After a few days in New Jersey on a recent trip (Inspiration), I spent a week in New York. It had been many years since I was last there and, this time, I had no appointments, no business to attend to, no one to visit, just a time to savor old memories and explore new places, to immerse myself in the excitement of one of the greatest cities on Earth, and walk and walk and walk and walk.
Born and raised in Newark, thirty minutes by bus from New York City, I feel fortunate to have been so close to an unparalleled art center. My aunt worked in the city and often invited my mother and me to cultural events—ballet, Broadway musicals, art museums, symphony. One of my brother’s friends was an understudy in the play Sound of Music; we went to see it when he was filling in. Thrilling to know a real person to say hello to at the stage door who was part of the glamorous life of the theater! One day, in eighth grade, when I was walking home from school, I saw my brother walking up the street from the opposite direction.
“Where are you coming from?”
“The New York bus!” he answered with a grin.
Whole new possibilities opened up! After that, and throughout my high school years, I regularly cut school, carefully keeping within the limits of allowable days absent so it would not affect my grades, and spent the day wandering the island solo, taking the subway down to Greenwich Village, walking up tony Fifth Avenue to stroll in Central Park, or admiring the marquees and posters in the theater district, craning my neck at the skyscrapers, milling in the crush of bodies hurrying in business suits or hippie garb, breathing in the atmosphere and urban buzz.
In college, I was also thirty minutes from Manhattan. As an art student, with little money, I frequented art museums on free days and poked into the galleries along Lexington Avenue, my knitted fringed poncho and frizzy hair blowing in the wind. I’m sure they knew I wouldn’t buy anything, but welcomed my questions, happy to give encouragement to a budding art student, to talk about the artists and their works. My aunt gave me her membership card to the Museum of Modern Art and the wonderful paintings in the regular collection etched themselves into my brain, becoming more meaningful while I studied art history, as I visited them through the years. I was always a bit hesitant to show the guards my entry card; did they really think I looked like a Bertha Kruk?
In my freshman year, a student I knew approached my friend and me outside the student union building. He had tickets to a concert that night at Fillmore East—Crosby, Stills and Nash. He couldn’t go; did we want them? He didn’t want us to pay for them. We could still make it. We ran down the hill to catch the New York bus, calling back our thanks, and hopped on the subway. As we came through the door, the beginning chords and heavenly harmonies of their first song, “Suite Judy Blue Eyes” (we knew all the words), welcomed us and we were floating on air as we found our seats. Neil Young emerged from behind the curtains to join them for the last song or two, soon to be an official member of the band.
I dated a student who always seemed to have Fillmore concert tickets and invited me to join him. He didn’t have a job—how could he afford them, I wondered? It took me a while to discover he was selling drugs. No wonder he was always well supplied. Another guy I dated on a few double dates with a friend. We would drive into the city in his friend’s beat-up old station wagon with a big cardboard box in the back. He’d pull up to a fire hydrant, take out the box, and nonchalantly drop it over the hydrant. Never got a parking ticket.
And then there was the time when three of us, tripping on LSD, a straight friend driving and guiding, spent the day at the Central Park Zoo. Everything—animals, rocks, water, clouds—was alive and celebrating the unity of life, one with the world, at peace, joyful. A drug-induced illusion we knew, but a spiritual feeling warmed me afterwards for months.
For his graduation present, years later, I took my son to New York for a long weekend to see Spamalot and found last-minute tickets to Amadeus. His choice was to visit the United Nations; he was enthralled with the intricate toy displays at FAO Schwartz. We listened for a while to a saxophone player in Central Park on our way to Strawberry Fields, a tribute to John Lennon. For dinner one night, we connected with a cousin I had never met and his girlfriend, who lived in a high-rise with a stunning view over the East River, for dinner in Soho, and they invited us to join them at Carnival in Trinidad.
One of the benefits of traveling solo is choosing the things to do that interest you. On this more recent visit two years ago, I planned a few things in advance that needed tickets: plays (The Book of Mormon, Come From Away, and Kinky Boots) and jazz club concerts (Smoke, Village Vanguard), my selection determined by who was playing that week. My days were for wandering, with just a few destinations in mind: the Tenement Museum (I pictured my immigrant grandparents in the tailor’s apartment) and Russ & Daughters Deli (food from my childhood) in the Village, walking the High Line Canal, and a day in newly trendy Brooklyn. And, of course, lots of detours to art museums and excellent hole-in-the-wall restaurants to discover along the way. What would you choose for your New York jaunt?
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Ruth Rosenfeld 
Loving all your stories Ruth! I feel like I’m walking right along with you and during these times, it’s all the travel we have. Thank you so much for a little soul searching travel time💕
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Thanks so much, Bonnie! As always I appreciate your reading and following my scribblings. I’m enjoying revisiting these travel times.
