in stocking basic items that people buy everyday. With them, it's hit or miss. The product you find there today, it's not guaranteed to be there tomorrow. And as for their produce department -- well that also it's a gamble. You may or may not get a really great, fresh, organic produce ... or...you may get something that one day after you get it home --  suddenly rots right in front of you. And then, you have to go back and return said produce.

But in spite of all its flaws, it's the only supermarket, around where I live that has a huge selection of foods from all over the world, organic produce, and really friendly workers, who actually believe in providing quality service to the consumer.

So I keep going back there, because, sadly, in the other supermarkets that I occasionally go to, there are not many workers -- just plenty of self-checkout machines that have taken over, depriving who knows how many people from being employed. And I, for one, will not support a place that puts machines ahead of people. After all, we all need to be able to make a living, and I really don't want to speed up the day when very smart robots will take over the jobs that we imperfect humans are presently doing.

Excursion on the River

To get away from the city, we sometimes like to go to Bear Mountain. This is a really nice, one-day getaway. Especially in the Fall, when --  as you sail up the Hudson River --  you can get a great view of the city's skyline, the George Washington Bridge and the changing colors of the trees, as you go past the Palisades and the Cloisters, on your way to the mountain.

The trip normally takes about 2 and a half hours to complete, each way, but you don't even notice it, because the scenery that goes by is so interesting that before you know it --you have arrived at your destination. Of course for us the best part is being on the ship, and just enjoying the passing scenery and taking lots of photos.

Now we like to make this a fun occasion, so we dress up for it, putting on our dressiest outfits and looking sharp, so that the photos are worthy of being sent to assorted friends and relatives. Sometimes, though, being so nicely dressed can present challenges, especially when the ship itself is not really a fancy one, and occasionally --  mishaps happen. As it happened to us one day.

To understand what happened, I must explain that this ship had three levels. And it's one of those ships that has this big smokestack that releases big, black clouds of smoke as (I guess) it uses the motor to speed along. Well anyway, there we were  --  about six of us, on the very top deck, checking out the sights and taking photos. We really were not paying attention to the loudspeakers and the stuff they were saying, when we noticed that people were hurriedly going downstairs, we just shrugged and kept taking pictures.

Then we heard a loud horn, like a foghorn, go on and next thing we knew -- this huge black cloud of soot descended on us, on our nice white outfits! on out face, skin, hair, all over! Had we paid attention to the announcement that told people to please go downstairs...but we were too busy talking and now this!

We went downstairs, where the other people tried, very hard, not to laugh right in our face --  we looked quite the spectacle. One of the ship's crew came over to us, and offered us some cloths and showed us to the lavatory where we washed off as much soot as we could, but our outfits, previously white, were ruined. Now they looked grey and dingy. We had now choice now, since we were already at Bear Mountain, to pretend that everything was fine, and give nasty looks to whomever even so much as looked at us with a look of puzzlement on their face.

Apart from that little distraction, we had a great time, and when we got home went straight to the showers, and just threw the outfits we had worn, in the trash. You see, the soot was sticky and oily and just would not come off. We learned a lesson that day: next time -- pay attention to the announcements, it may prevent you from getting caught in a disaster!

Ceremony of Convenience

This was a party that promised to be an interesting one.It was being held in one of those elegant halls that was made to look like a fancy palace, with chandeliers, many flowers, a garden and a lake. The event was taking place outdoors, in one of the gardens with a view of the lake. All very pretty, if I may say. This was the place a friend of mine chose for her wedding, as she wanted it to be a memorable occasion.

And as events unfolded, yes -- it proved to be memorable. You see this friend was marrying, not because she particularly was in love with the guy, but because it was the thing to do.

Let me explain: most of her friends had gotten married, and had a bought a house, and had kids. And as she put it: If they can have the husband, house and kids, so can I! Besides, she said that she rather be known as a widow, or divorcee, rather than as a "never married" woman. I thought this was pretty shallow, but, that was my personal opinion -- and who was I to tell her that was a pretty flimsy reason to get married -- others had married for worse reasons.

We were all assembled at the garden when she made her entrance, beautifully dressed, but with an expression on her face that was more suited to a solemn sermon, than the joy of a wedding. Not so the guy, he had a look of happiness and disbelief, as in -- I can't believe this beautiful woman is marrying me! Everyone notices this and was whispering about it, but since most people like to be at this kind of event, some said that maybe it was nerves, and dismissed her glum looks.

The ceremony took place, and then we all went inside to the reception area, where my friend was busy accepting her congratulations and many envelopes full of money for the bride and groom.  As she went around the room, accepting congratulations, she was very careful to be at the opposite end of wherever her now-husband was.

When, she came to our table, I remarked to her that she didn't look like the happy bride -- oh, it's OK , she said, now that this is out of the way, next will be the house and kids, and I will have what everyone else has. But, I asked -- what about your happiness, don't you still pine for this other guy? Well, she said, he doesn't have money, and I'm sure that I'll learn to at least like this one. Then she went to the next table, as the wedding video and photo guys trailed her, recording everything.

Finally the party wound down, and everyone there agreed, that it was a pretty sad affair, when the groom was the only one that had a look of total happiness on his face, and the bride looked like a person that was going through the motions, as if she had just made a business deal and nothing more. Pretty sad.