Before I get to day 2 of my New York trip, just a writing update.

It’s been VERY hard to sit back at the keyboard lately. So many things distracting me and weighing down on me. But I am happy to say I was able to generate almost a thousand words yesterday on my work in progress initialed TBS. (I stole the initials thing fromkazdreamer ).

Here is my word meter for TBS.

Bah! I can't get the danged word meter thing to work.

I'm at 18,271 of 70,000 words. That's 26%. 1/4 of the way!!!

The core of this book revolves around the relationship of a young couple in love-at-first-sight. I’m trying (and my wife will laugh at this) to write a highly sexual story without any sex. I mean these two teenagers never even get to second base… but what they experience with each other is very intense. The hormones are zigging and zagging all over the place. I hope I can pull it off or this book will go straight to the trunk.

I’m also working on a Seekrit project with a Seekrit co-author… something I think is very inventive with lots of potential.

And I’m also reading (too slowly due to life)fandoria ’s book… which is one of those books that you can imagine clearly in your mind. Beautifully told as well.

And Now...

New York – Day 2

The Monday morning Subway is AMAZING. So many people, so many trains… and everything moves along so smoothly. Not to mention the musicians performing in the subway are SO talented. They’d win America’s Got Talent hands down. This one woman cellist in Grand Central… I just don’t know why she’s not in a symphony orchestra.

We split into two groups, and my group went to the Broadway Presbyterian Church to work at a Soup Kitchen called the ‘4-Star Soup Kitchen’. And let me tell you … it was 4 stars.

We were greeted by the Sous-chef… yes… the SOUS-CHEF named Maureen. She put us to work cutting up a few cooked turkeys for the Turkey Noodle Soup until Chef Mike arrived.

Chef Mike is… quite a character. Stood about 6’3”, wore his chef jacket and cap. He works wonders with food. He prepared the soup, halibut with ginger sauce over steamed greens. Creamy potatoes, spring rolls, deep fried shrimp and a dessert of lemon cake with Bing cherries and mandarin oranges.

Chef Mike has some good contacts with area restaurants that donate their food when it’s not of proper standards for their ritzy-titzy clients. It all looked REALLY good to me.

We served 120 people without a hitch. Lots of other volunteers pitched in making our job really easy. I wish I had a picture of us in our hairnets, aprons and plastic gloves. Yes... I wore a hair net.

Afterwards we met up with our other group (a nice long subway ride) and went to Ellen’s Stardust Diner in Times Square.

The place was a blast. The waiters and waitresses are all trying to get a part on Broadway, but in the meantime paying the bills by working here. They take turns singing and performing. Non-stop. It’s like a dinner and a show, only you just pay for the dinner. One guy was singing while ringing up his bill. And they were all so GOOD! We just had a ball there. Plus it was raining out so our timing was perfect.

Next came one of my favorite parts of the trip. With my muscular dystrophy, walking REALLY starts to hurt. Standing is worse.

But NYC came through for me! Just a month ago the city closed off a portion of Times Square to traffic and placed a whole bunch of lawn chairs on the street.



I plopped myself down and just watched the people for 3 hours while the others in my group would shop, come back, sit, talk, watch, shop… it was great. And there was a Starbucks right behind me. My daughters were kind enough to keep my coffee hot and fresh. I was in HEAVEN!!!!!!

At about 10:30 we (sadly) headed for the YMCA. Another big day tomorrow.

Some of you may recall, some may not... I was in New York City last week.

First of all... I LOVE New York. Officially for those of you wondering when I would make that announcement official.

For my next few posts I'll be recapping my time in New York.

I'd love to post pictures, but our digital camera broke two days before the trip. I took 180 photos with my cellphone... but can't get them off the dang phone. Still working on that.

My first glimpse of the City from across the Hudson River will forever be burned into my mind. Gorgeous. I can only imagine what the Twin Towers added to it.

We arrived on Sunday at the Vanderbilt YMCA. Traffic was actually light and we made it without incident, though I was surprised how long the Lincoln Tunnel actually is.

We parked on 47^th Street, unloaded and checked into the Y. I shared a room with the other male chaperon. The room couldn’t have been bigger than 6’x 8’. A bunk bed. A small fridge. A broken air conditioner. A chair and small dresser. The bathroom and shower were down the hallway. But for the cost… I’d stay at the Y every time I visit. And it’s right by Grand Central Station.

After dinner at Calico Jacks we walked to Grand Central. What an amazing place. Beautiful!!!! The marble and tile and ease of the structure is incredible. It was sort of quiet on a Sunday night. We bought our Metro Passes for the week ($25.00 per person… not bad) and took a short ride.

It had been a long day and we had an even longer day planned for Monday, so we went back to the Y and crashed. But my first impressions of NYC were brilliant. I just don’t know how it all works. No wires strung over the streets, no bad smells. Looking at it as an engineer… I was in awe.

I slept well, but I did wake on occasion to the beeping of garbage trucks, buzzing sirens and honking horns. All part of the NYC experience.

Overall the trip was everything I expected and more. I’ll never forget it. But it was SO exhausting. When we got home on Friday night, I slept for 16 hours straight and my legs were nearly useless. I’m still recovering, but it was worth all the pain.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you about our first soup kitchen.

When does LIFE go by the SLOWEST?

Meyer's Lake includes both a lake and an amusement park. The lake itself was an American Indian encampment through the early 1800s. It was originally named Wells Lake after Canton's founder Bezaleel Wells. The name was changed in 1815 when Andrew Meyer bought a large tract of land including the lake. Until the Civil War, Meyer's Lake was a secluded spot, surrounded by oak forests and frequented mainly for fishing and ice harvesting.

In 1869 the Eclipse Boat Club was built, followed by the Lake Park Hotel, an upscale resort. The Casino was built later and was considered a fashionable place to go. President and Mrs. William McKinley attended numerous receptions there and often took walks along the grounds.

Meyer's Lake added an amusement park in the 1880s. In 1886 there was a roller coaster (highest point 20 feet), roller skating rink, bowling alley, billiard and pool tables, and dance halls. The Sinclair family purchased it in the 1920s and built the Moonlight Ballroom in 1926. However, with the rise of large-scale amusement parks, smaller amusement parks were not able to compete and Meyer's Lake closed in 1974.