I Happen to Like New York

Right now, I'm in New York. Well Brooklyn to be exact. Well, to be even more exact, at the corner of Vanderbilt and Lafayette in Brooklyn. There's a church to the left, and a church to the right and a Masonic temple down the street which I'll visit later today.

I Happen to Like New York...is a great song that Bobby Short immortalized and Cole Porter wrote. Woody Allen used it as the opening of 'Manhattan Murder Mystery.' And I truly do love this town. I love the size of it. I love the feel of it. I even love the smell of it and the feeling that I have when walking down the street. Last night I walked from 7th and 56th to 5th and 13th. Let me tell you something, that's no small hike pally. I went to an open house for a school called New School University. After attending the open house, I truly have no designs on attending New School, and one of the main reasons is because of its location. New York overwhelms me. I'm man enough to admit that now. But it truly does. My legs are so tired from walking, I can't quite explain it. It seems as though the more you walk, the farther away your destination is. It's rather frustrating.

Also, when I'm in New York, I feel compelled to read the New York Times. And I truly believe that the reason that the Times is so great is because the city is so great. And only a city of this magnitude would necessitate a newspaper of such greatness and fervor. Another reason that I love New York is that the city truly loves itself, and loves a winner.

I'll get to that winner stuff later though...let me tell you about my Thursday in New York...
I woke up at 9 to the blaring sun coming from every window in my brother's apartment in Ft. Greene. A beautiful New York day awaited us. The sun was beaming so brightly and the sounds of Gershwin and Porter were blasting in my head as I looked out of the windows. My brother had to go do something for his girlfriend who lives near Coney Island. So, I left my sleeping quarters and jumped into his now abandoned room and got some sleep while watching Woody Allen's Manhattan Murder Mystery. I woke up several hours later, cleaned up, got dressed and we headed for the city. We already had time parameters: Open House at 6, Dinner at 8. We'd started our day at around 1.

So, we headed out at the Clinton Ave. station (big ups to GRB) and headed into the city, where after we changed trains once, we got out at Union Square. Bright sunshine in Union Square, and the biggest Barnes & Noble I've ever seen in my life. I believe they shot the bookstore scene in 'Conspiracy Theory' there when Mel Gibson bought 'The Catcher in the Rye.' Anyway, while walking along the plaza, a drunk brother approached me and asked me whether or not I could fight. I stood there stunned. My brother jumped in front of the man and said leave us alone. Granted this is in broad daylight on a pretty busy and somewhat upscale street, Irving Street. I mean, we were basically standing 40 feet away from the W Hotel near NYU with cars and people bustling by. He eventually walked away and I laughed it off, while my brother Jordan felt responsible for the man's actions. We walked from there to 71 Irving Street, which is the home of Jordan's favorite coffee shop. Nice atmosphere in there. I can see why he digs it. Upscale, quiet, nice staff, warm and cozy, and the food's not too shabby either. After a club sandwich, a coke and some Bunt Cake, we headed out to Jordan's former office, McAnn Erickson to pick up a DVD. When I got up there, I couldn't believe he'd left this place. It looked amazing. Much better than my office, that's for sure. We left there and went to Grand Central, where I bought a bowtie for the evening. We then proceeded to find me a hat for my ever cold head. From J Crew to H&M to Daffy's, we couldn't find a thing. Then, we went to the vendor outside of H&M and got a very warm hat for $5. Along the way, the sunshine was going away and there were more and more people on the street. We walked past Rockefeller Center, NBC, St. Patrick's, Radio City Music Hall, just missing Times Square and the like. We headed to the Sheraton New York where our parents are staying and I went up to see them as my brother did some business in another part of town. After speaking to my Mom and Dad for about an hour and checking my email on my Dad's Treo, I headed to my Open House which was 40 blocks south from where I was. How I walked it so fast, I'll never know, but I did because I had to. I passed Nat Sherman's and so badly wanted to pick up a cigar, but I didn't

Last night, I was at a UNCF dinner where they honored Mayor Bloomberg, Hank and Billye Aaron and Sam & LaTanya Jackson. It was a great time. And I probably liked it so much because Morehouse and Spelman were truly represented last night. As was Atlanta, which has become my new home.