Another Tale from New York

This might end up being a long entry, but I figured I’d tell you about something that happened to me yesterday.

The Met has been doing these HD broadcasts to theaters (near you) for awhile now.  Yesterday was the HD broadcast for the first opera I’m covering in.  First, most matinees are at 2pm.  Second thing I want to tell you I can’t actually tell you yet because it’s a big thing you’ll see later in this entry.  Needless to say, I was out pretty late Friday night drinking a bit… so thinking the HD broadcast was at 2pm meant I was expecting a slow morning to get up and hang out before heading to the opera house.  (SIDENOTE:  during the HD broadcasts, covers are required to be in the building.  Normally the requirement is we need to be 15 minutes from the building.)

So I text Norman at 11:05 asking if he wanted to meet for lunch before the show.  This was the text conversation that ensued:

Noah: “Wanna grab lunch before the show?”

Norman: “Sure.  I’m in a cab on my way now.”

Noah:  “lol why so early?”

Noah:  “Wait, the show isn’t at 2, is it?!”

Norman:  “Not so much.  It’s at noon.”

Noah:  “Fuck!”

Norman:  “Run boy!”

I’m pretty sure I’ve never showered so fast in my life.  Nor have I dressed that quickly either.  Anyway, I get ready, get my stuff and RUN out the door.  I go out to 125th and catch a bus (rather than walk the three blocks to the subway) only to realize that Norman was in a cab because he’s staying not far from me, and the 2/3 trains are not in service this weekend. >.<

So I immediately begin trying to hail a cab.  Finally get one… 25 minutes.  I jump in and tell him Lincoln Center.  He just looks at me and shrugs his shoulders.  I repeat Lincoln Center and then tell him 64th and Columbus.  At this point he nods and picks up a tourist map of Manhattan, runs his fingers down it until he finds 64th and searches THE EAST SIDE for Columbus.  (For those of you not in NYC, or have never been, there are only so many streets on either side of the park.  The park extends from 59th to 110th, and there are maybe 10, 12 streets TOTAL on either side.  I can almost name them from heart, and even if you’re a new cabbie, you should go home and spend 20 minutes memorizing them…) (Wow, I really am turning into a New Yorker…)

He starts driving and after trying to drive and keep his eye on the map I finally bark, “I’ll tell you where to go!”  Yeah, it wasn’t very nice, but… it gets better.  A good cabbie can do that drive in about 15 minutes, a GREAT cabbie will get you there in 11.  At the 15 minute mark we’re still at 95th, but at least we’re on Columbus.  Now to the part of the story I wanted to tell you all.  

So, this cabbie has been making terrible lane changes, is not looking more than a car length ahead, and is weaving back and forth in the worst ways.  Finally, he pulls in front of a large pickup truck with a cherry picker on the back (I think it was a ConEd power truck) and instantly the driver of the truck flips out and starts yelling out his window at the cabbie.  The truck finally gets in front of the cab and angles a bit so we can’t get past AND GETS OUT OF HIS TRUCK to yell at the cabbie.  He yells at the terrified cabbie who tries to say he used his blinker (he didn’t).  After what felt like 2 minutes (I’m sure it was only 20 seconds) I open the door and half stand out of the cab and yell at the top of my lungs, “I’M FUCKING LATE TO THE MET!  GET THE FUCK BACK IN YOUR TRUCK AND MOVE YOUR ASS OUT OF THE WAY!”

Now, I have no way of knowing whether it was how loud my voice was, my size, or the fact that a cab rider (is there a term for a cab passenger?) got out of the cab to yell at someone, but he high tailed it back to the truck and got out of the way.

That’s my story.  :sigh:

Oh, I made it at 12:03, luckily.  Which was funny because the opera hadn’t even started yet.

Now I don’t even feel like writing out the rest of this entry.  I have a lot to say, but my heart isn’t in it anymore…  Maybe I’ll come back tomorrow.

Oh!  The part of why I was up late Friday.  The George London Finals were on Friday.  I sang for them last year and got an encouragement award.  This year I went in and sang Wagner, and sure enough, I won the $10,000 prize for an upcoming Wagnerian singer.  So needless to say, I went out drinking with a couple friends!

That’s all for now.  Hope you all are well.

– Noah