New York and Conneticut

Day 1



After a flight to Chicago and then to Westchester County we picked up the rental car and proceeded to Manhattan. Flying into White Plains I was amazed at how sparsely populated the area is just a half hour from one of the largest cities in the world. The Westchester County airport had two gates, making it one of the smallest airports I have ever flown into.



After picking up tickets and dropping off books to a generous benefactor who had contacted Amy we headed to the Mother Cabrini Shrine in upper Manhattan. Here is the final resting place of Saint Mother Cabrini, her body lies in state under the main altar. The walls in the sanctuary contain mosaics of her life, from her commission by the Pope to "go west", to illustrations of her many charitable works. I met with several workers at the shrine to discuss the inclusion of the shrine in a new book that will come out next year entitled The Church's Most Powerful Novenas--a complete revision of the (Mention Your Request) book that will be done more like a prayer book. One of the workers gave me a second class relic--they were all very cooperative!



While we were there one of the Shrine directors was giving a presentation to a group of students visiting the shrine. I only caught part, but it was fascinating to hear--like a scene out of an episode of CSI the details of Mother Cabrini's remains when her tomb was openned some twelve years after her death. All done with a thick New York accent!!



We had lunch at a little New York diner, where Joseph gobbled down his grilled cheese (when promised that he would receive a cookie from a nearby bakery).



When we returned to where I had parked, we found another car had double parked next to us--blocking us in. The driver was in the car though, so it didn't seem like it would be a problem--until the driver found they couldn't start their car. Another driver, also double parked got out and tried to help the driver of the car that wouldn't start by banging the battery cables. Finally the second driver moved his car and I was able snake my way out. I found evey New Yorker I encountered on this trip to be incredibly friendly--are the days of the rude New Yorker a distant memory now or did we just luck out?



Next we went to the Cloisters, where there was plenty of parking. By now it was raining a cold damp drizzle. Taking turns lugging Joseph around and trying to keep him entertained in a beautiful peaceful setting is no small chore. He did take a fancy to a small bird (fake) in a cage that hung from the ceiling in one of the rooms. And he was able to identify figures of Mary, Jesus on the cross and "nummy" referring to an exposed woman's breast whenever he would spot one.



Which brings to mind one image (that I believe was there), of Mary interceding with her Son who was inteceding with the Father for a group of petitioners who were at the bottom of the painting. In the image the people small stand pleading under an image of Mary who appears larger than life, who holds one of her breast out toward Christ saying (portrayed by words flowing from her to Christ) something to the effect "for the sake of the milk that I nurished you with" hear these people's prayers. Jesus then has one hand opening the wound on his side as he looks to the Father in Heaven and says (agains symbolized by words flowing upward) something to the effect "for the sake of the suffering I endured for your glory". I found the whole image an incredible lesson in the nature of sacrifice as essentially a "giving" of oneself for others and how intricate this is to true prayer. Thanks to Joseph who pointed it out to me as another "nummy" image...thanks to the giving of his mother for planting that thought in his mind.



Next, since it was already rush hour and any attempt on fleeing New York would have been in vain. We just bit the bullet and drove right through Manhattan. Down Broadway, up Fifth Avenue, past Rockfeller Center, through Times Square, past Ground Zero, through the Brooklyn Tunnel and then north on I-278 where crawling in traffic we spyed the New York skyline at night to the music of Joseph whining, crying and shouting that he wanted something. We tried to convince him to take his neglected nap and that when he awoke he would indeed get something, but to no avail. Meanwhile Amy tried to read a map but like me found that her reading without the aid of some magnification is failing. When I looked at the map several times when the traffic was at a complete stop, I found that while I could make out roads the numbers were totally illegible. But we made it finally out of Gotham and into the more placid region of Conneticut.