WALDEN WORLD

Mission: NEW YORK

DAY ONE (UNO)

HOLD ONTO YOUR SEAT, THE REAL STORY, THE REAL FACTS... MISSION NEW YORK.

Now I've never been to New York before and didn't ever plan to go but as you may know there have been some changes in my life in the last year. One of the things I planned to change was my inhibitions about doing things that required family expenditures ($$$$$). I never been real good about spending money on me. Oh i didn't mind spending it on other family but when it came to me, well it was difficult. I think it was ingrained in me growing up because my family just didn't have it. It's not a bad thing to live by a "honest day's work for an honest dollar" and a "save for a rainy day cause it's going to rain" attitude, but God said he would give us our heart's desire and that the windows of heaven would pour out blessing on us. Well I testify that both of those statements are true. I am truly blessed in this life, but that desire of our heart thing... well, I've always had a problem discovering the desires of my heart and kind of felt guilty about it when I did. So I'm in the discovery, hide and watch mode of my life. This should be really good because when your 57 years old and never done the things that you've wanted to because of emotional or mental handicaps life may take some swift turns and hopefully good ones.

"Honey the choir is gong on mission to New York. Would consider going with us?" The words of the woman I live with some time in the past. My response, "Well, I guess so." After she got up from the floor she said that I could think about it and if i didn't it would be OK. I knew right then that i had months of dread and thought ahead of me. I began to research the place and I confess, confess, confess! that I've seen a lot of movies and TV that took plan in New York City. King Kong, Escape from New York, Planet of the Apes (the old version), X-Men, NYPD Blue, Muppets Take Manhattan and somebody is always getting blown up in New York. I didn't know if I could take the weird people and "STUFF" that goes on in New York.

So as all good Christ believing folk should I began to study the 23rd Psalm and Romans 8:28. I figured I was headed into the valley of the shadow of death and that God promised all things would be for my good... LORD watch over me and mine.

OK, up and ready to go. Packed and ready to go. Getting in the van and ready to ...... "keys?", "I thought you had yours!" "No, why would i have mine?", "OH NO, OH NO, OH NO!" she said. Now I know that none of you have ever been in this spot before so stop laughing. I'm a problem solver and i guess at that moment my problem solving skills took over, I really think I just couldn't take that crying and shouting "OH NO!" any more, so in a split second the "12 EE shoe" key opened the back door and I walked into the house to get keys to the van. I mean really, I'll fix it later. Got in the van and we're ready to go.

This is the Newark airport. Ants on a piece of fat back, right?

Air ports are not places that I spend a lot of time in because some how i figure somebody is always looking at you like you have a bomb in your shoe. OK, we're ready to go and on the plane, a nice large one, we go and off to Atlanta. Atlanta is a BIG AIR PORT! Lots of eating places from one end to the other which is pretty much where we had to go to get from our BIG plane to this not so big plane. We're ready to go! Some how not so big planes aren't my cup of tea. Both taking off and landing brought tears to my eyes and "poop" to my "draws." Not really, well I'm not going to confess it anyway. Why can't they give a warning when they are going to do something that is LOUD and sounds like the tail fail off or the tail is dragging the ground. GOOD GRIEF!!

OK, landed and after I could stand up and exit the little plane we were in Newark. OK, we went to Atlanta first but it was not to bad cause we were on a rather large plane. Now we get a ride to the Hotel. Welcome Mohranadama. What you here about cab drivers in New York is true in and olfactory sense. I guess Mohranadama had work a double of triple shift and hadn't had a chance to freshen up, to say the least. Yes, I had to sit up front. The sight was wonderful though. The sky line was just as the pictures and the spelling on the signs was the same too. PEOPLE IN NEW YORK DRIVE CRAZY!! YES THEY DO CUSS AT EACH OTHER, HONK THE HORN, SHOUT THINGS AT EACH OTHER AND MAKE HAND SIGNS!!! I could even understand maybe 23% of all of this.

This is from the cab on the way into New York.

We finally made it to the hotel, HYATT. Wow, this isn't your fathers Best Western (more about that later when we get to Detroit). We got some rest and got dress for a "PLAY". You could tell that I was real excited. We were ready to go and we did. We walked and walked and walked and I got my first ever look at a "SUBWAY." (Nothing like the samwich by the way, ha ha ha, sorry) Very interesting, reminded me of Atlanta Air Port. any way, THE LION KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW! WOW! WOW! THIS IS NOT YOUR FATHER'S "PLAY"! BOGGLES THE MIND AS TO HOW THEY DO WHAT THEY DO WHEN THEY DO IT. IF YOU EVER GET THE CHANCE TO SEE THIS SHOW TAKE IT. Now of course knowing the story, as I do, allows you to look for the technical stuff and it .... well, DYNAMITE!! Even the music was great! "Da Monkey (Baboon that is), Pumba, and Timon were great!! I'm ready to go home after this but that not the real reason I came to New York. Lastly I some up by saying "Hakuna Matata".

Massive Mufosa (Semba's dad) image on the wall at the LION KING performance.

This actually is TIME SQUARE but GOOD GRIEF! Reminds me of New Orleans, of course what I've been told.

Leaving the KING show we walked back to the hotel. Reminded me of the state fair and "Mardi Gras" with the smells and PEOPLE. It's 11:00 PM and the streets are packed! This New York never sleeps. Time Square is all it is made out to be. Lights lights lights and more lights. The buildings go straight up and at night you can't see a star so it looks like the buildings go and go and go. WOW!