One day for New York!

This past winter break, I decided to take a day to spend in NYC. The following are journal entries and photographs documenting my escapade.

12/29/09 Narberth 9:50 PM Bitterly cold night 27 degrees with strong winds. Clear skies, but bone rattling cold.

My New York City Adventure

Tomorrow I set off for a day's adventure in NYC. I ambitiously booked travel aboard Mega Bus leaving tomorrow morning from 30th Street Station @ 6:30 AM. To make this bus I'll have to catch the 5:46 AM R5 train to Center City from Narberth. I don't have any significant plans for tomorrow: only eating Arepas at a great Venezuelan restaurant for lunch and meeting up with Dan at 4 PM and hopefully Stephen Czech for dinner. I return on the 9:15 bus arriving at 30th Street Station at 11:15 PM. I hope I can still catch an R5 train to Narberth that late. What are my expectations for this sojourn to the Big Apple? I think I'll be somewhat cold. Tomorrow's high is 35 degrees, but the wind should only be 10 mph. I want to wander the streets and just take in the City. James suggested I see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. I'd like to see a Christmas display at Macy's. Too bad it after Christmas because I'd like to see Santa Claus there - The Miracle on 34th Street is one of my favorite Christmas stories. I might see a museum or go to the top of the Empire State Building. I'll definitely wander about during the day. I'll bring a guide book to New York and read it on the bus ride there. For now, I'd better get some rest ... I have a big day tomorrow!

12/30/09 Phildelphia 30th Street Station 6:30 AM Cold morning, no wind, cloudy skies. It is so cold that after walking around for 8 - 10 minutes outside with my hands exposed, they began to burn from the bite of the bitter cold. My adventure to NYC has begun. The Mega Bus left promptly at 6:30 AM from a side street across from the 30th Street taxi cab stand. It was difficult to find because there are no signs only a giant blue bus with yellow lettering to look for. The bus travels down Market Street right past my school - Constitution High School - at 7th. Many times I've left school walking to Market East train station and I've seen the Mega Bus pass by and thought to myself "they are off to NYC, I'd like to go too." The bus stops between 6th and 7th street to pick up more passengers. This is good to note for future travel if I want to leave right from school. Mega Bus is a double decker bus with seating similar to any normal charter bus - just a little tighter. I like riding in the upper deck toward the front. There is a giant window to look out the front of the bus. Also, you can see over the trees and road dividers. I really like this new vantage point for seeing the beautiful sites along the New Jersey Turnpike. I do feel a little queasy as the higher elevation in the bus excentuates the slightest turns. I'll stop writing now and take in the view from above.

12/30/09 Lincoln Tunnel 8:12 AM Sunny, slight overcase cloud coverage / smog near the horizon. It is very warm on the bus.

We've arrived at the one ramp to the Lincoln Tunnel with a long line of buses. After being stopped for about 5 minutes we are moving along now about 20 - 30 mph. I initially thought it would take at least 40 minutes to get to the tunnel but now I am more optimistic. I've read a little from the Fodor's 2009 guide to NYC I gave Julie last year for a Christmas present, but I'm not overly inspired. I may look for signs of rioting in Battery Park or try to find Alexander Hamilton's grave but my main goal is to wander and ramble about. We are now stopped at the entrance to the tunnel. I like the Lincoln Tunnel's Art Deco spires that stand at the entrance. They look like the tower atop the Empire State Building.


12/30/09 NYC Public Library Reading Room 6:16 PM Clear evening. Cold. 30's. Full Moon. Warm in the library.

The Dead by James Joyce

The Arrival of Gabriel Conroy and his wife. They are greatly anticipated and welcomed by the hosts of the party.
"A light fringe of snow lay like a cape on the shoulders of his overcoat and like toecaps on the toes of his goloshes; and, as the buttons of his overcoat slipped with a squeaking noise through the snow stiffened frieze, a cold, fragrant air from out-of-doors escaped from crevices and folds." p 120

I really like this passage because it beautifully articulates howold man winter drapes himself upon us.

Description of Julia:
"Her hair, drawn low over the tops of her ears, was grey; and grey also, with darker shadows, was her large flaccid face. Though she was stout in build and stood erect, her slow eyes and parted lips gave her the appearance of a woman who did not know where she was or where she was going." p 122


I like this description because it includes a description of physical and well as character traits.

