April 13, 2022
For spring break, I went to New York City with my pals David and Jay and their two kids Shayla and Jaden. First time in New York without any work appointments. A new kind of spring break for Uncle Kenny.
Strange as it may sound, I find New York to be kind of serene. This has everything to do with the elevator. You see, the invention of the elevator allowed for highrise development. Staying high up in a hotel or apartment in New York is really peaceful. You can still hear the sirens, but not much else. The last time I went to New York with a young person was with my niece Maya when she was 12 or 13. We stayed with my good friends Tim and William, who lived in a contemporary building with a light-filled north-facing apartment. Their apartment was on the 28th floor. The actor Macaulay Culkin lived in the building, and we ran into him in the elevator. Highlight of the trip for my niece. Later my pals moved further up the West Side into a prewar building that had more charm and space, but I missed that high view and the near silence.
This time our whole group stayed in the Moxy Chelsea. My room’s subway tile in the shower and bathroom said “Grow Up.” In my friend David’s room, the message was “Some Regrets.” No closets. Only hooks. Very Shaker. I love hooks. The clothes are off the floor, but I didn’t have to actually get a hanger out. Sparse but comfy. The plumbing hardware resembles miniature versions of industrial wheels (like the kind Olson Kundig uses to excess). The one in the shower came off in my hands, but at least I could figure out how to turn the water off until the hotel fixed it. In addition to having a great view, the window opened, so you could hear more of the city if you wanted to!
Shalya and Jaden got to see several neighborhoods and landmarks in their short week. One thing I realized is that the ubiquity of technology (especially since Covid schooling) means that anything static doesn’t hold their attention. More pleasure was to be had riding the Staten Island Ferry (still the best deal in New York) than looking at the dinosaurs or dioramas at the Museum of Natural History. Good thing their parents chose Harry Potter’s Cursed Child and Moulin Rouge as their introduction to Broadway. By the way, if you adults liked Schitt’s Creek or August: Osage County, be sure to check out Noah Reid in Tracy Letts’s The Minutes.
Another thing I learned on this trip is that Dunkin’ Donuts had been revived, and the kids can’t get enough coffee and sugar. I tried giving up on sweets, but the chocolate cookies left on the plate at Sardi’s fit perfectly in my jacket pocket, safe for a late-night snack. The drama between fast-food and sit-down restaurant dining was best resolved at Maison Pickle on the Upper West Side. All participants loved the pull-apart parmesan and garlic bread, and one French dip sandwich can easily feed two (adults).
We had some success at the Metropolitan Museum, especially with the armor and Temple of Dendur. The adults insisted on seeing the show Charles Ray: Figure Ground. The kids couldn’t get by those nudes fast enough. Wait until they read Mark Twain. I will remind them that they saw stainless steel sculptures of Jim and Huck without clothes. Very realistic art that plays with your mind as well as any conceptual art does. You need the big rooms of the sparse exhibit to hold your exploding thoughts. But the real children were, as you might expect, already in the gift shop.
“Archangel” by Charles Ray
