CT Graybeard revisits "The Big Apple" : Part Two

( This is a continuation of CT Graybeard revisits "The Big Apple" etc

The day, in retrospect was filled with images, sounds, and tastes, but mostly it was the images. 

There is this fabulous buffet cafeteria restaurant on Lexington near 50th. In addition to their brilliant floral like displays of foodstuffs they offered seemingly limitless variety. The extensive salad bar which drew my lunchtime attention was even outdone by their hot bar adorned with soups and meats of all kinds and that by the displays of sandwich ingredients that would be crafted to your desire from behind the counters. there was no wait and we found a table looking out on the passing pedestrian and vehicular traffic on Lexington. The pedestrians were moving faster than the cars and yet, strange as that might seem back home, we were singularly unsurprised.

Central Park Zoo was a photographers wonderland. It was 2:00 PM and the seals were doing their circus quality tricks both in the water and on irregular rock formations in the middle of their lagoon, while eagerly seeking each of their delectable whole fish rewards from their feeding trainers.

Polar Bears stalking about their simulated rocky habitat and diving into a mountain pool to cool off and coming face to face with multi colored children of all heights peering at them through the transparent walls of the pool. The Penguins went through their paces and marched about disappointing only that one three year old who wanted them to tap dance to music like he had seen in the movies. In the aviary, visitors became members of a reality show expedition into a sticky Rain forest. Birds flying past your ear. Peering into the shadows or behind huge fern leaves to see that spectacularly colored exotic creature everyone was talking about.

But it was the children's groups  encountered all around the park that said something most inspiring about NY. Most had come in school buses and each group wore it's own distinctively colored Tee shirts: green or purple or yellow or orange. Each shirt bore the name of the religious organization or foundation which sponsored their trip and their other activities. The members of these groups and their adult leaders  were mostly african american or hispanic. The kids were wide eyed, well behaved and having a glorious time. For most we learned this was their first such visit: Wonderful.

We caught a Fifth Ave. bus at 58th to head downtown and see the sights elsewhere. We would have made more progress by walking. It took a while, but we made it to 42nd street and got off in front of those massive granite pair of lions and the steps of the 42nd. street library, where my wife and I used to do college research together. We then walked west past the very much transformed Bryant Park toward 7th Ave. That park used to feature benches, trees, alcoholics and the homeless. Today it is European in design with restaurants, pavilions, winter ice skating and visitors from all over the world.

Seventh Ave was another story, it has become a extended strip of sidewalk real estate owned and operated for the convenience of peddlars, street vendors and guys shoving leaflets and advertisements which you don't want into your hand. Too many of this crowd have an "In your Face" attitude. Their kind of salesmanship is a sight to behold. They chant, they yell (frequently at each other to protect their territory), they approach assertively, they block up passage ways without a care. Innocent visitors are forced to navigate around the gauntlet but don't seem to mind because it is an interesting curiosity, part of the flora and fauna, that they can photograph but won't long have to put up with.

Speaking about street navigation. When was the last time you were in Chinatown? Canal Street and the network of surrounding streets has become ever more like another place from some other time. Winding narrow sidewalks hardly wide enough for two pedestrians to pass side by side are lined by oriental shops and stores that spill over onto those already too narrow sidewalks with unrecognizable exotic produce, foodstuffs and fish that are neither attractive nor pleasantly aromatic. Navigating those streets requires stepping forward occasionally, side-stepping frequently and knowing when to plow ahead or to make way for others seeking to pass through the same narrow openings, all requires a level of vigilance and street wisdom found only in that genus organism like no other "The New Yorker". There were seafood wonders to behold, not unlike some scary creatures from a Steven Spielberg movie. It's like a crowded village from the orient of the 1840s and you are, for a day, part of it. 

By now it was getting late and my son recommended we try "Virgils" the most highly regarded barbecue restaurant in New York. It was on 44th. between sixth and seventh Ave. He called on his cell phone to see if we needed a reservation: No, but there would be a twenty minute wait. We sped over and put our names in. We ordered draft beers at the bar each of which ran $6.50 plus the tip. I knew then that prices hadn't stopped rising in the city just because they were already too high on my last visit. We were shown tables on the surprisingly spacious second floor. The decor was dark wood paneling and pictures of steer, cattle and cowboys all over the place. The place mats had a US map with locations and names of the best barbecue restaurants all over the country. It wasn't what you would expect. This place was not part of a chain. Those other restaurants were part of a rare species, "The best of the best".  

The whole experience reminds me of the famous psychological experiments done on "Overcrowding". What happens when animal species are forced to spend long periods of time in overcrowded conditions? 

Answer: No surprises, some of them begin to evidence aberrant and irrational behaviors, others concerned about their welfare. learn that aberrant behavior is not to be laughed at, while a rare few pack up their bags and move to Connecticut, returning only infrequently to remind themselves of why they left and to be reminded that there are gems of humanity and it's creations sprinkled everywhere.