The Dr. Was In!

In New York, that is.

Yes, brilliance struck last Thursday in the form of one Dr. Chingasa - who made his first-ever visit to the Big Apple.

I was able to cancel all of my usual extra-curriculars to meet with the good Dr. for dinner and a whirlwind tour of midtown.

The train bearing Dr. Chingasa into New York City arrived at Penn Station, affording me the opportunity to point out Madison Square Garden (the world's most famous arena). I reminisced about the many rock concerts I have attended there over the years, realizing as I did that having seen The Who with Keith Moon and Led Zeppelin with John Bonham qualifies me as pretty fucking old.

A tasty dinner at Brother Jimmy's for barbecue (North Carolina style) was followed by a jaunt uptown on 8th Avenue toward Times Square. On the way we were able to enjoy that uniquely New York experience of nearly being mowed down by a cab driver (who should have been on strike) while crossing against the light.

Landmarks noted en route include: the new home of The New York Times, an impressive building that is nearing completion; and the Port Authority Bus Terminal, former home to countless Midwestern teenage runaways (and generally considered to be the asshole of the Universe - though not necessarily because of the Midwestern teenage runaways).

At 42nd Street, a.k.a. the "Deuce," we hung a right and sauntered down this infamous block. I pointed out where all the triple-X porn and kung fu marathon theaters used to be (they're now various souvenir shops, a McDonald's, Madame Tussaud's, etc.), and regaled the Dr. with my old story of going to a 2 a.m. screening of James Toback's Fingers, starring Harvey Keitel as a concert pianist/Mafia bagman (the audience was peopled with every variety of creep and weirdo, characters openly selling and ingesting pot, fistfights, etc.).

Finally, at 7th Avenue, we turned left and entered the maw of Times Square proper and the bright lights, the wall of sound and the unending sea of humanity washed over us. We took a few furtive steps into the vortex of it all where a few pictures were snapped. After lingering amid the unwashed masses for a bit, we headed back down to Penn Station via the friendly 1 Train.

Thankfully, the brief subway ride was without incident - but also without any real NYC ambiance (i.e. urine-soaked degenerates, screaming Jesus freaks, creepy panhandlers, etc.).

Oh well! The Dr. says he will be coming back to the city later in the month - perhaps then we will experience a grittier brand of New Yawk.