I Do Love New York City

Flying to New York City this week to visit customers was absolutely refreshing.

When traveling alone, I tend to create challenges of those I interact with. It’s an entertaining way to, hopefully, erase stereotypes and not be reconciled to negative thoughts. Interaction challenges were easier on this trip for me as I have one finger completely bandaged due to a poorly placed digit in the midst of kids, dogs and car doors.

Until I started boarding the plane to NYC, outside of the TSA agent at the first airport, no one on the first plane or in the stop-over airport looked me in the eye, let alone spoke with me. Sure enough, on the NYC-bound flight the stewardess asked about my finger. Later in the flight, the woman seated next to me inquired about the book I was reading. (I finally read Lean In. Two thumbs, way up!)

This pretty much set the tone for the rest of my time in NYC. From men dressed in suits, to a NYC employee picking up litter, everyone was very helpful with directions. They looked me in the eye and in some cases even gave me options.

On the morning of my presentation day, my hotel did not give me the requested wake up call. Thankfully I’m a bit paranoid about these things and had set up my phone alarm. I called the front desk to let them know and tell them to cancel anything they may have set up.

As I was showering, the lights started flickering. By the time my hair was washed, the lights were fully out. A couple of minutes later, my phone rang. The hotel manager was calling to let me know that I could use his private lobby bathroom that runs off of a generator to get ready for my day.

What a positive start to an absolutely fantastic day.

Getting out of NYC on a Friday night around 6:00PM was a bit more challenging than anticipated. My shuttle was a no show, my hands were throbbing from the cold, and traffic near Penn Station was really just a series of trickles within an ocean of pedestrians. And, the cab line in front of Penn Station was a half of a block long.

Thankfully I was able to grab a freshly vacated cab around the corner. The driver was clearly traffic-stressed yet managed to get me to LaGuardia with ten minutes to spare. I called him a miracle worker and thanked him profusely. He finally smiled when I said, “I love you man”.

I love it when stereotypes are broken and a general feeling of human kindness prevails. Just another reason to love New York City.