Description of freddy Malins:
"His heavy-lidded eyes and the disorder of his scanty hair made him look sleepy." p125

I like this description because it is so vivid. I can picture it in my mind's eye and it makes me think of people I know who look like that.

Gabriel reminiscing about his dead mother's attitude toward his wife:
"Some slighting phrases she had used still rankled in his memory; she had once spoken of Gretta as being country cute and that was not true of Gretta at all." p 127

I like how poetical this passage sounds.

12/30/09 On Board Mega Bus - leaving Madison Square Garden 9:20 PM Clear, cold. No wind. Temperature in the 30s. Biting cold but not bitter and burning.

My adventure in NYC today has come to an end. The only leg left is the journey home. I am confident that it will go well. I have ample room with an open aisle seat! Probably one of very few. What a great day! I feel exhausted now. My legs ache, knees are in fits of pain, feet hurt as well - but it is all a good hurt. The day began with the Mega Bus drop off on 7th Ave and 28th Street. I walked down 7th Ave toward Madison Square Garden and then the Empire State Building caught my eye. (As I write, I see it now lit up in green and red for Christmas.) I mad a turn toward the Avenue of the Americas and a possible trip to the Observatory. I took the escalator up to the ticket line. It was already quite long by 8:45 AM. I didn't know the cost and quickly decided that if it was more than $10.00 I wouldn't go - I'd save it for a time when I could share the experience with someone else. I asked a worker and he said $20.00, so I quickly turned around and left. As I was leaving, I heard a guide giving directions for security - it seemed like an extensive process.

I walked down 32nd / 33rd street back toward 7th Ave and Macy's. The famous department store was decked out for the holidays with white lights shaped like a tree and others spelling out the word Believe in cursive writing.


I am having difficulty publishing pictures for this post. :(

Dreams of Surfing in a Blizzard: Part 2

February 10, 2010

With this past weekend's storm, I thought mother nature might have gotten winter out of her system. Unfortunately that was not the case as she has created another perfect storm that is currently burying the I-95 corridor and my small borough of Narberth.

I did take advantage of the wet, heavy snow - ideal for packing snow balls and builing a snowman - to create a snow wave. After shovelling for the upteenth time, I piled the snow high in my yard and began construction of a pristine right barrell. Knowing that I could not enjoy the wave myself, I thought at least Barney, my Tijuana Monkey on a surfboard, can get really stoked in the snow. However, I was crestfallen after working diligently on the wave to realize that Barney is facing the direction of a left breaking wave. Despite the mix-up, he still looks happy!

Dreams of Surfing in a Blizzard

February 6th, 2010

A major portion of the Northeast was hit by a massive snow storm that began yesterday afternoon and is slowly fading away this evening. During the local news coverage, Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz the meterologist for NBC 10 warned of power outages, zero visibility, gusting winds, and waves of 10 to 12 feet at the Jersey Shore.

I've been waiting out the storm in my small cozy twin house on Hampden Ave reading Stuart Coleman's book on Makaha - Fierce Heart. Although I am buried in white powder, my mind is dreaming of white foam. It is a long stretch of time from early October to late April, my off-season from surfing. This is the time I find solace in surf films, surf mags, surf bios, and surf novels. Despite my inability to enjoy today's waves - Hurricane Bill style I bet - I can ride them in my dreams.

Someday, I might have the gall to purchase the equipment necessary for winter surfing. I can start a winter surf fund and save little by little until the next El Nino season. For now, I'll have to be content with snow fall and dreams of surfs up!

The Blizzard Haiku
-------------------
There is a snow storm
that brings big surf to the Shore
while I sit at home.

Fun with Walls

Before I found surfing, I often spent the evening sitting around the house eating cheese and watching American Idol. During the second season, I saw every show as Clay and Ruben battled it out for the title. Feeling pretty worthless, dissatisfied, and just bummed out that I lost an hour of my life watching t.v., at a seemingly uncreative moment, I experienced a rogue wave of creative genius.

What you are about to watch may forever change the way you look at walls.

Understand this, You can box a surfer up in a studio apartment with his girlfriend and American Idol - crush his spirit, dull his senses, and sedate his mind - but you'll never kill his inner stoke!

