Feast of Corpus Christi

 As usual in Europe in May... holiday today!

Oh and, I've gone to New York City, and I am all alone

Wow if I'd only waited it really would have all made sense. In a previous post on GWMD, there was a whole thing about the song A Murder of One and how it ends with

I have been to Paris and I have
Been to Rome
And I have gone to London
And I am, all alone

But when Adam Duritz would sing that song in different cities he would add on after the "I have gone to London" part a line that was like "I've gone to [current city where the concert is]". So like when I was a young high school student back in 1999 or so [ed: actually it was May 31st, 2000, at the Jack Breslin Student Center] and I drove the minivan down to East Lansing, Michigan to see a Counting Crows concert he literally sang "I've been to East Lansing!" (funny right?). But more importantly, the 1998 live album Across a Wire: Live in New York City contains the most well known live version of A Murder of One where the song ends of course with "... I've gone to New York City, and I am, all alone".

I'm starting to wonder if the founders / executives / planners / whoever is in charge of such things for my present employer also wanted to experience some connection to this moment of 1990's pop culture. But then again that hardly makes any sense whatsoever.

What did for sure happen though, is that I finally after 40 odd years of waiting, through the generosity [?] of the investors in my employer visited New York City during the last week of April. It was sunny, warm, a pleasant Spring week, and NYC was much more calm than the movies would have had me believe. It probably helped that my hotel and workplace were conveniently located in the West Village next to the Hudson River where I could quickly pop into Hermès during the lunch hour and grab a $900 t-shirt that I might wear to a trendy rooftop bar after work and consume a $35 cocktail consisting of mostly ice cubes and lime juice.

I walked through Central Park on a warm afternoon, didn't get robbed, went jogging along the river, biked with some friends on the CitiBikes through the park and then later from the office into Brooklyn over the Manhattan Bridge, and visited the Chelsea Market for a few lunches. All very contrived but fun!

The End