LIFE: observed: Chicago to New York

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Chicago to New York

I was a bit sad leaving Chicago, I do like that city. But, I did, and I did so on a sold out Amtrak train. have you ever been on a 21 hour trainride where EVERY seat has been sold out, the whole trip. When one butt got off, it was immediatedly replaced with another.

Immigration Issues...

So at 6am the train pulled into Erie, PA and I woke up from some heavy footsteps coming down the isle and saw these two guys in greenish uniform that kinda looked familiar... and the next moment I heard "are you an American citizen" from the back... They worked their way up the isle and I reached for my passport, when they asked the guy behind me.

They had to wake him and preceeded to ask him again. All groggily he passed his greencard and the immigration guy phoned someone for confirmation... The other immigration guy reached me and I handed my passport even before he could ask... he looked at it and handed it straight back at me and looked me in the eye and thanked me for being proactive! his friend was still on the phone and all I could hear was 'uh huh, uh huh' he then asked the guy how long has he been in the country. The guy said 12 years, the immigration guy then said, we'll your card is fake and you are here illegally. They gave him one minute to gather his stuff before they hauled him off the train. Gosh, I know he was illegal etc, but imagine, 12 years of looking over your shoulder, he told his seat mate that he has two little kids and he was returning to them for Thanksgiving etc. He would most likely get deported back to India. 12 years is a lifetime about to get yanked from underneath him and his whole family.

Anyway... New York is crazy as ever! More so with millions of people here for the parade! Okay, continueing with my evaluation of hotel amenities... First hotel I stayed at was the Chelsea Star Hotel in Chelsea. A budget hotel as you can tell by the unused ammenities. Uhm, stained and opened bottles. Great location hough as the hotel is only one block from Penn Station/Madison Square. Another plus is that there is some great and cheap ethnic restaurants close by. Great Thai food was consumed!

Next hotel is the W-New York. The opposite of last nights experience. Super hip and cool. Located in Midtown west on Lexington it is a really nice hotel, and i got it for free with miles. Anyway, they give you BLISS spa products and it is nice... I am on the 15th floor and this is the best hotel i will get to stay in. Tommorrow night it is off to a Howard Johnsons accross the river for me, as befitting my missionary budget.

Thanks to my circle of benefactors in Texas for sending me off to see 'Wicked' at the Gershwin Theatre. Oh my, did i enjoy it! Wicked tells the story of Elphaba,

the future Wicked Witch of the West and her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. Their friendship struggles through their opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, their reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace. The plot is set mostly before Dorothy's arrival from Kansas, and includes several references to well-known scenes and dialogue in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz as a backstory. IT WAS AWESOME! If you ever get the chance and you love the wizard of Oz, gu see Wicked! Go, RUN!

Okay off to bed and the Thanksgiving Parade tommorrow! Whohoooo!

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Caution:

My ramblings might not inspire you.

You might not be emboldened to attempt anything more than making a fresh pot of coffee. There are plenty of blogs out there written by very courageous souls who have poetically broken away from main stream society to achieve their goals.

I am a South African serving with Mercy Ships currently stationed in the United States. Mercy Ships, a global charity who has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978, is following the example of Jesus, by bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide, and serving all people without regard to race, gender or religion.

This blog is simply the ramblings of a middle aged man viewing life from the sidelines and might not always be about my work with Mercy Ships.

Disclaimer: I serve with Mercy Ships. Everything here, however, is my personal opinion and is not read or approved before it is posted. Opinions, conclusions and other information expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of Mercy Ships.

Frequency

I will put some things "up," so to speak, on some days, and on other days, I will not put things up. Whether or not I put things up will depend largely on whether, on a particular day, I have anything to put up. For example, let's say that on Monday I have something which I want to put up. On that day, I will put that thing up. On Tuesday, though, I might not have anything to put up. I will worry for a moment about not having anything to put up. "Oh no," I might say, "another day has come, and I have nothing to put up. What will happen if someone visits this site and there is nothing new to look at? Will people be angry?" But then I will realize that, chances are, people will not be angry -- that, chances are, people will understand. Most people are pretty understanding. Then again....