How not to be a middle aged woman from Phoenix

On our way into the city from Laguardia, we shared a Town Car with two ladies from Phoenix. They were very nice, and friendly. We talked about how it was my first time to New York and how they had been before. After we got dropped off at our hotel, I turned to Clare and said that I didn’t want to be anything like them during our trip to New York, and I’m not talking about the coordinating pastel Capri outfits that they were wearing, the gold jewelry they were sporting, or the fact that they looked like they would pass out after walking four blocks to get to the Sbarro’s on Times Square. (Sure, there’s probably a Sbarro’s a block away from their hotel, but this one is Mama Sbarro’s, so it has to be better.)

No, it was more about not wanting to be a tourist, or rather a bad tourist. You’ve seen them, the standing in the middle of the street, pointing in two different directions, holding a map and completely blocking the sidewalk for all the people trying to go about their daily routine. The people that get sucked into going on the observation deck tour, when they could have just as easily gone to the bar a couple of floors down for free (or the price of a drink). Well, I just didn’t want to go out like that and thankfully Clare would never have let me.

So it became our resolve, we want to look like we were from there, that we belonged. And it wasn’t solely due to the Phoenicians. When we thought about it, with the increased nationalization and globalization of restaurant and store chains, it’s becoming harder and harder to find the true character of city. When every block has a Starbucks, McDonald’s, a Chase and a Bank of America, how do you even know you’re in a different city?

To find out we, skipped most of the obvious things, i.e. tours, department store shopping areas, and to my relief I was able to glimpse, if even for a second, a truer version of New York than the manufactured, plastic wrapped version that so many tourists get.

So what did I gain from that glimpse? Well, I know why Clare loved it so much and why she compared everything her first few months in Chicago to New York. While it will never be my favorite city, a spot reserved for the Chi, I have new found respect for NYC. I can totally see myself living there, but only for a short time. I’m glad I went, and also glad we didn’t end up like those ladies from Phoenix, if only because I look horrible in pastels.