Livin’ in New York City Post 7: How Much S#!t Can I See In One Day?
I don’t know how others know these famous statues, but I’ll always associate them with Bill Murray, Dan Akyroyd and Harold Ramis hunting down ghosts.
I refuse to be complacent. I refuse to be complacent. I refuse to be complacent. I say these words every single day to myself because I’m in the greatest city in the world. There’s always something to do and something to see and I need to take advantage of that. So, in between shifts at the café, I’ve been doing more exploring and finding incredible things the city has to offer.
One of the first things I’ve wanted to see ever since I got to New York was the Main Branch of the New York Public Library which not only has incredible artifacts and architecture, but was also the location for the awesome opening of “Ghostbusters.” Honestly, I knew very little about what was in this place aside from one key exhibit but I was eagerly anticipating walking through the marble and wooden halls. It did not disappoint.
As soon as I walked up and saw those iconic lion statues, I knew this was a cool place to be. Furthermore, seeing all of the portraits and reading rooms and halls of books was so overwhelming in the best possible way. But the Polonsky Exhibition was incredible and might be my favorite museum I’ve been to so far. There were so many amazing artifacts including the desk of Charles Dickens, the sketches for “Fiddler on the Roof’s” costumes, the first edition printing of Shakespeare’s complete works, the first edition printing of the King James Bible, the briefcase of Malcolm X and a freaking Gutenberg Bible.
But the best artifacts I saw that day were five stuffed animals. These stuffed animals were the toys of Christopher Robin Milne, the son of children’s author A. A. Milne, and they also were the inspiration for the characters of “Winnie the Pooh.” When it comes to children’s characters, there are few as endearing, wholesome and lovable as those of “Winnie the Pooh.”
The famous toys which inspired the residents of the 100 Acre Wood in “Winnie the Pooh” were owned by A.A. Milne’s son Christopher Robin.
I grew up with the Disney film “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” and seeing these stuffed toys was so unbelievable. Not only was Pooh there, but so was Tigger, Kanga (Roo was unfortunately lost in a rainstorm), Piglet and, my personal favorite, Eeyore. I think Eeyore always appealed to me because he always tries to look for a bit of positivity even despite his gloomy nature. He keeps rebuilding his house even though it falls over all the time. He is thankful when others notice him. When Christopher Robin nails his tail back on, Eeyore responds “it’s not much of a tail, but I’m sort of attached to it.” I just love Eeyore. I think Eeyore should replace the Bald Eagle as the symbol of our country. If that’s no good, here’s my top ten list.
Parker’s Top Ten Possible American Mascots:
Eeyore from “Winnie the Pooh”
Snoopy dressed as a WWI Flying Ace from “Peanuts”
Droopy Dog from the Tex Avery “Droopy” cartoons
The Turkey
Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski from “The Big Lebowski”
Sam Elliott’s Mustache/Tom Selleck’s Mustache/Ron Swanson’s Mustache
The Festivus Pole
Nicolas Cage during one of his many cinematic mental breakdowns
A drunk, racist sewer gator firing a semi-automatic in the air while shotgunning a Bud Light and giving everyone the finger while banging his head to “Free Bird.”
The Bald Eagle
Meanwhile, back at work, I’ve been studying the craft of coffee brewing and it’s been a marvelous journey. The most I’ve done before this job was making a pot of Folgers so it’s a lot to learn making cappuccinos, macchiatos, espressos and americanos. By the way, an Americano is a shot of espresso with water. I’ve heard of watering down alcohol, paint and gas but who looks at coffee and thinks that water is going to improve it? Oh well, don’t knock it until you try it I guess.
But it’s not just coffee and tea, we also make incredible sandwiches and that’s been a blast to learn. There’s a really good sandwich of toasted bread with a pesto spread, melted cheese and some good layers of salami and prosciutto. While I’m not a cheese guy, I appreciate the fine meats. Prosciutto in particular might be one of my favorite cuts of all time. There’s no way I could go vegetarian, let alone vegan. I salute those who undertake that diet because they are far stronger than I’ll ever be. I had to choose between giving up a hand or meat, I think I could learn how to write left-handed.
