The Empire State Building
I wandered around NYC all day. Nowhere in particular, just wandered. Its a great place to do it in as everywhere you go something triggers off a memory of something you heard once on a film or TV show.
I'd bought my Air and Space Musuem and Empire State Tour and Ride combo ticket. And figured i'd to be at the top of the Tower for just before sunset so I could see it during the day and at night as I heard both were excellent.
I wandered through a market towards the ESB in a snowy park that was selling South Pacific Island type trinkets and home decorations. I looked at the prices they were selling for in the city and I thought Damn! I should've brought some more of that stuff out there!
I did the Empire State Building Experience which was a pretty good info/entertainment/simulated helicopter ride around the city. The wierd thing was though, everything still had the Twin Towers in it. At the end they said, in a slightly surreal voice over that "this is now the tallest building in New York and it stands as testament to those who lost their lives on that day in September." As some lame cheesy poodle soft rock played in the background 'Oh New York, My friend of city, we can do anything, in New York City...'
When I thought about it more, I remembered seeing the twin towers everywhere. Shops, posters, adverts, even the official tourist maps of NYC still include the WTC towers with a little asterisk saying *It was decided to show the twin towers as testament to those who....
Surely when a disaster happens, and this call to war by Islamic extremists was a murderous, terrible, unforgivable disaster. Isn't it better to accept what's happened and move on (however that may be) rather that to stay in a permanent state of city-wide denial? It has been nearly 3 years now.
I'm going to write something about Americans and what I saw of American life, including expanding on 'why' I think this NYC denial happens. One of the reasons I wanted to spend some time here in the first place was to try to understand a little of the contradicting nature of the dominant culture in the modern world.
Anywya, Coming Soon.
Anyway, forgetting all that, I spent about 2 hours at the top of the Empire State Building as I love being up high, and because it was completely beautiful.
All the rooftops were still covered in snow.
You can tell where the Twin Towers were. There is a definite gap in the skyline. And this was the only time I saw the Statue of Liberty (top right) too.
Standing at the top there I got an idea of how truly massive King Kong must have been when he climbed up here in 1933.
I bought a phone card from the shop at the top and decided to phone home. I found myself saying things like, "Yeah I'll show you next week." Then realising that would mean that in a week I'll actually be home.
As I was chatting, a fat pink moon appeared in exactly the direction I was facing.
Alright I was getting a bit bored now so I started taking pictures in the mirror and of random stuff.
As the sun set I noticed the three strings of perpetually moving lights as flights from all around the world queued up to fly into Newark, JFK and La Guardia airports. It was mesmerising seeing the never ending stream disappear into the ground beyond the horizon and another appear at the back to take its place.
When I looked down again, New York City appered to have turned into Coruscant from Star Wars as the orange street lamps and lights from the city below bled and faded up the giant skyscrapers covering Manhatten.
Then I looked up and thought, Whoa, Star Wars again. I'm on the Death Star.
I liked the Empire State Building.