Gothamed

I woke up yesterday to the usual sounds of life near Times Square: garbage trucks backing up, construction workers getting their standard early start, and the ubiquitous blowing of taxi horns. The convenience of the Night Hotel manifested itself smartly as we wandered over to Times Square before attending to our consulate business. My wife and I (if I’m forced to admit it) are fans of Good Morning America and stopping by their broadcast was a certain destination.

Wife Outside ABC Studios With her hero  Robin Roberts in Background

We got lucky as they were just setting up an outside interview and the guy sitting in the chair waiting for the fun to start looked an awful lot like Dwight from Sin City (AKA Smith from Shoot Em Up) – two of my favorites. The bubbly GMA lady then showed up to interview Clive Owen for all of two minutes. It was fascinating to watch the off camera gesticulations of the crew hovering just out of camera range as the two principals blithely carried on their conversation with the world as if nothing was amiss. Owen struck me as a really genuine guy and stuck around after the interview to talk with passersby.

Screen Capture from the GMA Interview - My Wife and I are Circled

Then we were off to the nearby Panamanian Consulate which is really well hidden on 6^th Avenue. We had a bit of a start when the nice lady helping us said she wasn’t sure they were authorized to authenticate documents from Massachusetts; the whole reason we had made the trip. I reminded her that their website specifically stated that they did. After the ceremonial checking with higher authority we were all set for the walk back to Grand Central Station.

Our View

While the walk through the diamond district the night before was perilous it was nothing compared to executing the walk when the stores were actually open. My wife was not to be distracted by anything as mundane as a train schedule. It was entirely more important to provide instruction to her exasperated husband on what would be an appropriate replacement for a long lost, but cherished and never forgotten bracelet.

Danger!

I was trying to get to the train station in time for her to find the perfume store located on her last trip. She had identified a specific scent she liked that would make a great Christmas gift for someone like herself. We found the store and since we had fifteen minutes before the train left I thought we were in great shape. My illusions were dashed as she proceeded to sample nearly every scent they had in search of the elusive target scent. She and the sales lady had a semi-engrossing discussion about scents in general. I learned more about perfume that I ever hoped to. You can imagine the fifteen minutes evaporated faster than the scents being sampled. We made the train after a frenetic trot through the vastness of Grand Central.

While the shopping opportunities were dangerous in the extreme, never a good sign for my devolving psyche; I had a very good time in our short visit. It was kind of jarring to be back at work by midafternoon after waking up near Times Square. We accomplished what we wanted to and at the same time managed a short escape type vacation just a couple days before I lose my Favorite Panamanian to her west coast grandma watch. It also provided a great blueprint for future overnight NYC sojourns.

We took in the movie Pan last night which is an aptly named film for what you’re about to read. It’s supposed to be the story of Peter Pan’s origin and early days before the whole Wendy debacle, not something I’m sure we needed. The special effects were the only thing special about the entire experience. The script was leaden and the plot moved at a slothful pace that had no business in Neverland. Rooney Mara and Hugh Jackman were the only bright spots but even they were struggling with the nonsense they were forced to utter.

I think the director was looking to capture some of the wonder and awe Neverland offered in other incarnations. If so, he failed miserably. Maybe I’ve become too jaded in my expectations but the doom and gloom of the first 3/4 of the movie could not be rescued when they finally get Peter aloft. Do yourself a favor and pass on this, I should have.