I hope you are as stoked about Fun with Walls as Melissa Cicci. Enjoy!

The Surfing Juror

For the past seven days, I served as a juror in a civil trial held at the United States District Court in Philadelphia - federal jury duty, a big time affair. It wasn't an eternal damnation, in fact I thought it was a lot like surfing.

The case involved age discrimination, a violation of the plaintiffs' civil rights. It had the promise of a decent swell and I was excited to be a part of something big. It was similar to the feeling I get when a tropical storm runs up the east coast. You know there will be waves, big waves. But you never know if they'll be clean or a mushy mess, a corduroy paradise of perfect sets or a washtub of inconsistency. It has been my experience in OCNJ that it is often a mix. With patience, you can sit through the mush to find a great set, catch a five-foot A-frame peeler and enjoy a nice ride. This case was the mashed washtub. It offered a few precious moments of exhilaration in short sets of the truth.

The start of the Trial - The jury selection process began with the voir dire and the first question was, “Is it a hardship for you to serve on a trial that may last one to two weeks.” All fifty or so potential jurors raised their hands and then the lawyers began to call us up one by one to explain why. It was like deciding to go surfing early in the morning on a cold rainy Monday in November, a harsh sea breeze blistering your face. You know you want to get in there, but you're beginning to second-guess yourself. Am I really this committed? Is this worth it? As a History and Constitutional Law teacher, I had been looking forward to my jury duty, but a two-week commitment? I felt it was my civic responsibility to at least answer the questions honestly and once I was selected, after the initial shock like ice coldwater filling my wet suit there was no time to for regret. The opening statements started right away. I had to paddle through waves of anxiety, get past the breakers of fear, and attain a level of comfort that comes from familiarity and knowing your surroundings whether it is the courtroom, the shoreline, the juror's box, or the beach break.

The Documents - The corporation provided Plaintiff's attorneys with thousands of pages of documents - an ocean of information. Both sides presented a lot of exhibits throughout the trial. As a juror I had to be patient. It was pretty obvious that many of the documents served as distractions to create a fog and mask the truth. As in surfing, I had to constantly scan the horizon looking for facts that rose out of the sea of information like small distant peaks of truth.

Arguments - Both teams of attorneys presented arguments that came in waves. The majority of the time they spent eliciting information from witnesses and documents, building up to the arguments. Technical jargon, corporate management-speak, economic and statistical data inundated the jury pounding us like fast hard breakers on a steep shore incline. Waves crashing in ankle deep waters too shallow, too dangerous to ride. It was painful at times. I had to sit on the outside and listen to the shoreline thunder but remain focused on the horizon. In the witnesses’ testimony, there was a lot of rambling, avoidance, the tops of waves blown off by the blowhards who continue to work for the corporation – the yes men and yes women. At times they seemed big and powerful and then they’d open their mouths and the potential for truth flubbed out. Yet, when the truth came it was unmistakable. I’d perk up, my heart beat a little faster, a little harder. My eyes grew wide and ears strained. I fervently jotted down statements in pursuit of the truth – paddling, stroking, stalking the big wave.

Truth - The truth is like a far off peak on the horizon. At first glance, you wonder if it is really there. Then it builds, begins to take shape, its cadence is clear. In its approach to the shore it suddenly rises up out of the ocean before you, unmistakable. A surfer has only a few moments to turn his board, strike out ahead of the rolling mountain of water, build enough momentum and catch a glorious ride on a perfect, peeling tube. It is the same for a juror. Hours of testimony, numerous documents, statements, depositions, exhibits, direction examinations, cross examinations, and then re-directs inundate the juror with information like a rough sea, strong winds, powerful currents, riptides pulling you this way and that. But when the truth appears, it is beautiful, easily recognizable, and glorious in its power.

Deliberation – At the conclusion of the trial, the judge instructs the jury on the law and the jurors decide the case on the facts. It is the juror’s duty to determine what is truthful. The deliberation for this surfing juror was a fantastic ride. I experienced a euphoric rush as we the jury unanimously agreed on the facts. The truth had risen up out of the sloppy conditions in the courtroom offering us a great moment. It was clear and beautiful like a perfect wave. Different jurors shared their experiences from the trial describing moments when they found the truth. At times it felt like a party wave – there were definite facts we all agreed on, moments we all shared. As we analyzed the testimony, some jurors' voices grew loud, a few expletives were tossed about, it was clear we were having a bitchin’ time.

