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Published: August 19th 2014
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Michelle, Kerrii, Rupert & Grace
Outside the Nederlander Theatre after watching "Newsies" Fran and I went shopping on Saturday morning. Lipsticks and the like were first and then we were going for a cup of coffee but somehow we ended up in another shop..surprise, surprise! Anyway I had to leave Fran to the shopping and head off to put the glad rags on for another theatre visit. This time Kerrii, Grace, Rupert, Kev and I were heading off to see "Newsies", the 2pm matinee at the Nederlander Theatre on 41st Street. The musical told the story of the 1899 newspaper boys strike for better pay and conditions. Most of those who sold newspapers were kids who lived on the streets; in1875 it was reported that "There are 10,000 children living on the streets of New York....The newsboys constitute an important division of this army of homeless children. You see them everywhere.... They rend the air and deafen you with their shrill cries. They surround you on the sidewalk and almost force you to buy their papers. They are ragged and dirty. Some have no coats, no shoes, and no hat." However, the common ill-treatment of the newsboys was not a major concern of society. They were not employees of the newspapers but rather
purchased the papers from the publishers and sold them as independent agents. Not allowed to return unsold papers, the newsboys typically earned around 30 cents a day and often worked until very late at night. In the 1890s there was fierce competition between Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper 'The World' and William Randolph Hearst's 'New York Journal' with the newspaper publishers cutting the payment to the newsies resulting in the strike. According to the program Joseph Pulitzer pledged the sum of two million dollars to establish a school of journalism at Colombia University to improve his reputation following his battle with the Newsboys Union. From a little bit of research into this it would appear that he actually left the money in his will. In 1917 Colombia awarded the first Pulitzer Prizes in journalism; the award has since been expanded to recognise achievements in literature, poetry, history, music and drama. If I hadn't been to the show I wouldn't have discovered all that and I actually have Rupert to thank since he was the one who wanted to see the show. So thanks Rupert.
It was dinner at The Drunken Munkey with Grace and Fran on Saturday night then on Sunday
Outside Andy Warhol's Studio
Which we passed on our way back to Kerrii's place we met Allison, one of the many home stays we've welcomed over the years. Allison, who worked at the Deaf & Blind School when she lived with us, now works in a Chicago school as a speech therapist, a job she loves, and together with two girlfriends, Diana and Carolyn, flew to NYC for the weekend. We met at a café surprising called Cafeteria which was on 7th, where it lunch for us and breakfast for Allison and her two friends Diana and Carolyn. They'd been on the ran-tan the night before! Then we headed off for a bit of a walkathon through Greenwich Village and into Washington Square Park which had a very relaxed Sunday atmosphere. And the grand piano player we met there last year was back which was good to see. We then headed off for a walk down Mercer Street which the girls were keen to see. At the end of Mercer Street we said our goodbyes and each headed off our own way. Thanks Allison for travelling to NYC to see us; it was lovely to catch up and I hope it's not too long before we meet again. Back at our apartment it was
Michelle, Grace, Kev & Fran
Dinner at the Drunken Munkey time to say goodby to Fran who was flying off to Munich for the rest of her little adventure. We had a great time with Fran who hopefully enjoyed it as much as we did
On Monday Michael was in town; we made arrangements to meet up at the 9/11 museum having purchased tickets for 11am entry. The Museum’s 110,000 square feet of exhibition space is located within the archaeological heart of the World Trade Center site—telling the story of 9/11 through multimedia displays, archives, narratives and a collection of monumental and authentic artifacts. The lives of every victim of the 2001 and 1993 attacks are commemorated. But there's a lot of open space with various artefacts displayed while the area which documents the main events appears too crowded as there's certainly a lot of information in there. In some ways the two pools of reflection which represent to two towers and have the names of those who died all around the edge are, for me, the most impressive part of the memorial. Certainly the museum is more a place to go on your own since, as we discovered, it's so easy to loose people there. By the time
Outside the Drunken Munkey
A restaurant well worth visiting both for the delicious cuisine and the funky cocktails! we'd spent around two hours there it was a pleasant relief to head to Murphys Irish pub for a drink and a bite to eat.
Back in our little corner of this teaming metropolis I decided to take a book and head down to Carl Schurz Park which is just two blocks away and bordering on the Hudson River. It's a beautiful park; families strolling around and playing games; joggers running up and down the walkway along the river; people playing chess; people sitting at the benches reading; kids playing basketball; lovers strolling along and dogs running around in the special fenced areas for them. It's a park obviously adored by the locals and a place to make one feel good to be alive. Especially on a day when you've been visiting the 9/11 memorial.
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