The Plan: Friday, June 28th

Does it seem like we've been in New York City forever?

Yes...at this point during our vacation, we seriously should have registered for our voting cards, and looked into having our mail forwarded to our new "permanent" address....

...and yet, there was still so much to do!!!!

Today was Friday, June 28th...and The Plan looked like this:

9:20 am Yankees Stadium Tour

11:00 am Lunch - somewhere???

12:00 pm Museum of Natural History

7:00 pm "How 2 B A New Yorker" - dinner/show

9:30 pm Dylan's Candy Bar


For the most part, our plans went off without a hitch...but we'll get to that in more detail....

Stay tuned!

10 on Tuesday: Bad Things You Did As A Kid

So...it's been like, a gazillion trazillion years since I've done a "10 on Tuesday" post...

...BUT THAT'S ABOUT TO CHANGE!!! Woot!

I just got this new awesome book called "Listography - Your Life in Lists." It has all KINDS of ideas for lists - and I was inspired to bring back the fun and funky "10 on Tuesday" posts. I know. You're practically quivering with excitement. You're welcome.

So...today's list will be 10 Bad Things I Did as a Kid. There's a reason I chose this as my first "resurrection" post...and that is because, just last week, my 20-year old son was visiting my parents. And apparently, they decided to discuss me. As a child. And all the Bad Things I Did as a Kid. While I wasn't there to defend myself. Gah.



So, of course son comes home and has to act all incredulous that his mother actually may not have been the perfect person that she tries to pretend that she is...but in my defense...I really wasn't all THAT bad.

In fact, I bet that I won't even be able to LIST an entire ten things...don't laugh.


So, in no particular order:


1. I once made my little brother eat a heaping teaspoon of flour. That sounds rather innocent, but it actually was somewhat dangerous, and yet hysterically funny, all at the same time. The moisture inside his mouth turned the flour into "glue" - and his mouth was temporarily glued shut - which caused him to panic, understandably. He then started hyperventilating, and little puffs of flour were coming from his mouth. I was all of about 9 years old at the time, and thought this was hysterically funny. My parents? Not so much. I was grounded.




2. You would think my brother would have learned his lesson from the above experience, but he was always a bit gullible, and willing to do pretty much anything Big Sister said. Hee. I was once able to convince him to swallow a heaping tablespoon of vanilla. Which he promptly spit right back out. All over me. I guess that was punishment enough, but he's NEVER let me live this down.




3. My parents bring up this next incident ALL THE TIME when talking about bad things I did as a kid - but, actually, I think it should be filed under "Stupid" things I did. I'll let you be the judge. When I was thirteen, I decided that my bedroom needed a makeover. I went to the garage, got some house paint, and preceded to paint my walls. However, most of the furniture in my room (bed, dresser, bookshelves, desk, etc) was WAY too heavy for me to move on my own - so I just painted around the furniture. Yup. I didn't bother to move anything - just painted up and over the furniture. Was that bad? Or just stupid?




4. When I was sixteen, I had a boyfriend...as well as a curfew. I didn't think the two went together AT ALL. So...I would go into my parents' bedroom a little before midnight (my curfew), wake my mom up and tell her I was safely home from my date, and then promptly go right out the front door and back into my boyfriend's car, to extend the date just a bit longer. Or way longer. I'm not sayin'....




5. When I was approximately five years old, I shoplifted a piece of hard candy from the store. It was wrapped up in crinkly paper - and of course, as I tried to unwrap it and sneak it into my mouth - I was so busted by my parents, since that stupid wrapper made all SORTS of noise. So much for being sneaky. My dad happened to be a police officer at the time...I'll never forget that he first took me back to the store where I had to apologize to the owner, and second - he put his handcuffs on me briefly and threatened me with jail. Gulp.




6. I was babysitting my younger brother and sister one evening, when brother and I got into a HUGE pillow fight. We were pounding each other pretty good with the pillows, when he suddenly jumped up to run away and hide. Not wanting to end the battle so soon, I threw the pillow across the room at him - where it promptly knocked off an expensive piece of artwork from the wall and busted it into a million pieces. Yeah. I got so grounded for that, as well.




7. I tried to smoke a cigarette. Once. I was hanging out at a friend's house, and yielded to temptation...but perhaps I inhaled wrong, because all I remember is my throat felt like I'd burned a hole in it. That was enough. Never again.




8. I had a tendency to skip school a little my senior year....My grades were good enough that I didn't have to worry, and it was just too much fun to spend the day with my boyfriend, rather than sit in a classroom. It was easy enough to forge my mother's signature on a piece of paper - and I knew just the number of days I could miss before I'd be in big trouble with the school. In my mind, grades were more important than attendance - and this was how I justified my behavior.




