This past week was a pretty typical week-before-transfers
week, and since it was also combined with week-before-month-end-vehicle-reports, I
kept busy. The highlight, though, was
the four hour walking tour of Central Park yesterday! We invited all the senior missionaries, and
about ½ were able to come. We all loved
it, and we are all recovering from it today!
I thought the meet-up strategy, which is completely common
to New-Yorkers like Jay, was interesting and different from what we westerners
are used to, so I’ll spend a little time (probably too much) on that. We had groups coming from three different
areas: Rego Park, Flushing and Brooklyn.
We all rode the subway in, and the meet-up worked perfectly! Here were the instructions for the Rego Park
people (us, Sister Shapiro, and the Congers (who drove to Rego, parked at the
church and went from there with us)): “We'll be meeting at the
Roosevelt Av station on the Manhattan-bound platform. According to the
MTA website, the Manhattan-bound R won't be stopping at Woodhaven Blvd (our stop) this weekend, so you'll have
to take the Forest Hills-bound R to 71-Continental (the opposite direction from Manhattan), go up and over to the
other side, and then take the Manhattan-bound train to Roosevelt
Av. We'll meet at the back end of the platform at the Roosevelt station,
so while you're waiting for the R at Woodhaven, you can walk to the front of
the platform (puts you on the front of
the train), which will put you at the rear of the train on the other side (when headed towards Manhattan).”
So, we left home at 9AM, walked to the station, got on the
first train headed the opposite way we wanted to go, then got off and got on a
train headed to Manhattan, in the last car.
Jay planned to meet us at the Roosevelt Ave station, so with us being in
the last car, he could see us (and us him).
Then, if we were on the F train (the one we ultimately wanted) he would
get in at the stop and we would proceed to Manhattan together. However, if we were on the R or another train, we would get
off at Roosevelt, and we would catch the next F to town together. You with me so far? (It worked out perfect,
since the train we caught was an F, and it got to Roosevelt Station at 10, the
meeting time!)
Here are the instructions for the Brooklyn people: “Those coming from Brooklyn can take
the F to 57 St (front of train). We'll all meet at 10:30 on
the street at the south-east corner of 6 Av & 58 St. Call Elder
Williams on 206-966-1929 if needed. Other trains from Brooklyn
(N,Q,R) also stop at 57 St, but on 7 Av, so they would then walk over to
find us, or they can change for the F at 34 St (but it's easier to walk from 7
Av, passing beautiful Carnegie Hall). The D stops along 6 Av but doesn't
reach 57 St, but they can easily change to the F at several stops along
the way.”
Anyway, it all worked out perfectly, and we all met up at
10:30, a block from the south entrance of the park. (Sorry to bore you with all that detail, but
I thought it was interesting (and hey I’m an engineer)! From there we went on a
fascinating walking tour of the south half of Central Park, with Jay sharing
the history and interesting events. He
loves New York and its history, and we got a real feel for the park through his
comments! As usual, he had a stack of
pictures of different features of the park from the 1840s though today. The really amazing thing about the park is
that it’s made for walking, with a goal of seeming to be far from the city, and
it does a great job! In spite of all the
people, it’s beautiful and quiet and green!!
We were so glad to see it today when it’s safe and clean-- such a
contrast from the pictures Jay showed us from the early 80s when it was totally
run-down, dirty, and a haven for almost every illegal activity. Or during the great depression, when it was
the home of many many shanty towns. It
was a great and memorable tour, and all of us are so glad we went!! (And will be even more so when we can walk
pain-free again…) I’ll add a few
pictures, but none can do the tour justice! (Click on pictures to enlarge.)
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| Looking south down 6th Ave from park entrance |
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(L to R) Jay & Sister Shapiro, Adams, Congers, Williams, Fairbanks (couple
Jay and I home teach)
|
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Jay said there are 36 bridges, all with different designs and materials.
This one is cast iron.
|
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| Belvedere Tower on highest point of park (1869) |
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Resident hawks, come back each year for nesting season
(red circle above is location)
|
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Strawberry Fields, commemorating John Lennon's death just
across the road at the Dakota building
|
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Crowded subways! Elder Conger's (checked shirt) face is
showing how we all felt on the way home.
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Now, Memorial Day. I
never had the opportunity to serve in the military (high lottery number during
the lottery draft years of the Vietnam War), but I’ve always sort of wished I
had! I think I would have liked the
tough-guy part and the brotherhood part, although I can’t even imagine the
horrors of actual war! My father was in
the army and was a paratrooper, and was sent to Japan right at the end of WW2
(if I have my facts right), then got turned around and sent back to the US pretty
quickly. I do admire and respect the
sacrifices soldiers and their families have made and continue to make, so we
can have freedom! What a blessing it is
to live in this great country, and without all those sacrifices and blood spilt,
it would not be great!! I am forever
thankful for those who have sacrificed their lives, limbs and health for my
freedom!!! God bless you!
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