New York City

Christmas in New York

I have been away for a while. You know how it gets around this time of year . . . And with family in New York City. Well, you understand don’t you? . . .

It was cold up there, trust me. Nevertheless, we went to the center of New York’s Christmas, the skating rink at Rockefeller Center.

And of course, what would Christmas in New York be without viewing model train displays. We saw two of them:

The one at Citigroup Center (they say this is the last year for this one, another casualty of the Recession/Depression).


And then the one at the New York Botanical Gardens. This one was enlivened by the building models made out of plant materials.


Another day we went to the Bronx Zoo where we saw winter animals, such as this snow leopard, in their true element.

But hanging over all the festivities of the season was the specter of what has happened on the financial markets. And no, before you ask, we did not see the mastermind of “the greatest Ponzi scheme ever.” But we did see the building he worked out of. It is called "The Lipstick Building" and to my way of thinking, it is aptly named. It reminds me of the "old" saying: "Even if you put lipstick on it, it is still a pig." Now in this case, I am not talking about political beliefs, but financial ones.

For more “coverage” of this event, see the “Best Blog on the Net.”

Concluding personal note: Yesterday would have been John M.’s 99th birthday. Happy Birthday Dad.