Art with Soul

Graffiti art work on 27th and Lexington.

A Day in the Head of a NY Tourist

I'm a tourist. I love Times Square! I think my 8 month old, 2 year old, 4 year old, and 6 month old will LOVE it too and cherish these Times Square memories forever!

I like to walk slow on the side walks of Times Square to make sure I soak in all the scenery. I like my family to walk in a straight line side by side down the side walk. Although this barricades the rest of the walkers and prevents them from passing me, I like to have my complete family in a row.

I like strollers. Each of my 4 kids likes to have their own stroller and I like to push them slow around the city. It's hard to maneuver the stroller through the city, but I don't care.

(Left: three strollers blocking intersection)

(Below: Two strollers at dead stop on sidewalk staring at shiny things)

I like bright lights. If I see a shiny bright light I make sure to stop immediately (even if it is in

the middle of the street or sidewalk) and stare and point and the source of the light. I'm like a bug sucked into the zapper. I'm a tourist, I can't help it.

(Below: Man stopped to take pic while stranger with stroller blocks the other lane.)

I get tired from walking so much that I like to stop and rest a lot. I like to wait and rest in doorways. Even though that is a high traffic area, I like to stop and block all entrances to buildings. I do this outside the local super market in Idaho, so why not here?

(Above: A group of tourist SITTING directly in front of my work building and LEANING against the door. I didn't care if he saw me taking his picture...he deserved it.)
(Below: Two separate family's block entrance to Starbucks. Luggage is a bonus)

I LOVE revolving doors. We don't have these in Wisconsin. They are fun to spin round and round. It's funny to see how many people can fit in one section of a revolving door and make it move. I know this blocks other people from using the entire doorway, but it's just too much fun! I like it so much I usually come to a dead stop in the middle of the revolving door and pose for pictures. I find it so funny that I end up falling out of the doorway to the ground laughing. Now I have blocked the doorway AND the street because it is THAT funny! I bet New Yorkers get a kick out of this!

I look for celebrities all day! I know they are here somewhere!

I like my map. I got it at Duane Reade and it sooo big! I can only read my map when I'm standing completely still in the middle of the sidewalk with my map stretched out it is full size. Even then, if I have problems, I wait till someone accidentally makes eye contact with me then I will ask them for directions to Toys R Us.

OMG NYPD!!!! You think they will take a picture with us?! I wish I had my pink NYPD beanie I bought yesterday!!! That would be soooo kewl!!! Look, he let me wear his hat instead! Facebook profile pic!!!!


(Above: 3 of 3 million girls that pose with a NYPD officer daily)

I like waiting in lines because I get to chat with other strangers! I like to tell them where I'm from and everything we did that day. I mean we are ALL tourist! New York city is like Disney World, everyone comes to have a good time, but no one actually lives here!

Lets get a family pic in the middle of Times Square! Who will take the picture for us? Look for someone that looks nice so they won't steal our camera.

I can't believe they have an Olive Garden here!!! Who needs Little Italy when you can get all the soup, salad and bread sticks you want for $6.99! Let's wait in line for hours so its like we never left Kansas!

I'm scared of gangs in New York. I strap my money belt tight for fear that someone will rob me. And I try not to make eye contact with anyone on the subways or streets. They probably have a gun and will shoot me if I look at them.

I feel sorry for homeless people. I give them all money because that's the right thing to do. Can you believe all the kids that homeless man said he had living under the Brooklyn Bridge? Good thing we have him a $20!

Man, I don't know how people live in this city? I mean, I would go crazy here. All the people, lights, noise, gangsters! It's a fun place to visit, but I could never live in New York. The entire city is one big Times Square.

Homeless People that Make Me Smile

Have you ever noticed that everything is funnier when it involves a homeless person? Seriously, I don't look twice at a regular man walking down the street eating a sandwich, but watch a homeless man walking down the street and eating a sandwich. I guarantee he will probably be stumbling, drooling and wearing a weird ensemble of clothing made solely of shopping bags, card board boxes and toilet paper. Homeless people are not that much different than every other New Yorker, they just live life on the streets with a little more humor.

Friday I did everything possible to avoid a homeless man on the street. Cell phone to ear and juggling a grande coffee and ipod in the other hand, I was deep in convo on the phone while running to catch the 6 train. I passed a homeless man on the street and I noticed his eyes follow me before he jumped up to started screaming, "BRITNEY....BRITNEY SPEARS." I was followed for two blocks by this homeless man shouting, "Britney Spears," at me the entire time.
I didn't correct the dirty old homeless man, I figured I would let him enjoy his few blocks of fame before he returned to an everyday drunken man.

I think I now like homeless people. Even if they serve no other purpose, at least they keep me smiling.

Just another day at the office

This guy was kind enough to smile when I took his pictures. Washing my windows at work while dangling 17 stories high can not be the high light of his day. I asked him what was the craziest thing he has seen while washing windows. He smiled and said he sees crazier things on the streets below him rather than inside the buildings.
I would not want to look down if I were him.