Scoop In New York: On President's Day Eve
On arrival in New York I managed to get a ride in from John F Kennedy Airport to Manhattan in the back seat of a jet-black Lincoln. Five
minutes into the trip, I realised I was sitting in the 'hit-seat' – that's the rear-right seat for those who haven't
read the 'Dapper Don' John Gotti's exploits. But at 60 miles per hour (115 kph) and with the signs for Queens, Brooklyn,
Manhattan (and other vehicles) blurring passed the vehicle I realised speed would save me from a bullet.
Scoop co-editor Selwyn Manning is on assignment in New York City.
If white knuckles are an indicator of one's anxiety I'm proud to say it was the only one in evidence on my otherwise
cool and calm exterior. After all, I had an image to live up to: only two kinds of people ride in the back of black
Lincolns: those whose demeanour aids longevity and those whose anxiety heralds an untimely end. I was determined not to
sleep the night with the fishes beneath Brooklyn Bridge so held the seat belt in a vice-like grip and rode it out – and
as the girders of that famous landmark flew passed my tinted window, I realised for the first time one can be rather Don
Corleone-like if one chooses!
On the eve of US President's Day, snow covered streets is the backdrop to the Big Apple scene. This is USA, but more so
it is New York. You have to look hard for a US Flag flying in this Manhattan precinct.
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As I mentioned today in a live radio report with KiwiFM's Wallace Chapman, if any of us pulled up on Auckland's Ponsonby Road in one of these vehicles, it would, to say the least, turn a few
heads.
The Lincoln slinked up Greenwich Village's Bleecker St, pulled to the curb, moments later I heard the sound of New York
snow crunching beneath the driver's very Italian shoes. He opened my door and I soon realised Don-status is more than a
state-of-mind, it is an institution. Not one eye was attracted to such theatre, no one noticed my grand entry to New
York, not one passer-by gave me the courtesy of a stare!
On being met at the airport, the driver had assured me the fare would be capped, and on arrival at my destination I was
pleased to discover he was a man of honour. I paid him, tipped him, and I was swallowed up by this city within a New
York minute.
*******
Selwyn Manning is on assignment in New York, his accommodation is courtesy of Wotif.com and Signature Properties, New York. He will be reporting daily on events in the Big Apple, including a United Nations session on
peacekeeping/peace-building, and international affairs.
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