Looking Back while Looking Forward
A trip to New York and Chicago was made extra special by the time spent with family and friends.
Dave Schechter is a veteran journalist whose career includes writing and producing reports from Israel and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Some years ago, I carried a video camera as my father narrated a tour of the New York he knew growing up. New York was his city (and the Yankees his team), no matter living in Chicago for nearly 60 years.
As a young man, I felt no burning desire to be in New York. I found the city intimidating, in the abstract and when I visited.
My attitude softened during a trip several years ago, so I welcomed the idea of spending six days there and then three in Chicago during a recent trip as Audrey and I celebrated a noteworthy wedding anniversary (thank you).
I too easily can be a creature of habit. One of the virtues of travel is breaking from routine. Travel requires planning, but also tolerance for changes in those plans, taking advantage of opportunities you otherwise would have missed. This can be challenging, but also rewarding.
In New York, we took in two shows (“Buena Vista Social Club” was spectacular, “Good Night and Good Luck” somewhat disappointing), enjoyed an evening at the Birdland Jazz Club, learned about the architectural history of Manhattan aboard a tour boat that circled the island, and admired exhibits at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
I had long wanted to visit Birdland and was pleased to discover that Atlanta’s own Joe Alterman would be headlining one night while we were in New York. He was in fine form, leading a quartet that included legendary saxophonist Houston Person. We danced in the back of the darkened room during the encore, and I got a kick out of Joe’s reaction to seeing us after the show.
I have flown into New York, walked through sections of the city, and even once (frustratingly) missed an exit driving across the George Washington Bridge. Seeing the city from the water afforded a new perspective on familiar landmarks and an otherwise less accessible shoreline.
New York is a wonderful city for walking. From our hotel near Times Square, we hiked in all directions, primarily from the Upper West Side down through Greenwich Village (particularly enjoying small neighborhoods in the latter), covering greater distances than we ever walk in Atlanta.
In Chicago, we spent hours walking through the EXPO Chicago international modern art exhibition at Navy Pier, pausing to examine some pieces that challenged personal definitions of art and others that impressed with either their design or the clarity of the messages they conveyed.
In both cities, we indulged, from diners to delis, and pizza parlors to white linen restaurants, as well as several taverns.
Beyond all of this, the trip was made extra special by family and friends in those cities.
In New York, Audrey treasured spending time with two of her inspirations, the artist (and sustainable fashion icon) Debra Rapoport and the famed Jewish storyteller Peninnah Schram.
She brought along friends to hear Rapoport at a seminar, among them two women who formerly lived in Atlanta, the daughter of a cousin, and another woman Audrey has known since college, who was a guest at our wedding those many years ago.
While my wife and one of the women had coffee at Rapoport’s Greenwich Village home the next day, I chewed on a half corned beef and half pastrami sandwich, along with pickles and a cream soda, at a midtown deli, rehashing the past and updating current circumstances with a graduate school friend, who had his own memories of our wedding.
On the Upper West Side, we dropped in on a niece whose wedding we attended last summer and, in Brooklyn, the daughter of Atlanta friends took us to a couple of her favorite watering holes. At one, I sampled oysters for the first time, an acquired taste I’m not sure I’ll acquire.
Warm weather in New York allowed for a meeting over coffee outdoors, in Bryant Park, with a contact and friend from Chabad Lubavitch, a passionate advocate for his Orthodox community. We see some issues differently, but I always learn from hearing his perspective.
An invitation to EXPO Chicago added the Windy City (and it lived up to that nickname) to our itinerary, enabling us to visit with my 97-year-old mother and one of my sisters.
Another joy for me in Chicago was a reunion with two colleagues from my days as newspaper reporter in the Midwest. That first job was maybe the most fun I’ve had in journalism. There was much reminiscing about incidents and people from those years and I heard a couple of funny stories told about me of which I had no memory.
And we were able to take the daughter of other Atlanta friends to EXPO Chicago and dinner the night before we returned to Atlanta.
There is no denying that at a certain point in life, time becomes a precious commodity and how you spend that time even more important, a thought that can lead to melancholy or to anticipation.
There also is no denying that a milestone anniversary or birthday is an occasion for reflection but also a chance to, if not plot a new course, at least refine your current direction. Travel, as a break with routine, can help with this process.
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