I did manage to get permission from the wife to drive to NYC for my audition for Wheel of Fortune. I had a great drive up there, had a decent time during the audition, but ultimately was not picked for the show. Oh well, no biggie, right? Same thought I had. Then I added up how much it cost me to go there: $52.04 for a full tank of gas, $8 to drive through the Lincoln Tunnel, (This one hurt the most) $51 to get my vehicle out of the parking garage, then a few dollars more in tolls on the way home. I again realized that I have no issues with driving in Manhattan, I absolutely hate the city. Sure, it has nice things to see and do, but so does Philly. Sure, there are cool places to visit, but Philly has some too. So, I have decided that NYC is just a bigger Philly, and even more annoying. And expensive too! C'mon, $51 for 3 hours of parking?? Really? My ass hurt from that intrusion for the whole drive back. Speaking of the drive back, I took the Holland tunnel back to Jersey to come home. Along the way, I had to cut through SoHo to make it to the tunnel. I texted my wife while sitting in traffic (not moving mind you) and told her I was still in Manhattan, and hadn't made the tunnel yet. One hour later, and I had moved not even a full FOUR blocks!! I though life on the Expressway in Philly sucked, but I was stuck staring at some overpriced stores that were "Fabulous" and all that crap simply because they were in NYC. The one store had a gigantic high wedge shoe covered in what looked like cheap gold colored BeDazzler gems. I cringed thinking how much a pair of shoes was inside there. Oh well.
There is one thing that I did this drive that was different from the other times I was in NYC. I saw the skyline without the Twin Towers. Sad that they will never again rise proudly along the skyline, easily seen from a distance, rising in contrast to the Empire State Building. It is a sad reminder that I lost 343 brother firefighters that fateful day. Brave souls that can only be remembered and honored, not taken out for drinks, or shaking hands with them, or exchanging war stories. Instead they all have the same worst war story.
The 28th will be my son Jackson's first birthday. Scary that the year has passed so quickly. He is just as adorable as his older brother was at the same age, with one exception... He is simply much bigger than Patrick was. We measured them both the other day. Jackson is 27 inches tall. Patrick was no where near that tall at 1 year. Here's to hoping Jackson becomes either my Tight End on a pro football team, or a bruising Forward on a professional hockey team!
This is turning into a rant at this point, so I will end it here. I will do my best to try to become more active in updating this blog.
I haven't been much of anywhere. Thanks for the fun read! I was watching videos last night and there was one song my favorite Japanese performer wrote in honor of victims of the 9/11 attacks. Images of people from every imaginable demographic held up signs about peace. It actually made me cry. Best wishes! Please continue to tell us your stories.
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