New York

Thursday 19^th May

New York

Some serious shopping was on today’s agenda as we had to buy a few last minute gifts, also we had seen cheap Levis 501’s so thought we would pick up a few pairs to take home.

We are now masters of the subway!! 

The musicians in the subway are amazing.    We strain  to hear the music over the roar of trains far below the traffic-clogged streets of Manhattan business.  They are not in it for any big money or anything. If you have a talent, if you have a passion, then you can still go down there and you can still do it. Not because you’re going to be rich. Not because they are going to be a superstar.  There is more than 100 official subway musicians performing in at least 25 locations throughout the 468-station New York subway system. Scores of other musicians perform unofficially. Although musicians have been playing the New York subway system for decades, a transit-sponsored program was established in 1987 to spruce up the city’s subway stations and make travellers’ journeys more enjoyable. Each spring, a panel of judges determines which acts are accepted into the program. This gives them a way to be organized, and it gives them a space to play so that they’re not fighting for a little corner. The subway musicians add local colour to what can be a frustrating attempt to navigate the city’s labyrinthine transit system and live tunes make the stuffy commutes a little more pleasant.  I would say that underground musicians, or even street musicians generally are a continuation of the culture of troubadours. But musicians playing to the nearly 3 million daily commuters on New York’s subway face a special set of challenges.  Playing in the subways must be difficult because people who don’t come down to the subway to see you; they want to catch the train.  So the musicians have a small window of opportunity of maybe 10-20 seconds to get someone’s interest, and then if there’s no train, to keep their interest. They have to sculpture themselves around what people like. The sheer diversity of musicians playing their trade under the streets of New York makes it perhaps one of the most vibrant performance spaces in the country. While some musicians seem perfectly content playing underground, others see it as a stepping stone and still others do it just to make ends meet.

We get down to Soho (South of Houston Street) and have a fairly successful shopping effort, so we then find a lovely little restaurant for lunch and my goodness it was a very beautiful meal indeed.  Piano Piano we make our way back to time square on the subway, soaking in all the atmosphere.   We decide to catch a movie, Mr Beaver with Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster which is in a huge cinema in the middle of time square.   There are 25 cinemas in this cinema complex.  The film was different but enjoyable.

We then headed out to dinner with Mick and Rita to a lovely Irish pub for dinner before heading out to the Broadway show Rain.

I have decided that I love Broadway.  This show was a great tribute to the Beatles, the music was fabulous and we were able to bob along all night.  My hands were so sore from clapping.  They did a great job embracing the Beatles persona, it really was very well done and we loved it, all being Beatles fans. 

Another great day in the Big Apple.

Also in case you didn’t know it the world will end tomorrow. And it will end in NZ and Australia first. All through the subways are signs that the world will end on May 21^st. There are also people offering you pamphlets about and people suddenly burst out to you as you ride the subway, “Jesus loves you, you must repent before the end, etc, etc.” It is being discussed on the television and apparently only one million will be saved. However, the same religious group predicted the end of the world in 2004.

So why is NYC called the “Big Apple”?

In the early 1920s, "apple" was used in reference to the many racing courses in and around New York City. Apple referred to the prizes being awarded for the races - as these were important races, the rewards were substantial.

Based on the research of Barry Popik, the use of "Big Apple" to refer to New York City became clearer. Popik found that a writer for the New York Morning Telegraph, John Fitzgerald, referred to New York City's races "Around the Big Apple." It is rumoured that Fitzgerald got the term from jockeys and trainers in New Orleans who aspired to race on New York City tracks, referring to the "Big Apple."

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, New York City's jazz musicians began referring to New York City as the "Big Apple." An old saying in show business was "There are many apples on the tree, but only one Big Apple." New York City being the premier place to perform was referred to as the Big Apple.

A 1971 campaign to increase tourism to New York City adopted the Big Apple as an officially recognized reference to New York City. The campaign featured red apples in an effort to lure visitors to New York City. It was hoped that the red apples would serve as a bright and cheery image of New York City, in contrast to the common belief that New York City was dark and dangerous. Since then, New York City has officially been The Big Apple.

In recognition of Fitzgerald, the corner of 54th & Broadway, where Fitzgerald lived for 30 years, was renamed "Big Apple Corner" in 1997.