Strawberry Fields, Crocodile Dundee and the Rockettes

We're in NYC for a few days of vacation. For the past few days we've been up & down 5th Avenue a few times and spent more time in stores than I generally care to do. But my daughter likes to shop.

I got up early and went over to Rockefeller Center to watch the production of the Today Show with all the groupies and hangers-on and star-struck. I saw all the people on the show and shook some guy's hand and spoke with a couple of the "stars." I have no idea who they are. I thought it was intriguing to see that I was in the background on a couple of the shots. My wife & daughter saw me on TV back at the hotel. However, what was really interesting to me was watching how they put the show together - the technical roles, the directing & management, the organization, the professionalism, and the really really great gear - cameras, lighting, cabling, monitors, sound gear, etc. were all top of the line stuff and they had extra stuff waiting just in case something broke. Great stuff.

After that we grabbed a quick bite at a pastry shop and then went up to Central Park to look at The Dakota (where John Lennon lived and died) and to see Strawberry Fields in Central Park where there is a tile mosaic monument with the word "Imagine" in the middle. We walked through quite a bit of the park and took photos of Bethesda Fountain and a guy playing the sax and ice skaters and a bridge and I don't know what else.....

Later we went to see the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall. The show was pretty good. The Rockettes can dance and there were two organists that were really good. They did the best living nativity scene that I've ever seen. I was sitting there with 3,000 people in the dark and it really provoked an emotional response from me. I don't know about the other 3,000 folks.

And we went to Macy's this evening. There must have been 300,000 people in that store. It is big, but my goodness, it was crowded.

Two thoughts have recurred since we've been here. First, I wonder just what the massive orgy of shopping and partying and lights and more have to do with the birth of a baby in a faraway village in a faraway time. The second thought came to me today. In one of the Crocodile Dundee movies, Crocodile Dundee made a comment that New York must be the friendliest place in the world - why else would so many people want to live so close to each other.

I'm not sure that humans make much sense. I'm pretty sure that all these people are not here because they want to be friends and I'm also not certain that all of this hullabaloo really has much connection with the birth of a poverty-stricken baby in Bethlehem. But it is kind of fun and interesting to watch and experience NYC during this season.