Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Miles from the Mainstream
D. R. ZUKERMAN, proprietor
Greetings Of The Season

JANUARY 1, 2004 -- I just got my last greeting of the year from New York City, with a $65 ticket for parking overtime while I was drafting this article. This is not a place where people at parking meters get paper keys to the city instead of summonses for being overtime -- visitors to New York City be warned.

New York City - Gay Street Fire - December 25, 2003.
Thankfully, I did not get a parking ticket on my Christmas Eve and Christmas Day visits to Ground Zero. It was after leaving Ground Zero and driving up Sixth Avenue, late Christmas Eve, that I got a photo of
firefighters at work in Greenwich Village, drawn by a fire that killed David Ryan in his basement apartment that was the setting of the stories in "My Sister Eileen," later made into the musical "Wonderful Town," music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green.

Litchfield, Connecticut Christmas Tree - December 24, 2003.
I started out, Christas Eve, in Litchfield, where I photographed the Christmas tree that is not cut down after the lights are taken off. Then on to Thomaston where the town is literally highlighted for the season.

The Litchfield, Connecticut Christmas Tree in the mist - December 24, 2003.

The Christmas Lights of Thomaston, Connecticut - December 24, 2003.
And driving towards the east side of New York City after visiting Ground Zero Christmas Day, I got a photo of a cab that went into a Fifth Avenue building, at 28th Street, after colliding with another cab. This accident attracted media photogs I last saw outside Yankee Stadium during the Marlins-Yankees World Series.

New York City - Taxi Accident - December 25, 2003.

First stop Christmas Eve Day (a/k/a December 24) was Boston.

Boston Welcome Center - December 24, 2003.

Boston - Big Dig Entrance - December 24, 2003.
On December 24, I took a photo of Shana with her Christmas bow, standing next to the parking lot fence at Fenway Park.

Shana with her Christmas bow, standing next to the parking lot fence at Fenway Park - December 24, 2003.
The slots are used by fans to get players on the parking lot to sign autographs. There is, of course, another steel mesh fence along Church Street in Manhattan at Ground Zero.

Ground Zero - The World Trade Center Observation Area - December 25, 2003.

Ground Zero - Note on the World Trade Center Fence - New York City - December 25, 2003.

Ground Zero - Wreath on the World Trade Center Fence - New York City - December 25, 2003.
Usually, visitors are warned that it is forbidden to attach objects to the fence. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I saw wreaths on the fence, apparently placed by the Port Authority or some official source. A few of these Christmas wreaths were placed next to the notices barring items from the fence.

Rockefeller Center Skating- December 25, 2003.
Crowds (including iceskaters) visited Rockefeller Center Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, clearly undeterred by terrorist orange alerts.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree - December 25, 2003.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree - December 25, 2003.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree - December 25, 2003.
In addition to the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, trees in Lincoln Center and on Broad Street, next to the New York Stock Exchange, also drew sightseers.

The Lincoln Center Chrismas Tree - December 24, 2003.

The Wall Street Tree - New York City - December 25, 2003.

The New York Stock Exchange Wreath - December 25, 2003.

Radio City Music Hall - New York City - December 25, 2003.

Shana in her Christmas Bow in front of Radio City Music Hall - New York City - December 25, 2003.
These trees, however, are not permanent fixtures and the transient nature of most Christmas trees was indicated by trees that did not find homes and were left on a Broadway sidewalk, Christmas Eve, with only the residue of their pine needles visible the next morning.

Christmas Trees on Broadway - new York City - December 24, 2003.

New York Christmas Trees on lower Seventh Avenue (in Greenwich Village) - December 25, 2003.

New York City Trees very early AM - Broadway (near Lincoln Center)- December 25, 2003.

New York City Trees - Broadway (near Lincoln Center) - in the afternoon - December 25, 2003.

But with that parking ticket received the last day of 2003, I suddenly wonder if the orange color of the summons envelope reflects a certain municipal spirit that is not entirely consistent with the holiday season.
Key to the Chronology: My first stop December 24 was Boston, from Boston to Litchfield, then Thomaston and then Lincoln Center, Rockefeller Center, and Wall and Broad Streets and Ground Zero, and then Gay Street.