#skywatchfriday -- Christmas in NYC -- the Empire State Building

It was all lit up for Chanukah last week.

It never gets old, does it?


#skywatchfriday

tales from the commuter front

So the downtown #3 express train pulls in just as I arrive on the platform. Some passengers get off, a bunch of us get on.  It's so crowded that I cannot move.  More people are standing on the platform, unable to board the train.  Guess they will just have to wait for the next one.

And then we hear the dreaded announcement:  Attention passsengers, there is congestion up ahead.  We should be moving shortly.

And so we wait. 

Please stand clear of the closing doors.

The doors start to close, but then open again.

And we wait. 

Two men standing behind me debate whether to get off the train and take the #1 local instead.  They decide that they should stay on this train and wait, that by the time they get to the local train, this train will be moving.


Attention passsengers, there is a stalled train up ahead.  We should be moving shortly.

A young woman decides she's had enough.  She makes her way from the center of the car to the door.  Just as she exist the train and steps away from the door...

Please stand clear of the closing doors.

The doors close and the train begins to move.

seen in NYC

songbird salutes the 70's: Tony Orlando and Dawn

The mood in the early 1970's was grim, disenchanted, depressed.  Watergate, Vietnam, Protests in the streets.

And the antidote was the feel-good sound of Tony Orlando and Dawn.

Orlando had a few top 40 hits in the 1960's, but for the most part he worked behind the scenes as a composer and producer.  And then, in 1970, he recorded a demo record, "Candida", which was released as a single under the band name "Dawn".  Eventually he teamed up with Joyce Vincent Wilson and Telma Hopkins to create hits such as "Knock Three Times", "Sweet Gypsy Rose", and their signature song, "Tie A Yellow Ribbon".  They also had a successful variety show.

So when Drew and I heard that the group would be appearing at the NYCB Theater at Westbury for a Christmas/reunion show, we had to buy tickets.

Tony has changed a bit since the 70's, but he still has that amazing voice.

Telma and Joyce are still beautiful.

They sang a lot of Christmas music, and some of their big hits.

A surprise guest...Jay Siegel of The Token s is an old friend of Tony's.  Jay joined the group to sing his big hit, "The Lion Sleeps Tonight."

And we had a visit from Santa.

Tony told some interesting stories.  It seems that the reason the group was offered the TV show was because of a performance at this very theater, back when it was still the Westbury Music Fair.  It seems Cher was supposed to perform at Westbury but had to cancel because of illness, and Tony Orlando and Dawn was booked as a replacement act.  A CBS executive happened to be in the audience, and he offers the group a summer replacement show.

And then he spoke about getting a call from Bob Hope and being asked to appear at a stadium, in front of 72,000 people, to welcome home the POW's of the Vietnam War, with this song:




It was a great evening, full of love and humor and nostalgia and music.  

Christmas in NYC -- Penn Station/Amtrak

I don't usually think of train stations as a place ot go looking for Christmas decorations.

And though I'm in Penn Statioin every day, I am usually on the Long Island Railroad level.

But I ha[ppened to find myself on the Amtrak level last week:






 

Guilt

A moment of introspection.

I try to be a good person.  I believe in social justice.  I raise money for charity, I participate in our synagogue programs to collect food and clothing for a local outreach program...

But when confronted with reality...

I'm in Penn Station every day as part of my LIRR commute.  It's my "guilty pleasure" to occasionally go up to the Amtrak level to grab a Krispy Kreme or head over to the food court for a Nathan's hot dog. 

There are homeless people and professional beggars in Penn Station.  Usually they'll come up to you and ask if you can help them out. I usualy smile and say "I can't right now",  and leave it at that.

So I was in the food court the other night. Instead of my usual hot dog, I ordered some popcorn chicken from the KFC, and it took forever to fill my order.  People who ordered after I did were getting their food before mine was ready, and I was aggravated.

And as soon as I sat down to eat, a homeless man walked over to where I was sitting.  I just wanted to eat  my chicken  in peace, I didn't have the patience to deal with him.   I tried to ignore him, but he wouldn't leave.  And then he began his "down on my luck" story, and I just snapped.  I told him "Go away!"

And since that night ,  I've felt awful about the way I treated him.

P. F. Chang's

So we hadn't been there  in awhile, but with a "buy-one-entree--get-one-free" coupon in hand, it was time to revisit P.F. Chang's.

The bad:  The Source Mall is basically dead, and right now the restaurant sits in the middle of a construction zone.

The good:  the restaurant's interior is beautifully decorated.  The restaurant was fairly crowded, but our reservation was honored and we had just a few minutes of waiting for our table.

The bad:  during the course of the evening we were presented with not one, but two dirty plates, plates that had not been thoroughly washed.  Both were immediately replaced, however.

The incredible:  the red sangria was incredibly potent and very tasty.

The food: 

We started with pork egg rolls.  They were crispy on the outside and stuffed full of tasty vegetables, with just a little pork to add flavor.  They were also very, very greasy.  Loved the accompanying mustard sauce, it had just the right zing.

Our go-to entrees here are the Mongolian beef and the crispy honey shrimp.

Mongolian beef -- slices of beef in a thick barbecue sauce, served with scallions. The beef was tender, the sauce spicy-sweet.  I miss the carrots that used to come with the dish. 

Crispy honey shrimp -- batter dipped fried shrimp in a sweet sauce, served over crispy rice noodles. I can't stop eating the rice noodles. 

We decided to order a third entree, chicken lo mein.  This dish was prepared with vericelli instead of the thicker lo mein noodles you find in other Asian restaurants.  The thinner noodles worked well with the chicken. 


Service in this place has much improved over the last few years.  Small complaint -- our waiter forgot the apply the coupon to our bill, and had to be asked to do so.   But overall a positive experience.