The Writer's Life 5/5 - Things To Do

On his radio talk show yesterday Mark Simone mentioned things New Yorkers must see and do at least once. Curious, I went to his page at the WOR-AM site. He took all the accompanying pictures, and they are impressive. Here’s the list:

1. A walk through Central Park -- I’ve done it several times, though not for years, and it’s always neat.

2. Grand Central Station -- I’ve been there a lot and, although it is impressive, it doesn’t move me.

3. The shops & restaurants at the Time Warner Building, and the view from the top -- I’ve never been there.

4. Lincoln Center -- Although I’ve never attended an event there, I made deliveries to it decades ago, and it is beautiful.

5. Wollman Rink -- I’ve never used the skating rink, but I’ve attended several summertime concerts there.

6. Ride a CitiBike -- I can’t picture myself on one of those ugly things.

7. Washington Square Park -- I’ve sold books there. Always something going on, always a wide variety of people, a great place to hang out.

8. The New World Trade Center -- Having passed the site every work day for years, I have no desire to visit it.

9. The Statue of Liberty -- Been there several times, even made the climb to the top. Unfortunately, these days there are delays due to security.

10. Hudson River Cruise -- Did it once and there was a power outage that delayed passage at a certain point, so the experience was tainted.

11. Summer Night in Bryant Park -- Seems like fun. Never done it, but would like to some day. I wonder about the bug situation, though.

12. Shop in Soho -- I’m not big on shopping, but I might actually have done this without realizing I was in the neighborhood.

13. Skate at Rockefeller Center -- Haven’t skated there, but have taken in the wonderful holiday season atmosphere several times.

14. Times Square at Night -- There’s nothing like being there, no matter what time of day. It imparts the feeling that you are really somewhere.

15. Trump Tower -- Never been.

Glaring omissions -- NYC’s fantastic museums, which top most of the stops on the list.


The floating book shop had a two-hour visit from Ol' Smoky today. His formally white pants are almost entirely black with grime. The other day he asked if he could sleep in my car. Today he asked if he could store the two bags he lugs around in it. I feel a twinge of guilt denying him, and also am leery he might go off on one of tirades. Fortunately, he kept his cool.
My thanks to the folks who purchased wares, especially the young woman who bought Tom Clancy's The Red Rabbit, a huge tome, and also to the Russian gentleman who bought a translation of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, the original language of which is English.

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

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Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

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