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I really enjoyed reading this Ruth. Sitting here this morning with a snow storm outside this reinforced one of my bucket list dreams of a visit to New York City. Thanks very much for sharing.
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Thank you, Janine! You will get there, it will happen. We will be traveling again. Stay warm.
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Wonderful to read about your memories of NYC. This is the first American city I will revisit when it’s safe to cross the border again.
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Thank you! When that happens, I’m looking forward to visiting my brother in Toronto. I miss not getting up there this year.
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Great Ruth ! I only got to visit a few times during my teenage years as my aunt and uncle lived in Manhattan and were in the theater and TV scene. Rockefeller Center and the zoo were favorites. Heavy stuff for a small town Maine boy. Oh, they also taught me the fine art of dumpster diving for neat things at the back of their apartment building.
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Interesting! That’s a skill I never learned. What kind of stuff did you discover?
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Nothing spectacular, mainly art prints, study lamps, books, the usual “we are moving, so let’s get rid of this stuff”. One time a wooden police billy club, probably spent it’s useful life directing traffic or intimidating Jersey kids. 🙂
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You have put together so many wonderful stories and memories. My only visit to New York recently was an overnight layover. I took the LGA shuttle bus to Manhattan and enjoyed a free walking tour of lower Manhattan as a result. Battery Park, Wall Street, and Trade Center were some of the highlights. New York has amazing history hiding in plain sight.
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Thanks for your comment! Yes, the history… And down at that end of the island a stunning view of Lady Liberty and Ellis Island. So much to see.
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Oh this blog brought back such memories. Even though I go to NYC a few times a year, and studied at Columbia for a few years after college (then in the Bronx, apparently part of NYC too). I also remember the term you miscounted your absences!! Didn’t hurt you!! I remember the kid in Sound of Music. Ugh. Cannot recall his name. Dark hair and glasses. Stephanie
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Thanks for reading, Stephanie! I was always Manhattan-centered, but I did get to other boroughs a few times for specific things. We had some aged cousins in Brooklyn, so dreary then. I don’t think any of the teachers actually graded me down for it! Kenny Dore (as in do-re-mi), I believe that was his stage name. I remember going to a bookstore with you that I loved in the Village and visited many times afterwards on my own. Do you remember the name?
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What a tribute to NYC! I too fell in love with the city. While attending Rutgers Newark, my friends and I took the train into Manhattan on Wednesdays and got half price tickets to Broadway shows. I still have at least 50 Playbills from college days. Herman’s friend from The Sound of Music was Kenny Music. I saw him at Rutgers when I took music classes there. I always wondered if he legally changed his name. I loved your photographs, especially the view from MOMA in the rain. I enjoy reading your travel adventures. We were so lucky to have lived so close to one of the greatest cities in the world. Keep posting your blog.
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Thank you, Esther! I wonder if those Playbills are collector items now. We were indeed lucky to have those experiences.
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what a truly amazing life you’ve led, to have such a connection with the arts and be close enough to enjoy the hubs!
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Thank you for reading and for your comments, Kate! Often it’s those personal stories of a place that makes it come alive for others. I’m enjoying reminiscing!
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good for you, I made a few friends in India who also grew up around NY 🙂
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Great read! I wonder if we have crossed paths before. We seem to have gravitated from NY, Colorado and the world 😃
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It’s quite possible – we have taken some of the same roads at times in this small world!
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Enjoyed!I thought (from the title of the post) it might include this clip, but I guess the song is a little before your time:
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But of course I know it! — it was a reference to the song. Sinatra and then Liza Minelli. I haven’t gotten into including clips, but appreciate your sending this one.
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The thing that I love about New York City is that every time I visit, there’s always something new to discover. It’s a city full of memories. Thanks for sharing.
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Yes, always something new to discover in that city of endless complexities and diverse peoples. I’d go again in a heartbeat!
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Hurrah for walking, walking, walking in NYC. I used to love the little zoo in Central Park as a child. I can imagine it would be a fascinating place for a wisely-chaperoned LSD adventure. One of my grandmothers lived in Queens, and we used to stay with her in the summer, taking a bus and then the number 7 train into Manhattan once or twice a week to interview for commercials, voice-overs, plays and TV shows. Thank you for this evocative blog post!
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Thanks for your comment, Will! We all have such vivid memories of New York. Those must have been great summers, especially for one in love with theater!
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Nice blog
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Thanks for visiting and for your comment!
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These are nice photos of New York streets. Thanks for sharing them
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Thanks for the link Ruth, some wonderful memories, sights and photographs here. LSD at the zoo eh? Love the shot of the sax player.
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Thanks, Leighton! You can feel my love for NY. College days (at the zoo)…
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Ruth, This is wonderful and as a kid growing up in NJ, very relatable. I love how your activities progress as you grow older but always with the foundation of loving the thrill of NY. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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