As I left the courthouse, I felt a little disappointed. Our quest for the truth, like the surfer’s quest for a perfect wave had been fruitful but it was also fleeting. I have a renewed appreciation for our judicial system, its adversarial nature, and the ability of a group of 8 citizens from different areas of Pennsylvania to recognize the truth in a cloudy ocean of arguments. This case is over, like each unique wave that crashes on the shore its moment in time has ended. I walked away from the experience with the same feeling I have every time I walk away from the beach after a great surf session – grateful for the opportunity to be a part of something much bigger than myself, hopeful that I will have the chance to do it again, and sorrowful knowing the moment is gone. Like the inevitable end of summer - always bittersweet.

Writing in a Surf of Consciousness

It was all done in the spirit of irony - run a marathon sponsored by a major corporate chain that sells donuts.

On Sunday morning, I anxiously awoke with the thought that today I would set out to do something amazing. For the past few months I had trained - running every other day for three to five miles, on Saturday or Sunday putting in ten to twelve. After a cold autmnal rain, the morning broke with unseasonably warm temperatures. Seeking nourishment before the ordeal, I forced down a bagel and protein bar. My running compatriots soon descended the stairs to join me in preparation for our long morning jog. Spirits were high - All the single ladies sang supportive notes and we were off. As we drove along route 28 to Falmouth, the sight of a broken old, bewildered, beaten dog languishing by the side of the road sent an ominous hush among us. Christian slayed the evil augury by declaring, "I'm going to ride that dog across the finish line!" Humor shattered the looking glass of fear that stared us all back in the face. We laughed at our self doubt. We were out to enjoy a leisurely jaunt across the bucolic scenery of Cape Cod - swatches of brillant orange, yellow, and red foliage. Cheers from the ocean waves crashing on the brown flaked beaches. Glorious sights one can't even strain to see through the urban decay of New York or Philadelphia. An older white woman, dressed in sophisticated garb serenaded the flock of fleet footed fools as the cannon roared to signal the start of the 32nd Annual Dunkin' Donuts Cape Cod Marathon.

I ran - at a jogging pace - 26.2 miles. It was difficult. There were a lot of hills. It was beautiful. A warm sun shone brightly in the New England sky highlighting all the best that nature and the Cape had to offer. I had fun - despite the lack of coffee and donuts along the course.

Thank you Steven, Christian, and Ana!

The drive home from Mashpee to Narberth was much more painful - 8 hours of stop and go traffic in a steady drizzle. We made it.

Thank you Julie!

Ocean City makes a big Splash in Surfer Magazine

After our return from Rincon, PR, Julie and I began to dream the surfer's dream of living in a coastal surf community year round. Although it seemed as if it was something we could only dream about - at least we could crash at her parents condo in Ocean City, New Jersey on the weekend. If we truly want to surf year 'round, we only need to learn how to grin and bear the cold of Northeast winters. No OCNJ is not Rincon, in April and May the water is only about 50 degrees, but there's definitely potential.

After purchasing some booties, Julie and I had a wonderful Spring weekend in the water this past April. We left Ocean City with smiles so big you could surf them! We love Ocean City, even if it isn't a surf mecca like Santa Cruz, Rincon, or Waikiki.

Just when we were trying to convince ourselves that OCNJ had surfing relevance - the July issue of Surfer Magazine arrived with its article titled Ten Best Surf Towns In America. Lo and Behold! Ocean City, New Jersey was number 10!

The article states: Known as “America’s Greatest Family Resort,” Ocean City, New Jersey, boasts more surf accolades than any northeastern surf establishment. Home to Dean Randazzo, New Jersey’s only World Tour Competitor, and a fresh crop of committed and aspiring WQS surfers, Ocean City takes its surfing seriously. The local high school has won eight consecutive state surfing championships, and despite an unfriendly climate, the locale’s consistency and proximity to ledgier surf put it on the U.S. surf map.

Needless to say, Julie and I have started brainstorming ways to spend more time in OCNJ. ANd I'm sure there will be a lot more people in the water now too :)

You can click on the title of this post and it will take you to the surfer magazine article: http://surfermag.com/features/onlineexclusives/ten_best_surf_towns_in_america/