9. I was 9 years old...and I was a HUGE fan of the cartoon, "Underdog". Underdog was a super hero canine, who could fly through the air and rescue damsels in distress. I was convinced that dogs could fly - and so, I took our little dachshund and dropped her out of our 2nd-floor window. Needless to say, she didn't fly. Oh - don't worry; miraculously, she wasn't hurt, either - perhaps a bit shook up - but I got in BIG trouble for that. Honestly, though, it wasn't with evil or malicious intent that I dropped the dog out of the window. I was just...stupid. However, THIS is the one incident that my parents - and family - have NEVER let me live down. It has "hounded" me for years, and the story will probably be engraved on my tombstone. Gah.



And there we have it. NINE bad things I did as a kid.

Close enough.


So...what bad things did YOU do as a kid? Would your list include ten? More than ten? I'd love to know your OWN bad things....

Bwahahahahahahaha.

Peace.

Review: Katz's Deli

...the one in which an encore performance is demanded....


We finished up our tour of the Tenement Museum around 8:00 pm, and were now sufficiently famished. The original "Plan" had called for us to head over to the highly recommended The Meatball Shop. Daughter has been a fan of meatballs since before she could walk, so I thought this would be a fun place to visit.

However, being the good sport that I am, I threw it out there for Hubby and Daughter to help determine where we'd head for dinner. The conversation went something like this:

Me: "So, I think we need to be heading somewhere for a bite to eat. I'd thought about - "

Daughter & Hubby, basically interrupting me in mid-sentence: "PASTRAMI!!! KATZ'S DELI!!!"

Me: "Are you sure? I mean, we were JUST there this afternoon, and had pastrami - "

Daughter & Hubby, interrupting again: "PASTRAMI! KATZ'S DELI!!!"


Well.

I guess we were headed to Katz's Deli for...you guessed it - pastrami.

I really didn't mind at all...because that bit of pastrami sandwich we'd had earlier was like HEAVEN ON EARTH, and who knows how long it would be before I'd ever be in Pastrami Paradise again??!!

A very short walk later, we were at Katz's.

Feeling like true NYC veterans, we strolled in confidently, got our Golden Tickets, and headed over to the counter to order up the Delicious, Delightful To-Die-For Pastrami Sandwich:



And...to my utter delight...the infamous "When Harry Met Sally" ACTUAL table was empty and available...so guess where I sat??!!


There I am...under the arrow!

Yup.

And the sandwich? Just as good as it was before. It will never get old. So flavorful...so succulent...so aromatic...


As we left the Deli, the skies opened up - and a torrential rainfall began pouring down. Fortunately, we were a short run from our subway station, and donning our ponchos (Yes. I had been lugging THREE of those things in my purse for the last several days - so I was almost, secretly glad that we finally needed them. Gah.), we managed to hop on a train without getting too soaked.

Soon, we were back at our warm and comfy hotel room, where we all settled down for the night...dreaming of pastrami sandwiches.....

Review: The Tenement Museum

...the one in which we get a sobering education on the hard life of an immigrant in the late 1800's....




On my previous trip to New York City, a friend had suggested that I "must" visit the Tenement Museum, which is located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I really didn't know much about it - and because my time was extremely limited - I skipped it...vowing, though, that when I took the Hubby and Daughter back for our summer vacation, we'd definitely explore it.


A 5-story building, designed to house twenty families....

Well.

All I can say is, wow. And Mary? You were SO right - it's a gem of a museum, and something that should be on everyone's "must-do" list while visiting the Big Apple. Thank you SO much for your earlier recommendation - I'm just sorry I didn't have time to do it in February.

So...the Tenement Museum...located at 103 Orchard Street...currently ranked 19th out of 763 activities in Manhattan....

Here's the scoop:

The Tenement Museum is an ACTUAL, RESTORED tenement building that offers an amazing view of what life was like for an immigrant before modern society....It's a unique opportunity for adult and child alike to learn what it was like to not only live in a tenement, but to work in the neighborhood, as well. The people behind the museum don't just "make up" stories of fictional residents of the neighborhood; they've actually done EXTENSIVE research and tell you the REAL stories of the REAL families that lived in this building over the years.

The building was constructed back in the early 1800's...and was closed in 1935, due to changing building codes for tenements. The building sat, unused, for decades - and so became a virtual "time capsule" into tenement life when it was purchased and restored.

It can ONLY be visited by guided tour - and here's where it can be confusing. Currently, there are several tours to choose from, and you must make reservations & purchase tickets ahead of time. We chose four tours this afternoon - but you can choose one, two, or more - it's up to you, based on cost and time.



We arrived at 103 Orchard Street, which is actually a book/gift shop for the museum. I was highly impressed with the merchandise and books offered here - even if you have NO plans to visit the museum, the shop is well worth a visit to pick up some unique books or items relative to not only the Lower East Side, but New York, in general. There are bathroom facilities here, as well as free storage lockers located in the basement of the shop. We took advantage of the storage lockers to stash our bags, ponchos and jackets...as we'd been warned that "space was tight" on the tour.

