Sunday, September 12, 2010

BloggeRhythms 9/12/2010

Writing about the twin towers yesterday reminded me of the first time I really "saw" them. Because, growing up in the city and spending all of my life in the area, I certainly knew about them being built, and where they were, but they were simply bigger buildings to me. I paid them no attention at all.

Then in April of 1976 my father-in-law called me one morning to say that he had two invitations to the opening day luncheon at Windows on the World restaurant on the 106th floor of the North Tower. The friend who he'd planned to meet couldn't make it, so he asked me to join him there.

I changed my schedule around, drove downtown and, for the first time saw those buildings close up. They were awesome. After parking in the underground garage, I made my way to the cavernous lobby and walked what seemed hundreds of yards through hallways and lobbies trying to find the right elevators. Through the whole trek, I was surrounded by more marble, brass and glass than I'd thought existed on Earth.

Finally finding the right elevator I stepped into a high-ceilinged cab that held more than a bus-load of people, and we began our ascent. And, let me tell you, 106 stories is a pretty long ride. When we finally reached our destination though, the trip was certainly worth it.

As I said at the outset, I had no real idea of where I was headed when I agreed to go to lunch. After all, I'd lived in and around Manhattan all my life, and by that time, like all born and bred New Yorkers, I thought I was going to another big-name restaurant...so what? A lunch's just a lunch, free or not. And boy, was I ever wrong.

The restaurant itself was huge, 50,000 square feet and it's name said it all, because wherever you looked were magnificent, wide, floor to ceiling windows. From the bar you could see the southern tip of Manhattan and beyond, northern New Jersey off to the right. Below you, right nearby, the Statue of Liberty. Inside the main dining room proper, the views were North and East. Gazing uptown, your sight-line actually angled down while viewing the Empire State Building. That alone is pretty amazing.

Yet, despite the huge size of the place overall, the magnificent decor and the overwhelming outside sights, a quite surprising thing to me was that somehow or other the table placements afforded real privacy. It wasn't as if a great number of folks were crowded into a sightseeing bus, oohing and aahing out the windows. It was instead, well-spaced tables, separated from others that happened to be surrounded by some of the most incredible views on the planet. And, since the floors were cleverly stepped, no matter where you sat there was an unobstructed view from your table.

As for the food and menu, I thought they rated with most fine city restaurants. But, as I learned long ago, food, its preparation and taste are very personal things. So what seems good to me doesn't matter at all to others, and thus, I know I liked it, but can't speak for anyone else and don't plan to try.

After its auspicious opening, the restaurant went on to become one of the most popular in the country. It closed for three years, after the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, underwent a $25 million renovation and reopened in 1996. 2000 was its final full year of operation, reporting revenues of $37 million, making it the highest-grossing restaurant in the United States.

The reason writing this memory today was important to me is that the twin towers were institutions, wherein housing one of the world's best restaurants was just one symbol of the achievement and success they represented. And if some semi-literate dirt bags can simply hijack some aircraft in trying to undo the greatest country on earth, then something's got to be done to stop that. So, if we go out and blow the whole middle-east off the map, I'm not going to complain...because, I really loved that restaurant and all that it stood for.

That's it for today folks.

Adios

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