I was talking to a friend today about our Memorial Weekend. Since I usually go out of town to see family or just vacation, with a lack of dollars in the pocket we kind of just stayed local and enjoyed being home. So while on the phone I talked about how I spent time in the city with family and enjoyed a quick bite to eat and some Broadway’s Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, one of the hottest shows going right now. A stellar cast of All-
Black actors, it was a feel good moment in time that you can brag out to your friends at work. I’ll tell you all about it someday but for now I want to talk about something that stood out more.
Walking through Times Square and 42nd Street my parent’s and I noticed (although not surprised) the number of people on the streets were significantly less. I mean on a typical New York City day, you had to muscle your way through Times Square just to get from one block to the next, now you could walk from corner to corner nearly unabridged. Try walking on a day, a weekend counting three days in a city build for millions of people to use on a day marking the beginning of the Summer Season, a holiday weekend that also entertained FLEET WEEK (several days of the Navy having full reign of the city), a weekend of perfect weather for SALES SALES SALES and you as a New Yorker can actually notice that there are a significant number of people missing? Reality settled in that the United States is in Big Trouble.
I will respectfully admit, I Hate Tourist but I equally respect that New York City thrives on a significant number of tourist dollars. To see people missing on the
streets of Midtown Manhattan, much more, Times Square, gives worry that people can’t afford to be here even to just “walk” the streets.
The tickets my parent’s purchased to see Cat On A Hot Tin Roof were expensive. For my taste, a little TOO expensive even for a Broadway Play but as supporters for the Arts and of Black Actors, we contributed and yet I would have wanted to use that money to do other things more “cost efficient” but the tickets were a gift. I also know that even for me, spending MONEY is a serious non-option for doing anything. That day, I wasn’t sleeping on the fact that people are serious about doing the same. My friend that I was talking to was able to get a last minute flight to Miami and told me that the flight was wide open, pratically empty. No one was flying. Scary to think that while the airlines are going up on the price of fares and doing the nickel-and-dime tricks on people with extra fees for baggage, people are deciding to take the train and or staying home. I don’t blame them because even a "fool" knows when you are broke. My parents took the train into the city and left the car home. THAT WAS A SHOCKER because Momma loves her car.
Say what you like, we are on the turning point of a depression when one of your most bustling cities begin to look like one of your average cities or Small Towns effected by a deprived economy. I don’t care how many Television Shows adverting Real Estate Deals, Economist preaching that the economy is stable or Reality Shows showing how to become a Millionaire, for People, seeing the World on the level of Ants, there are no more crumbs to gather for the nest. It might sound a bit dramatic but in the eyes of the people, what seems to be left after this mess of an economy is Soylent Green. And we all know what that shyt is made of.
Black actors, it was a feel good moment in time that you can brag out to your friends at work. I’ll tell you all about it someday but for now I want to talk about something that stood out more.Walking through Times Square and 42nd Street my parent’s and I noticed (although not surprised) the number of people on the streets were significantly less. I mean on a typical New York City day, you had to muscle your way through Times Square just to get from one block to the next, now you could walk from corner to corner nearly unabridged. Try walking on a day, a weekend counting three days in a city build for millions of people to use on a day marking the beginning of the Summer Season, a holiday weekend that also entertained FLEET WEEK (several days of the Navy having full reign of the city), a weekend of perfect weather for SALES SALES SALES and you as a New Yorker can actually notice that there are a significant number of people missing? Reality settled in that the United States is in Big Trouble.
I will respectfully admit, I Hate Tourist but I equally respect that New York City thrives on a significant number of tourist dollars. To see people missing on the
streets of Midtown Manhattan, much more, Times Square, gives worry that people can’t afford to be here even to just “walk” the streets.The tickets my parent’s purchased to see Cat On A Hot Tin Roof were expensive. For my taste, a little TOO expensive even for a Broadway Play but as supporters for the Arts and of Black Actors, we contributed and yet I would have wanted to use that money to do other things more “cost efficient” but the tickets were a gift. I also know that even for me, spending MONEY is a serious non-option for doing anything. That day, I wasn’t sleeping on the fact that people are serious about doing the same. My friend that I was talking to was able to get a last minute flight to Miami and told me that the flight was wide open, pratically empty. No one was flying. Scary to think that while the airlines are going up on the price of fares and doing the nickel-and-dime tricks on people with extra fees for baggage, people are deciding to take the train and or staying home. I don’t blame them because even a "fool" knows when you are broke. My parents took the train into the city and left the car home. THAT WAS A SHOCKER because Momma loves her car.
Say what you like, we are on the turning point of a depression when one of your most bustling cities begin to look like one of your average cities or Small Towns effected by a deprived economy. I don’t care how many Television Shows adverting Real Estate Deals, Economist preaching that the economy is stable or Reality Shows showing how to become a Millionaire, for People, seeing the World on the level of Ants, there are no more crumbs to gather for the nest. It might sound a bit dramatic but in the eyes of the people, what seems to be left after this mess of an economy is Soylent Green. And we all know what that shyt is made of.
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