When a timed tour is about to begin, it will be announced in the gift shop - and you head outside the front door to find your tour guide. A short, one-minute walk down to 97 Orchard gets you in front of the actual, restored tenement - and this is where you will start your tours.



At 1:30 pm, we took the 60-minute "Hard Times" tour...which took us up the stairs of the tenement, where we first visited the apartment of a German-Jewish family who lived in the building in the 1870's. This family was suffering from poverty and illness, when the father disappeared...leaving the mother alone with several children to support. We then visited another tenement apartment of an Italian Catholic family, who inhabited the building during the Great Depression. We were fascinated by the furniture; the accessories; the clothing; the appliances; and the stories...we were engrossed for the entire sixty minutes.

I think what shocked us was the lack of space...a mere 325 square feet per "apartment", which would house entire families. The apartment would consist of a front room (the parlor), the kitchen, and one bedroom. Toilet facilities were out in the backyard. No showers. No bathing. Very few windows - so no lighting or ventilation. Appalling, actually, to think that so many families lived this way for so many years.







At 2:30 pm, we visited the basement of the tenement building for the 90-minute "Shop Life" tour. In the 1870's, the basement was a saloon, run by a German family. Again, what a great experience for us and Daughter to see what it was like to run a saloon during this time - and how difficult the work actually was.





At 4:45 pm, we visited another floor in the building for the 60-minute "Sweatshop Workers" tour. At one point, a Jewish family ran a garment workshop in their apartment, and we were astonished to see the tiny dwelling literally draped with fabrics and tools, all necessary for their trade...and learning how difficult the working conditions actually were for the immigrants. Again, very little ventilation - so it was very, very hot. However, each apartment DID have a fireplace, so heat was available, for the most part.





On Thursday evenings only, the museum offers a 60-minute "behind the scenes tour" at 6:30 pm, called "Exploring 97 Orchard Street." Here is where they took us through the building again, showing how the restoration process was done, as well as how the research was done on the families who lived in the building.






I loved the entrance to the museum...so pretty....


This was a first-rate museum. If you could only do one tour, I would recommend the "Hard Times" tour, with perhaps the "Sweatshop Workers" as a second choice. I think every one of us walked out of there with a renewed sense of appreciation for our own good fortune, after seeing the conditions that were in this building. It's one thing to read about the tenements - but to actually see one? Wow.

An interesting read regarding the building can be found HERE.


Note that the tenement is NOT air-conditioned...and because it was an extremely hot day the day we visited, it just drove home the point on how miserable the living conditions actually were. We were allowed to take bottled water with us, and I can't recommend this enough if you visit on a hot day. There are tons and tons of stairs involved, as well - so keep that in mind. Wear comfortable shoes; dress for the elements; and have water.


So...to summarize: YOU MUST VISIT THE TENEMENT MUSEUM!!!

Happy Birthday, Mikayla

She's always been an "old soul"...even as an infant, family and friends would comment on the wisdom and serenity that surrounded her....Growing up, it was easy to see an incredible strength, an uncanny maturity, and an overwhelming sense of empathy that she carries herself with to this day....

She's fiercely independent...but willing to ask for guidance and direction from us when life has her somewhat befuddled....

She's extremely gifted with creativity...her long, slender fingers flying across a drawing pad, or plucking away at the violin strings as she creates beautiful pictures or music....

She's a natural leader with her classmates, offering her own guidance whether in the crowded hallways, the crazy lunchroom, or on Friday night sleepovers....

She's the girl who, without asking or prompting, will use her creativity in the kitchen...baking up delicious treats for the family, or whipping up fried-egg sandwiches for fellow family members....

She's the girl who, after less than twenty four hours in New York City, walked confidently up and down the streets of Manhattan, as if she owned the place...and had no hesitation maneuvering her way around in the subway system....

She's the girl who can cry during a Broadway show...giggle like crazy while tickling her long-suffering father...and laugh hysterically at the antics of our pets....

She's the girl who will spend an hour in the bathroom, fiddling with her styling products, her make-up, and her jewelry, so she can look like the perfect girl...and yet walk out, don a pair of jean shorts, and go throw a football around for hours with her brother....

She's the girl who would squeeze herself into the back of the Mustang this summer - her long legs twisted like a pretzel - just so her younger cousin could sit comfortably in the front seat of the car....

She's the girl who loves her cats ferociously, sitting patiently while the felines purr relentlessly and rub against her face - all the while knowing that she's horribly allergic to them, and will suffer the consequences later with prolonged sneezing and stuffiness....

She's the girl who has decided that her 'practical' career will involve math or science - most likely in medicine...but knows that she'll indulge her art and music, as well, as "hobbies"....

She would paint the New York City skyline in her bedroom if given the chance...she would dye her hair purple if given the chance...and she would spend every waking moment cuddled with her mom and her dad if given the chance....

She's my baby...who turns a staggering 14 years old today.

Happy birthday, my dear, dear Daughter.

I love you more.

Peace.