9/11

I don`t want to ramble on about 9/11. Enough has been said about it to last all of us a lifetime.

We were privileged enough to spend a holiday in NYC last year and got to visit Ground Zero. I found that an incredible experience. The hustle and bustle of NYC seems to stop once you get to Ground Zero. The mood turns sombre, almost as if everybody is too scared to breathe and a hush descends. This quietness is brought about by respect, I have no doubt. Everybody knows the significance of that day and that place. It certainly helps to make Ground Zero a very special place to visit.

I know a lot of people would think why is this South African getting all sad about something that is in essence an American thing. Well, it is an American thing and I really respect that but 9/11 touched everybody. For once, it seemed that the world (most of the world) stood together. SA nearly came to a standstill. You can ask anybody where they were when they got the news and they`ll be able to pinpoint their exact whereabouts. It truly touched the world very deeply. Hayley and I were a newly married couple. The first thing that I thought was that this was gonna lead to WW3, I really did. I was so devastated that we had only had such a short time together. That freaked me out. I think everybody in the world, has a similar story.

There is nothing at Ground Zero except for a vast open space with a lot of building going on. It`s as if the New Yorkers are trying their utmost to NOT remember that awful day. I cannot blame them. No signs showing you how to get there, nothing. If we didn`t hop on a sightseeing bus and got directions from the tour guide, we would never have found it.

I personally thought the most special part of the visit was St Paul`s Chapel and the part it played during 9/11. This little church had survived the great fire of 1776, which left NYC in ashes. Then came 9/11 and even though massive buildings around it tumbled, this little church was left unscathed. Just goes to show, nobody touches God`s house, nobody.

The only thing that didn`t make it was this tree, of which only the stump remains.

These badges are from all the fire, police and medical departments from various cities and towns all over the world, that assisted during the day and days after the event. I love this photo and it`s obvious that my wife took it, I don`t have the talent for a photo like that.

This last photo is a view from St Paul`s looking towards ground zero. Once again, the sombre mood is almost impossible to describe.

My heart still goes out to the families who lost loved ones during that dreadful day.

It`s a fact that the bad element who caused such heartache and sorrow that day will one day stand before God and He will be the one to judge them.

PS. I have tried to get the photos alligned properly but I can`t. Sorry.

My favourite holiday - Part 2

So, we are still in the first morning of our trip to the States.

Now what I must explain to you is the following. The best person I have ever met to go on holiday with is my Father-in-Law, Clive. He`s the kind of guy who will do all the weird and wonderful things, he refuses to sit still for a second and walking is his forte. Now when I say walking, I don`t just mean around the block kind of walking or the odd 5 km around town walking. No, this kind of walking is the kind that will make Sherpas from the Himalayas request a breather, it`ll make Olympians (maybe not Michael Phelps but who knows) beg for mercy. Of course I had experienced holidays with my Dad before but nothing could have prepared me for the assault that we were going to launch on Manhattan`s streets with our feet. If I had known, I would not have worn the aesthetically pleasing shoes but would have instead picked the comfortable, less aesthetically pleasing, ones. But, I had the Puma loafers on, looking good and feeling fine.

Like I said last time, it started easily enough. We spent a few hours at the ING New York Marathon Expo. That was a brisk walk of about 40 blocks (or so it felt), a warm up if you will. We then headed back towards our hotel and on the way, we passed Madison Square Garden. My Dad suggested we go check what was on during the next 5 days. The ladies, who had had enough of walking by then, waited outside. As luck would have it, the NY Rangers were playing that same night and the NY Knicks had their first home game of the season on the Sunday. My Dad bought 4 tickets for each game and we were set. I must be honest, I was so excited I drooled on my shirt and only saw it when I walked past a shop mirror. I was gonna fix my fringe (which is now all of 17 hair thick) but saw the big wet spot on my chest instead.

We left MSG and headed straight to Macy`s. Suddenly the ladies had regained feeling in their feet and they were raring to go, the pain was but a distant memory. Now Macy`s is awesome! We split up into one man/woman Elite Shopping Units (ESU) and headed off into shopping bliss. My ESU (Foxtrot) found itself in the sport section for most of the time. I then moved onto the various men's sections. Every now and then one of the ESUs would encounter another ESU and status updates were given. The head of all these units were ESU Alpha Charlie (Dad). Alpha because Dad is a magnificent shopper with technique that I will never be able to emulate. Mom was known as ESU Charlie (code for Cheryl).

The ESUs moved their way up through the floors until we all met on the top floor. The top floor was one big Christmas decoration. Here we found ESU Hotel (code for Hayley). She was almost in tears she was so happy. ESU Hotel loves nothing more than Christmas and this was the most magnificent Christmas display any of us had ever seen. So, after spending a lot of money on everything Christmas, we finally headed out the door of Macy`s.

Next stop, Times Square! Now you can only imagine how excited I was. Hayley and her folks had spent New Years Eve there in 1999 but for me, I had only ever seen this place on the tv. It did not disappoint. The buzz, the hustle and bustle, everything was just as I had imagined it, only real. I remember just stopping, looking up and savouring the moment. Time stood still for a minute or two. I was rudely interrupted by a screaming lady. This lady turned out to be my wife. Apparently a celebrity was in a cosmetics shop a few metres from us. At that instant Liv Tyler walked out of said cosmetics shop and got into a big, black SUV. I remember thinking to myself, is this really happening? I knew it was when I saw Hayley`s face!

