Streams of Consciousness - 11:10 to Penn

Morning, 0700h, 02.0 hours before the alarm.  Who was I kidding setting it anyway?  Sun is shining, first time in 03.0 day, downed trees, fallen limbs, scattered leaves, the only reminders of THE EVENT.  Boot up Windows, check the sched., trains are running, an impressive overnight effort by the MTA, indeed.  Back to bed, 0740h, back up, 20.0 leg extensions, 50.0 crunches, no time to run, body will have to forgive me for the 0015h snack.  Shower, 0900 - 0945h read Wallace, head out to my appointment, blood pressure impressive 110/70, good chol. high, bad chol. high (!), I'm a vegetarian with high chol., a genetic gift that can't be returned.  1030h leave for Ronkonkoma, 1110h train, I could make it but Starbucks becons.  Can I go without?  Too late, the thought is there, can't shake it now.  Light, another light, not looking good, long line at drive-through, latte, polite kid at window, 1050h, Nichols, 495, service rd., station, can't make left, can't make left, left (!), no train yet, 1107h, parking $08.0, only have a $50.0, he's not happy but accommodates, counts, recounts, recounts, 1109h, park, ticket window, slow older lady, first ticket to Penn, 1110h train is late (thank you, Irene!), track 2, stairs, run up stairs (0015h snack), train, walk to the rear cars as per usual, found a car with a bathroom (venti), 02.0 kids, man with laptop, pretty brunette, seat.  First stop, several Boisterous Men board speaking loudly, saying things that are socially inappropriate even for a train, female MTA worker checks my ticket, one of the B.M. has no ticket, no cash, and no I.D., they debate, she leaves, B.M. seem too old to be speaking this way, it makes me sad, I don't know why.  Male MTA worker enters and speaks to B.M., they exit train, I'm sorry they're gone, I don't know why.  1145h, Bald White Man boards, Female MTA enters, B.W.M. just left hospital, explains that the workers at the hospital did not provide him with a ticket for the train (?!), she lets him stay, (Boisterous Men were black), Middle-Aged Portugese Woman has no ticket, no cash, M.- A. P. W. is allowed to stay.  Small middle-aged white woman toating large blue (plastic?) suitcase, leaves case in the aisle, she looks uncomfortable about it, knows it's blocking the aisle, I ask her if I can put it overhead for her, she smiles and thanks me, I feel good about this for 05.0 minutes.  Note to Self: In terms of feeling good, small gestures like this one offer an extremely high Return on Invested Effort (ROIE).  Penn, Manhattan, 1300h, streets, 33.0, 34.0,..., 41.0, 42.0,..., 49.0,..., Central Park, saxaphone, happy to be out of midtown.  If I meet you in midtown, I will appreciate you far less than if I had met you anywhere else.  I like to disobey the Big Red Hand, makes me feel like a real New Yorker, the real ones aren't fooled though, Real New Yorkers don't look for oncoming traffic before they cross, they just know it's not coming, it's in their blood, never seen one hit, I'm glad.  A 03.0-piece jazz band playing beside a statue - beautiful - reminds me of my time in New Orleans.  I enjoy visiting NYC but I wish I didn't always have to do it as a tourist.  Wallace explained the dilemma of tourism beautifully (I paraphrase here because I lack the photographic recall needed to reproduce the quote verbatim): "To be a tourist is to be, at once, economically significant yet existentially loathsome; an insect on a dead thing."  It's been 30.0-plus blocks and 02.0-plus miles in the park and I'm dry, approaching my favorite little oasis in the park, The Boathouse, where I find a strike in progress - Boathouse workers unite!  A vodka seltzer would have been a lifesaver, I do not cross the picket lines.  20.0 blocks south and 05.0 Avenues east, Redemption, 1608h, pretty brunette bartender, strange twist on a martini involving muddled pineapple, Ketel One martini with 03.0 olives straight-up, Sierra Nevada, Sierra Nevada.  2030h, sundown, city is alive, buildings are lit, drinks are working.  Bryant park is gorgeous at night, all lit, surrounded by towers that hold watch, a vodka seltzer at the bar as I watch people play, I stayed in the Bryant Park Hotel once and didn't think to enjoy this, glad I'm here now.  2300h, Penn, train, sleep.