But my social life has not faltered because of my new job. Just a few days ago, I went to see “Elvis” for the fifth time with two good friends from college, Mikayla and Michael. I just can’t get enough of this film and I think it’s going to make my top five films of the year. My friends, who had never seen the film, agreed and there was a lengthy discussion about Elvis and the music biopic genre following the screening.
One detail omitted from the film was a kind of sandwich that Elvis loved to eat: The Fool’s Gold Sandwich. Picture this: one whole toasted loaf of bread, a pound of peanut butter, a pound of jam and a pound of bacon. Not only is that ridiculously unhealthy, but that may be the greatest sandwich of all time. One of these days I might make that sandwich but I definitely need to share it with friends. I have a high metabolism but I don’t want to push it.
Speaking of food, unfortunately one of my roommates moved back to college but I sent them off with a great chicken and noodle dinner. I even invited the neighbors to get a plate and they came back for leftovers which is what I love about my neighborhood. Bed-Stuy is not only a fun place to live, it feels so welcoming. Lately, I’ve been walking around the neighborhood trying to clear my head when I write and there’s a lot to explore in Brooklyn. But sometimes all I need is a slice of pizza at 11 at night.
In the spirit of exploration, I spent an entire day looking for some interesting and exciting locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan. My odyssey first directed me to Prospect Park in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Prospect Park is essentially our Central Park with both parks being designed by Fredrick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. There I went to see the wildlife of the Prospect Park Zoo which included porcupines, dingoes, exotic birds and so many primates. In the center of the zoo was a magnificent pool for sea lions who were laying in the water to escape the heat. If you are in Brooklyn and want to see some spectacular animals without having to leave the borough, this is a good place to check out.
The sea lions didn’t care that we were there. They were here for two reasons: Instagram fuel and to get some cool water splashes.
Following that, I ventured towards Central Park to see what The Metropolitan Museum of Art had to offer. Inside was a large horde of amazing, priceless works of art from different areas of humanity including ancient Egypt, Greece, The Roman Empire, The Byzantine Empire, sketches from Van Gogh and paintings of Edvard Munch. It was truly breathtaking and I can definitely predict another visit in my future.
I then walked through Central Park where I eventually found a statue of Alice and all of the memorable characters of Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland. It was definitely a fun place to be because it’s one of the few statues I’ve seen in New York where it’s actually encouraged that you climb on it. There’s all sorts of flat toadstools that you can scale and then sit amongst a Cheshire Cat no doubt conjured by illegal substances. It was designed to be climbed on and was dedicated to the children of New York by George Delacorte who commissioned the statue in memory of his wife Margarita. Margarita helped George establish his publishing empire and loved to read “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” to their children.
Around that time, my mother texted me and reminded me that she wanted to see the filming location of The Shop Around the Corner from Nora Ephron’s “You’ve Got Mail,” her favorite film. Right then and there, I decided to see how far I was from the actual location. It was a 20 minute walk. With nothing better to do, I walked across the park to the storefront that was turned into a children’s bookstore well over 20 years ago.
This storefront was transformed into a children’s bookstore in Nora Ephron’s 1998 classic “You’ve Got Mail,” starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, which is actually a loose remake of 1940’s “The Shop Around The Corner,” starring Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullivan.
Now, when they shot the film, the store was actually a cheese shop. So, writer/director Nora Ephron paid the owner to go on vacation and then turned it into the location we all know. When filming wrapped, the cheese shop resumed business until the owner’s retirement. Now, the location is a dry cleaners. When I visited the location, it was pretty neat but there was no marking, mural or anything that would indicate the film was shot here. When I sent my mom a photo, not only was she excited, she asked me if it was amazing. I replied, “it’s a dry cleaners.” Unless Meg Ryan’s cleaning my suit, I don’t know how amazing it’s going to be.
One thing that was amazing was the night of drinks I had with my friend Mikayla that evening. Turns out I’m a mead guy and this brewery down the street has the best peach mead. So sweet and it will definitely make you feel a bit more loose. Again, I don’t drink to lose control but being a bit more relaxed is fine with me. Especially if it tastes like peaches.
Days like these are not going to be a rarity either. With the way museums are priced, it’s surprisingly affordable to go to the zoo, go home for lunch and go explore even more in the city. Up next, I go to Broadway to see the great Billy Crystal live in “Mr. Saturday Night” on Saturday.
