NYC- Through Robby's Eyes

Robby absolutely adored New York City. He seemed to thrive from the energy pulsating from the crowds, the lights, and the sounds. I was afraid that he would be over-stimulated. It turns out that he is perhaps the perfect age for this first time exposure.

I loved seeing the city through his eyes. Where I saw crowds and potential dangers, he saw only interesting outfits and unusual people. I wanted him to keep his hands and body off the ground and floor, but he was amazed by the "diamonds covering the ground." In reality he was seeing broken glass and bits of aluminum from cigarette boxes and hot dog wrappers. I like his perspective better.

The Toys R Us store in Times Square allowed all three of us to become kids. Scott happily munched on an ice cream bar while Robby and I rode the giant Ferris wheel. We were "attacked" by the robotic dinosaur and escaped in time to have our photo snapped. I'm not sure who was smiling the most when we left the store, but I suspect that we each left with our own favorite memory.

After seeing the video a few more times, it was time for us to pack our bags and head to the train station. Robby led the way, stopping only to watch his favorite new performer--The Naked Cowboy. (In case you don't know, the Naked Cowboy is a famous street performer from NYC. He stands in the street, wearing nothing but cowboy boots, a hat, his guitar and form fitting white underpants.) Truth is, we both enjoyed watching him perform, but I suspect our reasons were very different.

Sitting in the train station, Robby managed to locate and befriend an amputee bird. He was mesmerized by the pigeon, proudly informing anybody who happened to look in his direction that "this birdy has only one leg like my Momom." We ended up spending $4 to buy the one-legged bird a pretzel because Robby was becoming frantic fretting that his feathered friend was hungry.

Last night, tucking Robby into bed he began to tell me about his favorite things from New York. According to him, the streets are covered with diamonds, you can eat hot dogs for breakfast, and every little cart sells pretzels. He was chased by a dinosaur and got a helicopter toy as a prize for getting away safely. He saw a naked cowboy singing, a dancing unicorn (drunk/high street performer wearing an odd hat), and was scared by a statue who turned out to be a person. There was a light show going on all the time, and the yellow taxi cabs beep and don't stop. Not all of the birds have both feet but they all seemed happy.

No mention of seeing himself on the Jumbotron. It's a good thing that we took a lot of pictures. He may need to be reminded of the purpose for the trip--someday. For now, having him experience the city as a child is enough.