5. USA: New York (part 2)

It is strange to see people in a hurry: but on Monday, we say goodbye to Michael and Alison who must be off.  We bid a fond farewell to our faithful Suburban and our American clothes and souvenirs we have packed away for the year.  Inside the hotel, an elderly, well dressed woman sits in the lobby of the hotel (she has no air conditioning in her apartment) and talks to the children.  We finally meet Jacqueline, who has arranged for our home in Saffron Walden, and her husband, and sign the lease for Westfields House.  We have spoken quite a bit with Jacqueline over the past six months; she is older than I imagined.  She and her husband have seven children and are off to see one of them sail around Manhattan. 

Today we walk to the Empire State building, down 5th Avenue.  Jeffrey and I go to the top on a beautiful, clear day.  The others are tired and crabby after the long walk from the hotel, and insist on stopping for a bite to eat.  Jeffrey and I meet them on the street afterwards, and the six of us pile into a cab and go to South Street Seaport, like touristy Pier 39 in San Francisco.  After a proper lunch and a visit to the shops and the street artists we take a taxi back to the hotel.  With everyone settled in I go on my own to visit Father Forrester, a Paulist priest and family friend, at Roosevelt Hospital.  The Buckleys go way back with Father Forrester, who has been on the altar for many of the family weddings, including Cathy's and mine.  In 1967, Jan and I visited him when he was stationed at the Paulist parish in Rome, Santa Susanna.  He looks good, but weak, introduces me to his other visitors as a relative. 

Jeffrey at the the Empire State Building

Taxi Ride

Trip to Liberty and Ellis Islands

South Street Seaport

 In the evening Cathy and I see Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers," which is terrific.  Robert's cold has now spread to the other children.

Tuesday, I go for an early run.  Then we visit the Statue of Liberty.  Even though it is still mid morning, the lines to the top are very long.  Instead we eat and buy souvenirs, getting our national park stamp.  The boat then takes us to Ellis Island.  What stories! 

Back in Manhattan, Cathy and Mara, feeling under the weather, head back to the hotel.  The boys and I stop for a street frankfurter, then go up to the 107th floor at the World Trade Center.  The day, however, is hazy and the outside closed, unfortunately not much of a view at all.

Our next stop is 75 Park Place, where we keep our appointment with Phil Jenkins, the NYC Budget Director.  We have come to see the picture of my grandfather, Ed Buckley, the City's first budget director, on the wall with the other city budget directors.  The four of us have our picture taken.  Everyone in the office is beat but happy -- the budget has just been agreed to at 7 a.m.  It is $28 billion, the largest after the U.S. and California.  (What was it like, Ed?)

World Trade Center;
Ed Buckley's Picture at City Hall

 Cathy discovers a laundry across the street from the hotel that cleans and folds.  In the evening, once again courtesy of "Home Alone," Cathy and I see "City of Angels," the Tony award musical, which is too clever to enjoy.  We are now handing out the amoxicillin to everyone.

Wednesday we have breakfast at the Barbizon and catch the 11:20 from Grand Central Station to Yonkers to visit my great aunt and uncle.  I see a man on the platform, who looks like my father.  I'm about to speak, when he says, "Taxi?"  The joke's on us.  It's Gogo's brother, Uncle Sid, who lives around the corner with Aunt Tillie (Theresa).  We have a nice old fashioned visit, centering around lunch, listening to family stories of my grandmother and my father and his sister, Ruth.  Sid and Tillie have recently celebrated their 65th anniversary.  It is a wonderful occasion.  There is much pleasure at our visit, and I am even introduced to great aunt Goldie by phone.  After lunch, Cathy gets the recipe for "Aunt Tillie's" which will become a staple for breakfast in the months ahead.  We take the 4 p.m. train back, through areas that look like Beirut; it's hard to believe that my father and his family used to live at 116th Street.

Visiting Sid and Tillie

 In the evening, Cathy and I have dinner with her brother, John aka "Chico Cannabalis," at Mulholland Cafe.  Afterwards we visit with John in our hotel room and drink Mumm's while we pack.

Thursday, July 4th, I discover a beautiful gothic church, St. Vincent's, only two blocks away, where Cathy, Robert, Jeffrey and I attend morning mass.  We finish packing and head off for our noon reservation in the Crystal Room at Tavern on the Green.  It is a fitting and festive occasion with balloons and beautiful drinks.  The day seems calm, and we return to the hotel for our 3 o'clock van ride to the airport.  Although we have sent things home in the Suburban, it doesn't seem as if we are much lighter and once again it is twenty dollars for the porters and bellmen, as we leave the hotel, board the van and check our luggage: two Land's End soft suitcases and a carry on for each of us.  We arrive at 3:45 and board the plane at 6:20 for our seven o'clock flight.

Tavern on the Green

We have two three-seat rows in coach on the port side of the British Airways 747.  I am in the front between Robert and Jeffrey.  Cathy is behind with Mara and Thomas.  Unfortunately, it's too early to see any 4th of July fireworks down below, and we are immediately out over the ocean.  The evening is clear.  I notice Jeffrey is taking noticeably large, deep breaths.  I ask him if he is comfortable and he replies, "Actually, Daddy, I'm never comfortable."  I ask, "On the airplane or in life?"  He pauses, thinks, then responds, "In life."

The flight is smooth, the movie, "King Ralph" disappointing, though the boys like it.  Afterwards, the children sleep (Jeffrey: "Wake me up if we crash.").  The plane cruises past the night at 620 mph and there are not much more than two or three hours of darkness.  I think of us as explorers, settlers like those on the Lost Colony, trying to make a name for ourselves and find a better life. 

Friday morning, July 5,  Heathrow, London, England.   We arrive almost 6 and a half hours later at 7:01.  The temperature is a pleasant 18 degrees Centigrade, the day cloudless and hazy.  Another chapter closed, a new one begins.