Salutations and Declarations

With fife and drum fading in the distance as the first major campaign between The Continental Army and His Majesty's Royal Army happened, the fine line of war was not yet in place. A carefully written and addressed letter may have made a difference.

Lord Howe, General William Howe of the Royal Army, encamped on Staten Island, writes on July 7, 1776 for reinforcements. Unlike today there was no tweet on July 4th, the day of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Actually a copy of the declaration did not reach New York until July 9th.

To write a letter during this time of the Revolutionary War it would have taken as much as six weeks time for mail and news to be received and then cross the Atlantic with response. General Howe had no way of knowing that the colonists had signed an agreement. Lord Howe considered himself a master of pardons and a peacemaker, he found himself in a compromised situation a he waited for reinforcements.

During this time General Howe tried to correspond with what he considered the rebel army. He addressed the written correspondence to “George Washington Esq.” (Esquire – a man with no title, a subject.) With no respectful acknowledgement, respect was not returned.

Howe wasn’t going to recognize Washington as a comrade-in-arms, let alone an equal, and therefore a solution was found by making a verbal, rather than written request and that request was to “His Excellency General Washington” to meet with Lieutenant-Colonel James Paterson, the adjutant general of the British Army, the backhanded attempt was never acknowledged.

It was August 1776, remember it took as much as six weeks for correspondence to travel and with the wait and frustration, strategy, and impulse, August 27 – 29, 1776 one of the most notorious battles for freedom occurred: The Battle of Brooklyn.

The Sign of the Times

Parking can be a hassle in a high-rise community.

In 1897, the island of Manhattan could never compete on an international level as a major city. A small island, the land is finite. It was the shared New York harbor that provided a common territory, access, and later, the Greater New York City Area. The consolidation of 1898, January 1, the merging of the five boroughs; Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, and Staten Island, New York City became the largest city in the world, and with this parking can be a headache.

The hub of traffic and the dire of rush hour the streets of Manhattan are hustling, and bustling around the clock. The population continues to be the test bed for innovation, and implementation. Understand it wasn’t until 1915 that there was a concentration of automobiles that required a need for a traffic light. Red, green, and amber all mean go to a horse.

Since 1897, New York City has transitioned from coal burning locomotives to the electric Subway system with a most vigorous concern for noise and air pollution. As much as this city represents corporate America, this city adapts and applies. Parking in a city of 1.5 million inhabitants and an influx of twice that many people filling the streets during rush hour it seems only fitting that like our handheld devices there is now a docking station for what we call a ‘smart’ car. Can this possibly get us a step closer to the much-anticipated hovercraft?

Existing Edifice + Big Idea = High Line

What led to the elevated train system in New York City is nothing new. The term “road rage” best defined as the aggressive, angry behavior by an automobile driver, hits the airwaves in the 1980s around the same time that gentrification and the “yuppie” takes Manhattan. “Going Green” in the streets of the city, new bicycle lanes once again keep pedestrians on their toes. Hello, High Line.

During a time most people can agree as a period of great advancements, New York City was at critical mass, it was the mid-1850s traffic jams became a way of life, not only did manure make getting around town difficult but the number of horse drawn vehicles; wagons, livery, and individual carriages clogged the streets, not to mention the pushcart trade, there was simply no way for someone to get from here to there with any expediency. Take it off the streets, the obvious solution, either by going over them or by going under them, electricity not yet the viable option, the rapid transit system was born in the elevated train.

With landmark status the last of the standing “El Trains” as they were known has been given new purpose, originally known as the ‘tracks to nowhere’ the Tenth Avenue El is the new beat in town. Overhauled and landscaped it gives the pedestrian a little slice of heaven right here on earth. This venture has revitalized an almost defunct warehouse district into an open-air promenade with a festival atmosphere.

K-BOOM! NYC FIREWORKS! HAPPY 4th of July :-)

Great celebration and good friends!