We then headed back to the hotel cos it was getting late and we had a Rangers game to go to!!!!! We got to MSG and bought a t-shirt for each of us. Obviously we had no idea who the good players were but the guy behind the counter assured us that Henrik Lundquist was the man. How right he was, Lundquist was brilliant! So, we all headed into MSG and what a rush to be in this place that I had never thought I`d go to. It was awesome!!! We had hot dogs, popcorn, large cokes, basically everything we could get our grubby paws on! The Rangers won and we all left very happy.

On the way back to the hotel, I suddenly felt that the feet I was using did not feel like my own. It suddenly dawned on me that my own feet had died earlier that day and a kind doctor had transplanted the feet of a cadaver on my body. He was kind enough to put the aesthetically pleasing Pumas on my new feet. All this happened while I was anaesthetised somewhere between Macy`s and the hotel. Seeing as I had no feeling in my new limbs, I just enjoyed the walk.

We got back to the hotel and immediately hit the sack. We were all very, very tired and ready for a good night`s rest.

My first day in the Big Apple was about to end and what a day it had been. Four more days to go and then it would be off to Washington.

The adventure had just started....

My favourite holiday - Part 1

Hayley and I started going out in May 2000 (and were married a year later but that`s another story altogether!). Since the first week, Hayley wanted nothing else than to take me to the States. She spent a few weeks there with her family in 1999 (including New years Eve in Times Square). They got to see a lot of the East Coast and spent the majority of their time in New York, Boston, Miami and Orlando. It was her ambition to take me to the States.

So it came that my Father-in-Law, Clive, got into the New York Marathon last year. He would not miss it for the world and my Mother-in-Law, Cheryl decided to go along. Hayley immediately said we should try to join them. My Father-in-Law heard about this and thought it a very good idea. He arranged everything for us and on the 31st October, Hayley and I left Cape Town International, New York bound! I could not contain myself!

Now, let me say this upfront. I was really a bit nervous about New Yorkers and Americans in general. The image I had was that of brash, loud, obnoxious people. This stereotype was blown out the water as soon as I set foot on American soil. The Americans are incredibly warm, friendly people. For every "Thank you", you get a "You`re welcome" unlike here at home where you are more often than not completely ignored. Every time we stood somewhere, somebody would come up and ask if we needed help. I now believe, from my own experiences, that Americans are amazing people. My new blogging friends are perfect examples of what Americans are truly like, generous, warm, friendly people with big, big hearts.

I digress!!! We landed at JFK just before midnight on the 31st October 2007 (Halloween!). My In-Laws had arrived earlier that day and they headed straight to the Police concert at Madison Square Gardens. How lucky are they???


So Hayley and I headed out the door of the airport and immediately we were approached by a man asking if we needed a taxi. "Yes" we said. Without asking he took it upon himself to take our luggage to his SUV, not a Yellow cab but a black SUV. Now I have seen enough horror movies to know that this was probably gonna be our last trip. Neither of us said anything and we got into the SUV, holding each other very tight. Then he started talking to us and I was sure he just wanted to make us feel comfortable before taking out a massive blade and chopping my "freakishly big head" off. Well, it transpired from my "last conversation during my last trip on earth" that he was also from South Africa and that he had been in the States for 20 years. He also stayed on the motorway (I was waiting for him to take us to the docks cos that is where a lot of killings take place and I have a lot of movies that will prove my point). But, he drove straight to the Marriott on 49th Street on Manhattan`s East Side without killing us on Halloween. It did cost us $90 for this trip but I was very happy handing it over, $90 is small change when it comes to your life...

With my "last trip" turning out to be "not my last trip" I was more stoked than ever to have the time of my life. The In-Laws were in bed already and we were soon cuddled up in our own bed. I must admit, although jet lagged pretty badly, sleep was the last thing on my mind. All I wanted was to see the Big Apple! The sounds from the city was exactly as I had imagined it, police cars, sirens, horns etc. A buzz, even at 02:00 in the morning. I think I fell asleep at 03:00 and was awake at 05:30, woken by Lindsay`s (my Sister-in-Law) ritualistic everyday early morning phone call to my Mother-in-Law. Shame, she couldn`t wait to talk to us and it took all her self control to only phone at 13:30 in the afternoon (05:30 in NY).

So, my first day in the greatest city on earth was about to start!

First order of business was breakfast! We went to a little place called Pax and it was great. One thing you must understand is that my Dad has to have his breakfast, lunch and supper at set times. I didn`t mind cos it meant that I`d be able to eat during the day! I had to take time out of my schedule to feed the body. Keep in mind it was still the "unfit, overweight" me, so sustenance was vital. You most certainly cannot go shopping in NY without proper carbo loading! One floor of Macy`s would murder you (no pun intended with regards our "killer Ex-South African cabbie" and our dice with death on Halloween...).

With breakfast out the way, we headed to the ING New York City Marathon Expo. My Dad needed to get his number and I was just to happy to go with!
As soon as we entered the Expo, a camera crew got hold of my Dad and an interview ensued! Here is a pic of Hayley and Mom, with Dad being interviewed in the background!! The lifestyles of the rich and famous!!!
Dad and I walked every square inch of the expo. I bought a lot of running things, not knowing how big a part of my life it would become in the not too distant future. Hayley and Mom got their first cups of Starbucks, so everybody was suitably chuffed!

The best holiday of my life was just beginning!

To be continued....