New York City is not only great because of the marvellous buildings. I rather love it especially for the New York people themselves. This kind of friendliness, courtousness, openness and cordiality with which the people meet me, is still an overwhelming experience after so many years. Not a single trace of snobism, no matter if you meet a spruced-up business woman or an ordinary employee, everyone meets you openly and friendly and they are always available for a little chat.
That this is not affected politeness, but real interest, became clear when my camera's accumulators were empty on Times Square. I went to the first souvenier-shop that was at hand and bought new ones. Funny enough, three days later they were empty again in the same place. So I went into the crowded shop at the „Crossing of the World“ again. Unbelievable! The owner of the shop still knew me and inquired in a very fiendly way about my condition until then.
... and if a bartender personally welcomes you with a handshake at the crowded bar of the Hardrock Café at your second visit ...
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In April 2008 there were 3 decisive topics on American TV:
1. the pope's visit
2. the election-campaign Clinton/Obama
3. Flocke from the zoo in Nuremberg. - New Yorker go crazy for her!
In New York you shouldn't miss out to visit a theater-performance, a Show, a musical or an opera, because there you can enjoy most original plays with world stars. So I still had the chance to see “Cats“ before it ceased after 25 years.
My personal highlight was at the “Riverdance on Broadway“-performance.
One day I left my room in the Waldorf=Astoria-Hotel with tired feet and decided not to take such long walks the next day. Because “Riverdance“ was by chance performed in New York at that time, I decided to watch the show the next night. So I took the receiver in order to order a ticket directly from my room.
But instead of asking the concierge to do that for me, I directly called the Gershwin-Theatre and ordered the ticket myself, using my very best school-English. I wasn't 100% trusted by the lady on the phone, as she insistet that I put down the receiver so that she would phone back at the hotel, which usually isn't easy, as they don't put you through from the outside, as they don't want their guests to be disturbed. Anyway: everything went well and I was promised a ticket for the following evening.
The following day I fetched my ticket at the Top Box of the Gershwin Theatre at 6PM and as the performance began at 8PM, I had enough time to have dinner and a drink at the Hardrock Café round the corner. I would almost have chatted away with a nice guy there (he was the Sony-manager for North America and he offered me the whole USA if I had decided to stay), when I suddenly realized that it was 2 minutes to 8. I hastily made my way to the theatre. And when I entered the entrance hall and presented my ticket, immediately a man and a woman rushed towards me and “conducted“ me through the giant theatre to my seat, in the first row, which was especially highlighted and illumined by a spotlight.
(c.f. sketch – the red X). They told me that they had already been waiting for me and therefore not begun with the performance, until I was there. A murmur went through the large room and talking ceased. And when I sat down, the lights went on and the curtain was raised. I didn't dare to look around the whole evening, because then people began to whisper and to speculate who I could be. During the break I wanted to attend the restrooms and the long queue (there are not enough toilets in Manhattan) split and I was urged by the ladies to go first.
The show was an incredible treat, but I still don't know what I had told the lady on the phone in order to earn such a special treatment among 5000 visitors!
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Shopping at Sak's, 5th. Avenue
The clerks in the ground-floor of Saks had a good laugh. I was searching for a nice underwear-collection for my good Georg. The boys said that the whole department was full of that, but when I explained them that my husband would absolutely refuse to have the word „Klein“ printed next to his genital, as it means “small / little“ in German, the humour suddenly became that frolicsome that serious shopping became an unthinkable thing to do.
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"The murderer" in the Oyster bar
One day I sat in my charming local, “Oyster Bar“ at Grand Central Station and had just ordered a meal, when it came to a conversation with the Gentleman next to me. Actually I love sitting at the bar (c.f. Photo), because I can watch the boys preparing my loved Pan roast. (And sitting alone at a table in a restaurant is not very comfortable, either.)
That's why I only took a closer look at the young man with whom I had been chatting about all the world and his brother all the time and got a terrible shock. He was stained with drops of blood all over. For me as a well-versed reader of detective-stories and eager CSI-watcher, it was evident that he could not be a witness or the victim of some bloody deed. He was much too animated for that. I was just beginning look away when he realized my horrified glance.
It quickly became clear that he was not a wanted criminal, but rather an anaesthesiologist from New Jersey who had just returned from one of his well-attended "Botox-Parties" , where he made extra money for himself and his family.
When he offered me a free injection as a recompensation for my shock, I thankfully refused (for hygienic reasons).
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UNO and the "Saarland-Solution"
In the Saarland it is often the case that the short communication line is made of the fact that you know a person who has a friend who has already heard about your problem and this is the person to trustfully speak to. And because the Saarland is pretty small, this person always knows someone who helps you – of course like a friend would do.
And so it happened that when I visited the UN-building in New York City, I got a private tour by a young embassy-clerk and thus was allowed to drink from the glass of the UNO's chairman (at that time it was Kofi Anan) and to wildly wield the hammer on the desk (see photo). Furthermore I was entitled to sit in the seat of the German foreign minister (at that time Joschka Fischer). For the father of the young man was married for the second time to a doctor from Saarbrücken, a circumstance which then led to the “Saarland-Solution“ at the UN-building, even though far away from home. (Surely a novelty there!)
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In the Yankee-Stadium
Stupidly my accumulators failed again, because this was the last match of the New YorkYankees' Star-pitcher Corey Lidle. He died the next day. (He crashed during his first solo-flight.)
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Parade 5th Avenue
As usual my feet hurt after all the walking and I sat down on a flower tub at the side of the road, when someone gave me a cardboard-sign as he passed by. I was just sitting there and held it in my hands without paying too much attention to it, when suddenly a man came and applauding to me. It was Mayor Bloomberg personally with Senator Hillary Clinton– and it was his election-poster which I was holding.
And because the whole procession had already moved on, I was the only one with his red and blue poster, he was really happy (nice chap!)
Of course the whole process did not remain undiscovered, and a TV-team came upon me. Anyway, I was so confused that I only answered in my broadest Saarland-dialect:“What do I know? Just ask this man!“ and pointed at the man next to me.
In the evening, back at the hotel, I was lying in the tub and the TV next door was switched on for my entertainment, when the TV-station broadcasted this one sentence of mine in the purest Heinz-Becker-dialect – as their summary of the parade!
