Merry New York Christmas

"Yeah I'm sending you a Merry New York Christmas
And a prayer for peace on earth
Within our time
Oh, the sidewalk angels echo hallelujah
And we understand them
Now more than ever

So call on your angels

Your beaten and broken

It's time that we mend them

So they don't fade with the season

Let our mercy be the gifts we lay

From Brooklyn to Broadway

And celebrate each and every day

This New York City Christmas"

rob thomas, merry new york xmas

Ah, New York City. Before Bonnie, Caitlin, and I departed for Manhattan, someone asked me if I'd ever been to the City at Christmastime. "No, you haven't? Well, you'll love it. Its magical!"

Magical? A city? I had my doubts. Certainly its just focused on spending money and buying gifts rather than kindness and love. I knew it would be fun but I didn't think the city would be any more magical than usual. Apparently I was wrong.

I follow a handful of blogs (in addition to my friends) none of the writers do I know personally - that focus on a handful of things - love, a few on interior design trends, and one on just randomness. They all in some way have recently paid tribute to the Big Apple, and one of them had DOZENS of pictures of Bergdorf Goodman's christmas window displays. BG is a store that is entirely too expensive and over-the-top for my liking. But its windows were spactacular, and since they didn't have price tags for me to find disgusting, I thought they were lovely. Caitlin's Mecca, Saks Fifth Avenue, was a wonder of twinkle lights, silver shiny decorations, and fake snow. It was, in a word, magical. So is spending the afternoon in New York City with good friends, no matter what time of year.

There were millions of Santas traipsing around Rockefeller Center for a "santa pub crawl." There was the guy dressed as Jesus in Dean and Deluca. There was the Egyptian cab driver who showed me photos of his kids as I rode in the front seat with him through the Lower East Side and Midtown. (Our new friend from Cali was with Cait & BonBon in the back seat.) I think my favorite moment was in Chinatown.

Bonnie muttering a few choice words as she got cash from the ATM. Me wheeling and dealing with the drug dealers. I mean designer bag dealers. Caitlin first not buying anything but then opting for some prada shades. (which she proceeded to wear as the sun went down and we attempted to find a cab in the 20-something degree weather.)

"Do you have an application?" A man with a thick accent and dreadlocks asked me.

"No." I replied rudely. I didn't have time to be ripped off.

"You don't have an application??" He asked again with a smile.

"For what?" I demanded to know.

"An application for a new boyfriend! If you have it, I will sign and approve."

Hahaha. Laughter all around, from my friends and his.

"Oh, well, I have kids..." (someone asked me if i had kids on friday night, before they asked if they could take me to dinner, so i was thinking this would throw him off.)

"Really, me too!! I have five kids! And two wives! I would like a third! Are you interested? Maybe your friends are too??!"

"Oh, well now you're just messing with us." More ha-has. More laughter. But we walked quickly away.

If I lived there, I'd probably be sick of the tourists at Christmas. I'd probably be wrapped up in the decorations and materialization of the holiday. I'd be enthused at the thought of buying a live tree from a nearby street corner, just like they do on the tv show "Friends."

But I'm allergic to Christmas trees. And I love the clean, simple subway system of DC. And I need trees and the occasional house with a yard. So, for now, New York City, we'll have to be long-distance acquaintaces. Don't think I don't love you. But for one more month...my heart belongs to this district.