Yacta Mache -3

By jeand

Fri, 22 Jul 2016
  • 2149 reads
8 comments
 

On the first weekend in New York, Ruth, Carolyn and I decided to take a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. Our hospital was on Bay Street with regular buses that ran the five minute trip to the ferry terminal. It was pouring with rain that first weekend, but we didn't mind. We put on our jeans and tee shirts and embraced every moment of this exciting city.

The ferry runs every half hour, and takes about 20 minutes to cross from St. George on Staten Island to Whitehall Street in lower Manhattan. Intended for passenger transport for work, the 5 mile also
provides a majestic view of New York Harbor for a nickel in those days. (Now it is free.) One guide book calls it, "One of the world's greatest (and shortest) water voyages." From the deck of the ferry we had a perfect view of The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We could see the skyscrapers and bridges of Lower Manhattan coming into view.

The ferry had two floors with seating for passengers but there was often standing room only. The trip was such a thrill. We acted like teenagers, and ran amok in the rain. We ended up in the ladies room at the Ferry Terminal, washing our dirty feet in the sinks. We then had to get another smaller boat to see the Statue. This one took about 50 people, and what are the chances that one of those other 50 should be somebody from my home town? Strange but true. I couldn't remember his name, as he was a few years older than me, but he recognized me too. Small world, they say.

We were slightly nervous about our trip, as we remembered that not many months previously there had been a plot to blow up the Statue of Liberty. There were three women and a man arrested, and one of the women, a television presenter from Montreal had brought the 30 sticks of dynamite from Canada. They were members of the Black Liberation front – “which supports the red philosophy of Fidel Castro of Cuba and communist China.” However the plot was discovered and those involved arrested before the charge was set off.

It was still grey and raining when we got off the boat, so our view wasn't tremendous. We read the notices in the entry.

“The Statue of Liberty, this world-famous symbol of freedom was given in the 1880s by France to the United States in celebration of friendship.”

Inside the statue, a plaque is engraved with words from "The New Colossus”  the poem by Emma Lazarus:

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Sendthese, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

 

 

There were 215 steps to climb to get to the pedestal which is a museum giving the history of the place. We thought about whether it was worth buying the ticket, and decided against it, and got a return boat back to Manhattan after taking pictures and walking around the outside.

Still having lots of time, we took the number 1 subway and got off at 5th Avenue and 42nd Street. We went into the famous shop buildings, saw the huge flashing signs, and soaked up the atmosphere. Everybody was in a rush, and it was very crowded. But I never felt any danger of any sort, just massive excitement. We got a cheap meal at a local restaurant and managed to get a ferry back about 9 that night.

 

 

Certificate U
Non-fiction
Yacta Mache
Autobiography

Comments

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

I enjoy your writing very much jeand - always a fascinating snapshot in time. I'm not sure if you're looking for constructive criticism, but if you are, then it seems to me that your achilles heel is that you add too many facts which slow down your narrative pace and detract from the unique-ness of what you have to say. As an example, here:

The ferry runs every half hour, and takes about 20 minutes to cross from St. George on Staten Island to Whitehall Street in lower Manhattan. Intended for passenger transport for work, the 5 mile also
provides a majestic view of New York Harbor for a nickel in those days. (Now it is free.) One guide book calls it, "One of the world's greatest (and shortest) water voyages." From the deck of the ferry we had a perfect view of The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We could see the skyscrapers and bridges of Lower Manhattan coming into view. A typical schedule involves the use of five boats (four on weekends) to transport approximately 70,000 passengers daily (109 daily trips).

It doesn't really seem neccessary to put in the schedule, nor how many passengers it takes daily, nor how many boats it uses.

Another example is the passage about the Statue of Liberty. Far too much that just reads as if it's been lifted from a guide book. What's interesting is what you did and what you thought and how you felt in that moment in time - so the number of steps and the bomb plot is relevant and useful and adds to the narrative. The rest (in my opinion) should be left elswhere

 

Submitted by jeand on

Thanks Insert

and I do appreciate your comments, and have reduced the chapter accordingly.

I guess I write all the facts because I think it is interesting, and I'm writing this with the intention of making a Lulu book out of it for my grandkids and greatgrandkids to read when I am dead - and think that maybe they should learn something as well as knowing about what I did.

When I went to see the Statue of Liberty, I didn't appreciate this history of it at all, but now that I have read how long it took, and all the various people involved in both trying to get the project financed and so on, I find that fascinating.

That such a huge city should provide almost free transport for thousands of its citizens and millions when you consider the subway only cost 15 cents for the longest possible ride - I think is wonderful. I tell everybody that I know who is going to New York, not to miss out on the ferry to Staten Island, as it was certainly one of my abiding memories of that wonderful year.

Jean

Jean Day

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Hi Jean,

you know even before reading this, in fact for weeks now I've had the name Staten Island going around in my brain, almost like I'm being told to go there. After reading your account of your trip, it sounds like an interesting place to visit. May be I might just go there one day if my finances allow.

Another enjoyable read.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by jeand on

Thanks Jenny

Staten Island isn't really the sort of place you go on vacation to, on its own. Its like a dormitory town for Manhattan, which is where the action is. The only bit of Staten Island that anyone remembers probably is the ferry ride. I would certainly recommend a trip to Manhattan, but I expect it would be very expensive to stay there. Much cheaper probably to stay on Staten Island, and take the free ferry over everyday to get in on the interesting stuff.

Jean

Jean Day

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Another intersting read, and you convey your feelings at your new found wings to the adventure aswell as the work.

I think you could refer to the number of people visiting daily via 4 or 5 ferries without giving so much detail pedantically. One often needs to start with all the facts that could be of interest and have been gleaned or remembered, but in editting sometimes can smooth over, combine, try to slide in unobtrusively, or leave out the bits that aren't quite so necessary. Just a thought from Insert's comments! Rhiannon

 

Submitted by jeand on

thanks Rhiannon

Jean

Jean Day

Submitted by celticman on

give me your poor huddled masses...ah, those were the days...preTrump. 

 

Submitted by jeand on

Thanks again CM

How very true.

Jean

Jean Day