New York City
Greetings One and All,
Unlike most
industries, mine doesn’t get holidays and someone has to show up every day to
make the news. This year, it was my turn
to work both Christmas and New Years. No
complaints, after thirty years, it’s long become the norm.
Since I was
working New Years week, they gave me four day weekend on the back end. Once again, no complaints. So, I fired off a bunch of emails and texts
to see if any of my friends back home would be available. Fortunately, most of them were(Missed you
Jeff) So, I booked this weekend getaway. Since the holiday season is officially over, travel is lighter than
usual. This worked in my favor and the
flight was the cheapest I’ve seen in a very long time. Would you believe a round trip for $168? Bonus!
A few days after
booking the trip, I was introduced to a new meteorlogical term, “bomb
cyclone.” It’s a rotating winter storm
where the pressure in the eye drops significantly, much like a cyclone.
So, whether you call it a bomb cyclone or you’re the Weather Channel and
referring to it as Winter Storm Grayson, it all boils down to snow, wind and
some serious cold.
So, I packed a
lot of layers. So many layers in fact
that I had to leave the extra camera lenses at home. By now you know that means something.
Day 1
Friday, January 5, 2018
This week I was
covering Matt’s schedule, so my last show was sports at 5:30P. A few quick things to record after the show
and I was clear. After a quick stop
back at the car for my bag, it was off
to the marta station and the airport.
United had the only flight I knew I could make to Newark, and the 8:30P departure was a breeze.
Last year, I
applied for Global Entry from the U.S. Customs Service. With it comes TSA Pre-Check. I used it on my last flight and zipped through. Not so much this time. I had
two paperback books in a pocket of my bag.
This caused my bag to be flagged and searched. The TSA agent explained it as she was rifling
through my stuff. Paperback books need to be laid flat, not vertical. It has something to do with the scanning
process. Easy enough. But, I always have a book or two in my bag an this has never been a problem.
My flight had
been delayed a half hour and I suddenly found myself with a little time to kill. There’s a bar and grill in the T-Concourse
called Grindhouse. I had settled in here
with coffee on a previous trip and knew it well.
The food was
okay but nothing special. Veronica, my
server, made up for it. She was chatting
up everyone at the bar and kept my beer class full of Stella Artoire. The flight was delayed yet again and the place started thinning out. There were four of us at the bar who happened to be on the same flight. We would up talking together for a half hour before the boarding process finally began.
So, I started
looking into alternatives. There’s a NJ
Transit shuttle from the airport to Newark’s Broad Street Station. I could get a train from there to Murray Hill
and walk perhaps a quarter mile to the motel.
Assuming the bus was on time, that would give me two minutes from drop
off to the train’s departure. Sure, I
could have waited for the 1:15A train, but the thought of walking to the motel
at 2A just didn’t hold much appeal. Besides,
the low temperature was supposed to be zero degrees. I told you it as cold.
Thank goodness
for Uber. Jerry was my driver and a
really nice guy. He dropped me off at the front door of the motel at 1:15A. I was out cold by 1:30.
Day 2
Saturday January 6, 2018
After a nice
breakfast at the motel’s buffet, it was time to layer up and get out into the
old home town once again. Considering it
was eight degrees(for those of you on metric, that’s -14 degrees) that meant a
lot of layers.
I really have no
answer as to why I always seem to take the same walking route through
town. But, it works for me. I left the motel and worked my way down
Marion Avenue. There’s a deli a few
blocks up that I frequented in my youth.
Back then it was Briganti’s, a real Italian deli run by a real
Italian family. There was this amazing smell
that hit you when you walked in the door.
It’s hard to describe, but I’ll never forget it.
When the
Briganti’s sold the place, it became the Marion Avenue Deli. That amazing smell was gone. The sandwich was good, just not as good. It closed a year or so ago and has a new
owner. It’s now a Latin American Deli, though I really don’t know what that
means.
Cutting
through Lions Park, I expected to see the brook frozen and snowed over. I just didn’t expect to see so few
footprints.
This brought me
back to my old street. I was impressed
how clear the roads and sidewalks were considering the snow just two days
before. That's my old house on the far right of the shot.
My family moved away from New Providence in
1986. Yet, I still find the names of the
streets so familiar. It still seems like
second nature to navigate the town.
Having spent quite a few afternoons playing soccer in Oakwood Park, my
feet just found their way. So, how cold was it, even at mid-morning on a Saturday, no one was using the town's skating rinks.
In the back of
the park is a short trail down to the perpetually murky and polluted Passaic
River. Funny I’ve never seen it look
quite this good.
When I was a kid, we played recreation league soccer on the Oakwood Park field. It's been expanded a bit from what I remember. Once again I was surprised at the lack of footprints in the snow.
I was meeting Ann and her kids for lunch and had a little time, so I ducked into the Starbucks(it felt so wrong) for a cup of coffee to warm up. From there it was a short walk to the Prestige Diner(aka The Prestige) I was there first, so I put us on the short waiting list for a table. The place certainly has changed since I was here last. I never would have expected to see beer taps. Ann, Rebecca and Ryan showed up just a couple of minutes later. The four of us were there for over an hour and a half just talking and getting caught up.
After lunch, Ann gave her kids the short driving tour of her old home town before dropping me off. I had some time to kill before meeting another batch of high school friends and was enjoying the walk through town, even with the bitter cold. The sign downtown that does community announcements was saying fourteen degrees.
With one last loop through the center of town took me by the high school...
The frozen community pool...
The also frozen community tennis courts...
And the Presbyterian Church...
I tried shooting in the cemetery behind the church, but the cold was finally catching up with me...
With the sun
starting to sink lower on the horizon, it started to feel even colder. After a quick stop in The Bagel Cafe for another cup of coffee, it was time to get out of the cold for a while. I worked my way back to the room and relaxed for a bit before venturing out one last time.
Until fairly recently, my home town had been dry, at least as far as restaurants go. The Providence Bar and Grill is one of the new places that opened after the change. The original plan was for everyone to meet here since I didn't have a car. In the end we decided to stick to our usual
spot, the Stirling Hotel. For me that
meant a five minute walk to the train station and a fifteen minute ride to
Stirling. Though I would have to bum a
ride back home. The restaurant is an easy one block from the station. Even in eight degrees, still an easy walk.
Eric and Jean
were already there when I arrived and had put us on the waiting list for a
table. We settled in and started
catching up. Andrea and her husband
Stewart showed up a half hour later. For
the next two hours we shared stories and did a lot of laughing. Yeah, this one went in the books as a really
good day!
Stewart and Andrea drove me to back to the motel, we said out good-byes again and I called it a day.
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