New York Adventure

An exciting and somewhat weird ending to 2011

It was a bucket-list item and so, in the spur of the moment, we left for New York City to share in the excitement of being on Times Square in New York on New Year’s Eve!  We are going to see the new year in with the famous “ball drop”.  Geared with lots of warm clothing my wife and I left very early on Saturday morning to be there in time to find a good spot.

We arrived at three in the afternoon to realize mistake number one. If we really wanted to be in Times Square, we should have arrived the previous day.  The NYPD was out in full force and I was wondering if they had called back retirees for the event. Streets were closed and we were ushered eight blocks away. Walking for eight blocks in an opposite direction from where one wants to go and trying to figure out the crowd-control procedure was hard to do. Interestingly and remarkably enough, the cops we asked (and we asked tens of them as we thought that asking for only a second opinion will not suffice) all gave the same instructions. Our Canadian long-distance guest-status obviously did not carry any weight or beneficial treatment.

A fellow with green and purple coloured hair tried to sell me some “local resident”  status tickets. I was still processing the potential validity and benefits of this suspect-looking rubber-stamped piece of paper when my dear wife declared that this is a free event (she actually asked an officer) and started joining the general direction of the masses. The streets by now were swarming with people – old and young and the last few cars were frantically trying to escape a grid-lock situation from the only remaining open vehicle lane.  We are a people on a mission, I thought, and peaceful.

It was about 45 minutes later that we arrived at a point where it was no longer possible to move forward physically and legally. We are in line (or rather in a bundle) to be left into a controlled section, awaiting security checkpoint procedures. A local confirmed that yes – looking down the street, we are able to see the ball. What a relief! I figured the ball will be about the size of a penny from where we were standing.

Suddenly, our moment of awe and wonder of being surrounded by a million people, was rudely interrupted as we were pushed and squeezed together. My personal space got reduced into the negative as wave after wave pushed us forward. Thoughts of people being trampled to death at soccer events in Europe, crossed my mind.  Being taller than the average man, some police officers told me to stop pushing! I guess they could identify someone in the crowd to make eye contact with. Pity they interpreted my facial expression of fear as one of a malicious psychopathic crowd molester.  After what felt like an hour of distress, we got into the secured section. This is where we are going to stand for the next seven hours.  What a great idea – I thought. Being here on New Year’s Eve. How is it possible to mobilize a million people (me included) to come spend eight hours standing, no food, no washrooms, no chairs, no glass of wine, no space, no moving around and as it turns out almost no entertainment? I concluded that it must be an age thing. This is exactly the problem with bucket lists. Once you get to the item, its almost too late.

We were surrounded by new neighbours, about two inches apart. Everyone founded their spot except for some bizarre reason, the lady next to me. She was an older woman and based on the language she spoke, I figured originated from somewhere  in eastern Europe. She was convinced that I took her spot and although she had just as much space as I had, a little cold war started between us. She yanked her arms and back into my back with such force that I could hardly stand up straight. Seven hours to go and my turf was under attack! I decided that for my own survival, I am not giving up my two inches! I spotted a small gap and momentarily stepped aside to alleviate the pressure with the effect that she almost lost her balance. Message delivered. The rest of our cohabitation went over well. The pushing never stopped completely but it gave us the necessary  entertainment to meet each hour of waiting.

There were other things to see and ponder  too. One was the prominent advertising spot where the ball was going to end up and millions of eyes were fixated all evening. The ad rotated  face cream, pop and off course “Romney for 2012”. It must have cost the poor Republican candidate a fortune! And so small things amused me in my small world like the NYPD’s impressive ability (or was it a demonstration?) to yank out pot smokers from the crowd.

Then the weirdest moment of the day happened. The ball ascended to the top of the pole at six ‘o’clock followed by a Chinese presentation. A Chinese delegation were introduced followed by a promotional video about Beijing. It showed how to enjoy duck in China, three Chinese opera singers performed what sounded like a western classical piece with pictures of Chinese landscape and architecture. The whole thing was drawn to a close with the dragon dance. It would not have been that bizarre if some other countries were also represented  during the evening. Perhaps it was just great marketing initiative from the Chinese.  Perhaps not.  I do need to mention that the Latino-speaking population were acknowledged with much enthusiasm.

Drake, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and Pitbull delivered mini-performances to the delight of all and the experience of counting down the seconds with a million other people at midnight, filled me with a sense of unity and satisfaction. It was a beautiful “balmy” eight degree night marked with helicopter supervision and crowd anticipation. The crowd dispersed quickly and peacefully after midnight and the cleaning crew stood ready for action. Well done New York! New Year’s Eve at Times Square – checked.