Behind the Curtain

I saw one of those Native American whistle blowers on the Subway the other day:

Not to be confused with a whistleblower:

Turns out that "whistle" is actually called a "Pan Flute" according to my omniscient wife.

So as I was walking through the Grand Central subway station, I saw this Native American guy "playing" his pan flute and using a microphone to amplify the sound. He was accompanied by background music from a speaker next to him. There was a break in his "playing" as the background music continued and he turned to talk to someone next to him and before he could resume "playing," the pan flute's sound came through the recording above the background music. He looked up and quickly stopped the iPod.

HE DOESN'T PLAY THE PAN FLUTE!

He's an Indian Milli Vanilli. He holds the flute, pretends to play, and collects tips.

Here's a tip: Learn how to play the pan flute.

I'm the whistleblower.

Subway Games

New York is a busy place and its inhabitants are busy people. Instead of wasting time during their commute, they stay busy. What are they doing? Playing this game:

Every. Single. Person.

If it's not this exact game, it's some version of it. This is how all NYC commuters pass the time. Homeless people, children, parents, businessmen and businesswomen - everyone.

Naked Jews Singing?

I was at the TKTS booth in Brooklyn the other day and as I waited in line, I looked at the ticket offerings. Two lines caught my eye: "Old Jews Telling Jokes" and "Naked Boys Singing."

Thankfully they are different shows.

Humbling

William and Mary Norton evacuated their Breezy Point home last year during Hurricane Irene. Since Irene was not as bad as had been predicted, and since William was recovering from a health condition, the couple decided not to heed mandatory evacuation orders as Sandy approached. Their one-story home sits 3-4 feet above the ground, half a mile from the beach. The storm surge coupled with a full moon high tide brought water to their deck, up the stairs, and into their home. As the two 88 year-olds piled clothing on their bed, the storm waters rose to their waists. They spent dark and cold evening huddled on their bed without power, water, heat, or cell service. In the morning their neighbors rescued them with a borrowed sailboat. (http://tinyurl.com/cmnq4yl).

This morning I tore out their bathroom.

I volunteered with the Mormon Helping Hands in Rockaway and was assigned the Breezy Point area. The experience was incredible.

We took two subways out to a chapel in Brooklyn, then boarded a bus out to Rockaway, then another bus out to Breezy Point. There are many volunteers in the area, but the people there could use many more. Most houses are being gutted or have been condemned. The area is in a district, not a stake, so it is under the direction of the New York, NY South Mission and its mission president. The mission president (a full-time leader) has mobilized his considerable manpower (150+ missionaries) to assist in the clean up efforts. The missionaries are not currently teaching or tracting, instead they spend every day in the hardest hit areas, performing service and coordinating service efforts. Members from the Manhattan stake have been encouraged to perform service on Saturdays and Sundays. There is an abbreviated sacrament service at the Brooklyn chapel on Sundays that is attended by members in work clothes, so that they can immediately board buses to get to work.

The Manhattan 2nd Ward is Better Than Your Ward

Allow me to lay out a few assumptions/generalizations. Though these aren't true in every circumstance, they are more likely than not accurate.

- Smart people tend to do well in school and attend prestigious universities. 

- People that do well in prestigious universities tend to be hired by successful companies and are paid well.

- Successful companies tend to have offices in large cities. 

- Handsome/beautiful people are attracted to wealthy people, or those that will eventually become wealthy (because they are smart). 

- When handsome/beautiful people mate with wealthy/smart people, they have handsome/beautiful/smart children that will eventually become wealthy.

When these handsome/beautiful/smart children get together to perform a primary children's program, it goes something like this:

- Flute solo by a primary child.

- Heartfelt testimonies by primary children

- Six person boys choir (in matching sport coats)

- Girls choir

- Vocal solo by primary girl with primary choir accompaniment

- Vocal solo by primary boy

- Talk by primary boy who quoted George Bernard Shaw

Needless to say, we feel a bit out of place here. At least our baby is cute.

Sundays in New York

We don't buy things on Sundays. In the past it hasn't been an issue for us because most places in Utah are closed on Sunday. Also, we didn't often find ourselves out and about on Sundays when we lived in Utah. We were at home, at family's house, or at church. We weren't often in commercial areas. In New York, we live 15 blocks from the church, so we often walk. Walking through New York is a commercial experience, to say the least. We find ourselves thinking, "Hey, we should stop at the store and get this while we're out," forgetting that it's a Sunday - since the city is alive as normal and we're walking around like normal. This is compounded by the fact that every restaurant is jammed with New Yorkers having brunch.

Just a thought.