Can you tell my bent? My bias? We’re a tired bunch. Not in a bad way. But in a “we’re doing a lot in a little time, and we’re stinkin’ tired. Of course, we’re indestructible beasts for the Lord, but we’re tired indestructible beasts for the Lord.” And where do people like us belong? New York City! Go, go, go!
We drove from Upper (northern) Manhattan to Lower (southern) Manhattan on our way to Battery Park. Now usually, this would be a nightmare for a tour bus. But as you can see from the photo above, Sunday morning at 9:00 is the time to visit NYC. Most people are still sleeping, and us Midwestern rubes assume that anyone who is out on the streets is on their way home to bed from the night before. It was easier to hit green lights than it is on Veteran’s Parkway.
You may know that Battery Park is most popular as a place to board a boat to Liberty Island where you can stand at the feet of the Statue of Liberty. The National Park Service has made sure anyone who may have a nervous disposition is put at ease with helpful statues showing what happens in an emergency.
However, the view of Lower Manhattan it provides is impressive. It is already hard to imagine what the World Trade Center looked like towering over the giant wall of urbanization that abuts the park.
Unfortunately the day was quite hazy, so while we weren’t able to get a full view of the skyline. What a hazy day offers is an ethereal and mysterious view of the city against an icon that so many have found inspiring.
After taking ourselves on a brief tour to the statue’s platform, we regrouped in order to hold our own brief church service and, just as our church was doing at home, hold a communion service. Our service included singing, prayer, scripture, and a message from senior Drew Blickensderfer, and 2PC Choir Alum and newly donned Princeton Theological Seminary Alum, Susan Tindal who joined us in Guilford to deliver a critical element of our concert that night—our accompanist. New to Choir Tour this year are not only devotionals, but small group time as well. We have been studying the book of Matthew.
Upon arriving back on the other island (Manhattan), Josh pointed out to us something we had walked past when we entered the park, but hadn’t noticed:
This sculpture stood between the two towers of the World Trade Center for 30 years before the events of 9/11/01. It was constructed as a symbol of peace, and when the two buildings were destroyed, the sculpture, though damaged, somehow survived. It was placed in its current location less than a year after 9/11 and has stood as a symbol of resilience. Additionally, an Eternal Flame was also placed at the site (not pictured). While looking at the statue, I noticed a number of people had placed paper cranes—a symbol of peace to the Japanese—at the foot of the sign describing the sculpture’s history.
Can you believe it’s not even noon yet? Afterwards, we took a short bus ride and a short hike to catch our lunch, and visit the WTC site. On the way, we stopped at Trinity Church, which was featured in the movie Nicholas Cage Looks for Treasure, and other actually important things. The students went inside while I walked down toward the WTC.
1. The building accross the street from the WTC still shows damage.
In the morning we thought we were entering a relatively subdued Manhattan. It was a Sunday. However, Manhattan had other plans. Specifically the Puerto Rican Pride Day parade, which draws tens of thousands of marchers as well as 3 million spectators.
The parade offered an interesting observation on the culture of the city. But that wasn’t the only major event going on in the city. Broadway’s prom night. The Tonys were in town.
The Tonys offer a different view of New York, and two different sides of the Entertainment industry: the talented, hard working, unknown theater actor in the city who were the people in tuxedos and elegant gowns getting out of cabs and walking up subway steps on their way to the ceremony. And we saw the other side: Will Smith getting out of his limo.
Later we were able to stop by St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The Basilica de Notre Dame, where we sang in Montreal, is the second largest building used as a house of worship in North America. St. Patrick’s is the largest. We weren’t able to stay for long, as we needed to make it to Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center. I wasn’t able to join the group for dinner at Ellen’s Stardust Diner, but I suspect video of it is out there somewhere.
1. To the north, Central Park
2. To the south, the Empire State Building was hiding in the clouds.
3. A small crowd of tourists gathered to hear us sing. The choir sounded exceptionally cool with their voices disappearing into the sky just above their heads.
4. While they were singing, a familiar sight appeared.
From Top of the Rock, we boarded the busses and headed across the river to a hotel in NJ for some much needed sleep. Tomorrow, we head down to Princeton, NJ for a tour of the university, then on to nearby Ringoes, NJ for a concert.
Thank you so very much for blogging! It helps us feel like we’re there with you, and as parents we love that!!!
Thank you so much!!