NYC at Dawn

For about 2 months, Courtney and her friends have been planning to go into NYC tonight for the free Shakespeare in the Park (at Central Park) play The Twelfth Night. The plan was that Courtney and her one friend were going to take the 4am train into the city and her other 2 friends were on another train and they would meet at Penn Station. Last night, the friend that she was supposed to go with, canceled. Courtney was willing to take the train by herself, but something gnawed at me all last night. This morning I got up at 3am and turned on the computer to get the train schedule. Courtney was set to take the 4:09 a.m. train into Penn Station. After some investigating, I decided what I needed to do. I took the 4:09 train with her to keep her company, since I was very concered about her being alone at the hour of the morning. We got to Penn Station at 4:52 a.m. and she met up with her friends. I then took the 5:22 a.m. train right back home and was back in bed for a little more rest at 6:15 a.m.

Sure, I guess it was a crazy thing to do. I guess I never realized how busy the train could be at that hour. I thought she would be the only nut on the train that early on a Saturday morning but I was wrong. Of course, once we got into Penn Station, it was like the middle of the day. When they say NYC is the city that never sleeps, they aren't kidding. The people I saw out at that hour were a weird bunch - they were obviously all up from the night before. What characters and what a world out there. I felt SO sheltered coming back home. SO much is going on in the world around us, but we never get the opportunity or time to experience/appreciate it. Being in Penn Station at 5:00 in the morning was quite an experience, one that I won't soon forget.

Oh yeah, after waiting on line for 8 hours, Courtney and her friends got 4th row to the play. She's not that interested in Shakespeare, but Anne Hathaway is starring in it. Now we're all praying it doesn't rain tonight. If it does, the play will be canceled and all this was for nothing - and she will have to do it all over again another day. Oh, to be 17 again........

After a short rain delay, the play went on and Courtney and her friends got to see the whole thing.

(The above picture is of Courtney (2nd from the left) and her friends after the play with Tony-nominated actor Raul Esparza.)