content to the core

~ or the trip that has no end, ends ~

Before I finish off this lengthy travelogue, "Happy Birthday, Mom!"

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Yahoo featured this previously published article today: "The Places you must visit before you die." The list was not numbered, but New York City was mentioned first.

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re: July 5

It's nearly impossible to top fireworks as a last hurrah. But I think we did. On Friday as the bus drove down the street away from the hotel and into a whirlwind tour, Linda, the local guide, had pointed out Times Square Church (TSC), mentioning its founding pastor, David Wilkerson. Well, that caught my attention. Wilkerson, of course, is the "preach" in the biographical account The Cross and the Switchblade. (The film adaptation starred the pre-CHiPs Erik Estrada as Nicky Cruz.)

I didn't read the book until adulthood, but I knew the story well as a result of the comic book version--published by Spire Christian Comics, sold by Riverside Co-op. (I was surprised to find a site that has it and other Spire comics in PDF. I had quite a few of the Archies.) Anyone who grew up in southern Manitoba Mennonite communities in the '70s knows that we didn't have contemporary Christian heroes per se, because that could have been equated with idolatry. Occasionally we raised individuals up on pedestals: Billy Graham, for sure, and maybe Elisabeth Elliot. But we'd never have admitted it. Secretly, however, as a result of that comic book, David Wilkerson became one of my heroes. Consequently, it was amazing to see him and hear him deliver the pre-communion address at TSC. (He's advancing in age--he's 78 now--so another senior pastor delivered the message.)

Almost equally as amazing is the church building, the Mark Hellinger Theatre. Its rather unremarkable exterior masks the lavish interior.

According to the TSC Website, "More than 8,000 people representing over 100 nationalities...gather to worship here every week." It's like a touch of heaven on earth.

We had just enough time to enjoy lunch at the Olive Garden before returning to the hotel to pick up the last of our stuff. Our tour bus pulled away at 1pm.

parting shots

With a one-hour stop for turkey dinner buffet at Plainville Farms Restaurant, and a 15-minute stop at the Duty Free before the border, we were back at our starting point around 10:30pm.

Definitely a memorable pre-10th anniversary celebration.

And that, my friends, is how a small-town girl became infatuated with a big city.