386. DEEP THOUGHTS FROM THE STATEN ISLAND FERRY

Possible-Mate-From-Chicago and I head into Times Square and get on the 1 train to South Ferry.  It strikes me that often, on the weekend; the 1 train only runs to 14th Street due to construction. Ugh. This will be annoying for two reasons. One, we’ll have to find the 1 shuttle. Two, going out to Staten Island may take all day. And we need to be back in Times Square to get tickets for our Broadway Show.

Luckily the ride down to South Ferry is smooth and easy. We get out of the train, make the short walk to the terminal, wait 10 minutes, board the boat and away we go. “Hey, this isn’t bad. You will have been in three out of five boroughs by the time you go back,” I say to him. “What could we have done in the other two?” he asks. “In Brooklyn there are tons of bars and restaurants. Oh and the botanical gardens. Bronx has more bars – and the Yankees,” I reply. “Have you been to Yankee Stadium?’ he asks.

Oh boy. Here is another truth about Desi Girl. I don’t do really well at sporting events. One problem I have is that I want to socialize. My brother and his friends learned this the hard way when they used to take me to WCHA college games. However, most people at sporting events are there to watch the game, not to talk to me. This I learned at the Minnesota Golden Gopher hockey games. Luckily there is stadium food: nachos, pizza, Cracker Jacks, etc. But after I am done having my snacks, I want to go back to talking. For some reason, if I focus, I can almost make it through a football game.  But I cannot make it beyond inning three, never mind the seventh inning stretch and baseball makes me want to take a plastic knife to my wrist.

And since Chicago fans are pretty serious about their sports, I decide not to scare Possible-Mate-From-Chicago and say, “No. I have never been to Yankee Stadium.” We stand against the rail, wind whips through our hair. In the distance, we watch Manhattan get smaller and smaller. A shiver races up my spine. This vantage and view makes me realize, again, I live there. I spent a really long, long, long time trying to get to here. And now that I am here, it takes these unexpected moments of stepping away from Manhattan to appreciate my New York life. I know some days it is a tough and lonely life, but, it is a life I wanted. And it is my life. And I am not done with Manhattan, yet. We have quite a few more things to accomplish together.