When we landed in NY I knew I had left my comfort zone!! And I left it way behind. Several states away. Hundreds of miles away. Of course, it was overwhelming. The buildings are tall. The traffic is horrible. These people talk funny. But I swear I knew I was not in The South anymore when we got to our room and ordered room service. I ordered a grilled chicken sandwich and sweet potato fries. My husband got a grilled cheeseburger and fries and my son got...(If you know him, you know what he got.)...chicken tenders and fries. Oh and I ordered a big piece of key lime pie and chocolate chip cookies. The server brought up the tray and uncovered the 3 meals and we all pulled up a chair and sat down. Nope, we are not in The South anymore. Hellmann's Mayonnaise and Dijon Mustard??? Where's my Dukes? Where's my French's? Oh Dear Lord, it is going to be a long 5 days!!
The next minute I knew we were not in The South anymore was when my husband looked at our Visa bill in the morning and realized that last night's room service chicken sandwich, hamburger and chicken tenders cost us a cool $130!!! What???????? I am not even kidding you!! The food was a little overpriced and then there was the tax, delivery fee, hotel charges, on and on they go until it added up to $130!! Needless to say, we didn't order room service again. We got our lazy selves up and went to the restaurant inside the hotel even if we didn't feel like it! Stuff is expensive in New York!
I have seen vandalism before. I mean some of my so called "friends" decorated my yard for Christmas one year. It was July!! I have seen spray paint on trains and under bridges. I have seen a yard get TP'd. What I have never seen was a high end store get vandalized and these people didn't even try to clean it up!! Come on!! This is 5th Avenue not The Bronx!! I mean...Well just look for yourself...This is Bergdorf Goodman. What a shame!!
I knew that I wasn't in small town, North Carolina anymore when I saw Queen Latifah on the street in Times Square, a few policeman on horseback posing for pictures with tourists, Spiderman in the street spinning his web and a TJ Maxx with a gold sign on a grand stone building. Our TJ Maxx here is great and I love it but it is only one floor and made of brick. No comparison to the one on Wall Street right beside the Stock Exchange!
Of course, I have told you about being out of my comfort zone and talking to Muslims for the first time in my entire life and them actually being nice people and nothing like Achmed but guess what church is directly behind the Marriott in Times Square??? The Church of Scientology!! Not a Baptist, Presbyterian or Methodist Church or even a Catholic Church but SCIENTOLOGY!!! Okay, maybe I am being judgmental here but even their churches are spooky!! It actually looks more like a theater than a church.
There were many times that I was out of my comfort zone and actually enjoyed it but there was one last story that I was very uncomfortable outside of my comfort zone. I am many things. I am usually positive even in negative situations. (Usually. Hey, I'm human!) I try to be friendly. I try to be funny. I try to be compassionate. BUT...I am very opinionated. I am a diehard Republican. I am a card carrying member of the NRA. I believe in Religious Freedom, The Right to Bear Arms and being fiscally conservative with my tax dollars. That being said, I think God was testing my patience at the Statue of Liberty, of all places. While waiting in line for tickets the lady in front of me started talking to me and telling me about how great the past 4 years have been and how great Obama is. I bit my tongue until it almost bled!! I tried to change the subject to other things like, ya know, the weather, the sky, dirt, ANYTHING but the great Obama!! It always led back to us needing 4 more years. Over and over and over. Then she totally lost me. She told me she was from Israel. I wanted to punch her in the throat. I thought I was talking to an American and letting her have her "Freedom of Speech" and being nice. I did not say anything against her political beliefs. I mean, it isn't my place to try and change anyone's mind about their political beliefs. God does have a sense of humor, doesn't He??!! Hahahaha!!
Okay, I'm a little sick of talking about New York and frankly, I just don't want to anymore. It was a great visit and I saw a lot and learned a lot but I wouldn't ever want to live there. I love The Carolinas and never want to live anywhere else!!
No comments:
Post a Comment