The sight is awesome and something to behold, the most spectacular thing is seeing the burst and the flares; however, the delay of the boom bounces off of the tall buildings giving the event the ultimate 3D visual as some explosions expanded in space moving towards us with surround sound, boom, boom, K-BOOM!

Emulating 'bombs bursting in air,' hairs rise with every flare, burst, shower, flash, sparkle, spill, and then evaporates into smoke. The anticipation is so moving.

Spending the 4^th of July with hometown friend, Melanie Northrop Nichols, I met her after she snagged free tickets to the Statue of Liberty, we started our day around 1:00pm strolling along the Brooklyn Heights promenade where I shared Revolutionary war history, the Battle of Brooklyn August 27 – 29, 1776 one of General George Washington’s first escapes & foils the Red Coats plans, where he and his troupes crossed the East River on a very dark rainy night. We truly shared, and enjoyed a red, white, & blue banner day!

Happy 4^th of July! Thank you Melanie.

Seeing the Sights, Central Park

New York City from the perspective of first time visitors may find the sights, sounds, and smells more than unfamiliar. The polish of a sleek brochure or familiar photo cannot capture the essence of daily life. As much as the streets are the veins of life of New York, visitors are welcome, let me show you in person.

Welcoming visitors to New York City is my pleasure. One Token Tours, a sightseeing service, I welcome curious individuals no matter how you are dressed, I just insist on comfortable shoes. We are visiting the Angel of the Water, Bethesda Terrace, one of the most beautiful statues in Central Park.

Wearing comfortable shoes, walking with confidence, the only way to avoid looking like a tourist if that is a goal, I myself, I live my life as the ultimate tourist because everyday an opportunity for something interesting exists. A camera in hand, embrace your inner tourist as I share some of my favorite places with you.

Sharing this ‘City’ with these four ladies made my weekend in New York City special!

From left to right:

Connie Free, Becky York, Linda Banks, Samantha Zorn

What a peep show!

Careful, in New York there is more than one peep show in town; today, we are talking about the frills and the thrills of the Easter bonnet parade along 5th Avenue. The weather turned out to be a beautiful spring day, although the forecast called for rain. The blue skies, the perfect backdrop for the masses, the streets teeming with onlookers, gawkers, shutterbugs, and of course, bonnets, some modestly tasteful, and others costume productions!

I am not sure I could pick a favorite and therefore, I along with a couple hundred other people snapped pics, you can check them out on my facebook page, check'em out. Feel free to say hi during your visit.

With my appetite filled with pastels and marsh mellow peeps, my neighbor, wearing her black-and-white Peter Fox(.com) spectators - the perfect Easter shoe, we walked across town for a late brunch. We left the throngs of jubilant people behind and wound up in Hell's Kitchen, a great neighborhood for good eats. Something for you to consider, join One Token Tours next Easter and experience it for yourself. And while you are here you can ask me about Hell's Kitchen.

-Happy Easter!

In NYC for Easter, Tell your peeps!

Within the streets of New York City there is a celebration of culture, of difference, as well as holiday; marching parades mark time, express vitality, define a season, and no where else like 5^th Avenue on Easter Sunday can a bonnet be more than hat.

The Easter Parade is a New York tradition that dates back to the middle of the 1800s. The social elite would attend services at one of the 5th Avenue churches and parade their new fashions down the Avenue afterwards.

The less well to do would come to see the latest trends. Many handy seamstresses found inspiration for their client's wardrobes at the parade. It was a combination of religious services and haute couture in the days before TV, when only the wealthiest New Yorkers could attend fashion shows in Paris.

Today, the flamboyant headgear and costumes rival some of the most notorious NYC processionals in town!

If you know someone visiting Easter Weekend be sure to tell them to go to 5^th Avenue near 52^nd Street for a sensational spectacle!

"In your Easter bonnet,
with all the frills upon it,
You'll be the grandest lady
in the Easter parade!"