Many things can change in seven days time. I do well at escaping when I feel that I really need to and earlier this week was no exception that a little deception couldn’t help my mood.
What I mean to say is that Vanessa and I took the kids on a little adventure to Manhattan a few days ago. Manhattan is where I was born and I felt like showing the boys a bit of history.
We took Amtrak from White River Junction, Vermont, which is not as quaint a town as it sounds, and the train station looks like it hasn’t seen paint in about 40 years. I laughed and told the kids that our destination (Penn Station) would be the exact opposite of White River. HUGE, modern, smelly and wonderful. In short, The Big Apple…
This is the exact route that the campers took all the years that my grandparents were operating Camp Mascoma, which was the family business, and why we still spend a bunch of time in Enfield, New Hampshire each summer. As I have written before, the camp property is still in the Moeschen family, although camp has not been operational since 1968. Back then, 30-40 boys aged 6-16 would take The Vermonter train from Penn Station in Manhattan to White River where they would then be driven to camp for a stay of 8 weeks. My boys were about to experience how odd it must have felt for all of these boys coming from a concrete jungle to the rolling green hills and clean air of the Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region up here.
The train ride is not short (6+ hours) and by the time we walked to the hotel, the kids were tired…but we walked up to Time’s Square and the kids got a show: all kinds of humans, as well as several people dressed as Spiderman, and, of all things….Elmo. Here the kids saw their first NYC cockroach, had a slice if real NYC pizza and shot strange glances at street performers, people who were walking around yelling to no one, a multitude of transvestites and people smoking weed in public. It was better than school and my kids will likely be bringing this up in therapy in about 10 years. Boys if you are reading this in 2035, mom and I are sorry, not sorry….NYC is the real world. Accept everyone and deal with it. Humanity is a hot mess and it’s wonderful.
Anyway, we went to some gigantic candy store where a one pound bag of mixed candy cost $18 (of course we bought some….) and we wandered around, saw where the ball drops on New Year’s Eve, and gawked at ginormous billboards depicting the new Superman reboot.
The next day we spent time at the Museum of Natural History (excellent) and also walked down to the section of Central Park known as Strawberry Fields, which is near the Dakota building where John and Yoko lived, and John was murdered on December 8, 1980. There was a woman busking Beatles tunes and she played Imagine while we were in the park. Excellent.
We walked through Central Park, where the kids saw their first large NYC rat as well as a few squirrels, 428 pigeons, people having picnics (and other activities) and felt the gentle breeze of a summer NYC day. It was great that there was an ice-cream truck just on the east side of the park, so the kids could purchase frappes for several hundred dollars each. Tasty.
Next stop, The Met so the kids could see Egyptian stuff (they are really into that) and my wife could see Monet, Manet, and we could spend more Money. See what I did there? Note to the reader: if you spend 48 hours in midtown Manhattan, you may need a home equity line of credit. BUT…screw it….it’s only money, so I’ll just make more!
The 2nd and last morning of this quick escape was the highlight for me: I took the family to a small soda shoppe that has been in my grandparents old neighborhood for more than 100 years. We had breakfast (delicious) and although it was 8:30 AM, I ordered a chocolate egg cream for everyone to try. It tasted like my childhood when I used to visit my grandparents in the early 1980’s and I don’t think that grill in that old soda shoppe/diner has been cleaned properly since then. It was terrific.
We walked a block to the building where my grandparents Moeschen lived for almost 60 years! Same green awning, still a doorman, and no rats or trash on the upper east side……hmmm.
Around this time, I realized that my current boss (one of them) lived another 6 blocks away and so we decided that this was the ultimate pop in chance since I simply took two days off from work and didn’t tell anyone where I was going or what our plans were. My sister, mother and Vanessa’s parents didn’t know until the last minute either. Hell, WE didn’t even plan this until about 72 hours before we left. Spontaneous can sometimes be the best way to go!!
Needless to say, my boss was floored, and she is a planner, and organizer and a person who does NOT like to deviate from the routine. We blew it all up on her and spent some quality time outside her building just talking about random things. It was very very nice, but she told me that the next time I go to New York, she is dragging me to Yankee Stadium. I’m not sure I can enter that Death Star evil empire Bucky bleeping Dent Aaron Boone Babe Ruth awful….wait….2004, 2007, 2013, 2018….THE RED SOX WIN….THHHHHHE REDDDD SOXXX WIN.
This blog is all over the place, just like we were on this trip. It was a fabulous way to exit the doldrums that I was feeling last week. I’ve learned that when I am feeling down, the medicine for me is to MOVE and have an adventure. Large or small, it does not matter. What matters is the “re-set” and getting out somewhere to participate in life. When you visit another town or city, you participate in everyone else’s life as a guest for a little while and that is exactly what it felt like and what I needed.
The family had a great time making memories. Many of you reached out to me after last week’s words and I have heeded your advice and found comfort in your words….especially the friend who told me that I need to share ALL the time that I have left with my wife and kids.
Here’s hoping that they all remember our escape to New York.
Stay safe, stay awesome, and stay tuned. GO SAWX.
Patrick moeschen 