Tricksy Hobbitses

When comparing New York City to the backdrop of Lord of the Rings, the place seems more like Mordor than any other location in Middle Earth.  Not that anyone does this but me. (wink)  Tolkien did model Mordor on the London of his times.

Why do I even bring this up?  Because the Colonel invited me to NYC to see The Two Towers at Radio City Music Hall.  The second movie of the trilogy would be shown on the screen while a full orchestra and chorus provided all the music.  The sound doesn't get much better than that.  Forget your 5.1 or 7.2 surround systems.  This was live and done wonderfully.  I got so into the movie this way I had to keep reminding myself that I was hearing it live.  I'm not saying I have the score memorized but I have lost count of the number of times I've watched the movie.

That's a huge amount of people on stage for a movie.  It gives you some idea of the amount of work spent on this movie score.

Our journey to the city was almost like traveling to Mordor. (just go with me on this)  We didn't have orcs on our tail but the minutes were ticking away.  Our sense of dread growing as showtime approached and we still were not in our seats.  Leaving our state wasn't bad.  Once we crossed into the wilds of Jersey, our challenges began.  The traffic grew more than we anticipated.  The simple act of stopping for fuel brought on delay.  Why did I have to choose Jersey with it's full service pumps?  The Colonel brought us new provisions and we set off again.

Fighting our way through traffic and another toll booth, we were suddenly brought down from three lanes to two.  Thankfully my choice to change lanes may have saved our quest.  The outer lane was closed ahead.  As we waited I was commenting on the lack of notice for the roadwork when I saw a gray pickup coming up fast in the outer lane.  I no sooner said something to the Colonel when the driver noticed we were all stopped and slammed on his brakes.  White smoke bellowed forth and I failed my fear saving throw.  The pickup looked like it was going to lose control and then he decided to move onto the median as he flew by us.  Again he was in danger of flipping over while we held our breath.  Thankfully no one was hurt and we could continue on our way.  I needed to buy new shorts once we hit the city.

Our plan was to stay in Jersey next to the Lincoln Tunnel and catch a taxi across.  Finding the tiny path to the parking area was a challenge but we succeeded.  The city was within our sight; no taxis were there however.  The Colonel asked a passerby and she recommended the ferry.  I can't imagine how long it would have taken a taxi to get through all the traffic in the tunnel.  We didn't have enough time for that.

A quick sail across the river brought us to shore safely.  We hailed a taxi and were quickly stuck in another line of traffic.  The Colonel was able to speak some Russian to our driver and get him moving again.  We left the cab in the traffic about a block away from Radio City.  With just enough time to grab a slice and eat it as we moved.  No time to buy those new shorts either.  The Colonel went to relieve himself and I got in line for a drink.  Soon I found out they decided not to serve any alcohol at this show. (due to all ages?)  I walked away with some sweets and tried to chat up a tattooed redhead.  She apparently considered me too beastly so I moved along.

Our quest complete, we sat back and enjoyed the show.  No, we didn't get to fly on eagles for our journey back.  The trip home was much less eventful.