Stories of dad

The day before we left for New York we got the wonderful news that the cancer in my dad's hip had stopped growing. Or rather they hadn't seen any new growth in the last 7 months due to the radiation treatments.  We were overjoyed.  The doctor wanted to do a follow up and give him a chest x-ray just to cover all her bases.  This chest x-ray was done while we were in New York.  When we got back we received the devastating news that the lesions in his lungs that were the size of babies fingernails in march were now the size of an apple and a plum.  With out treatment he had 3 months.  With treatment it only works on 1 in 10 and the rest it just gives them a little more time.  Talk about a punch in the gut.
In lieu of this news I have decided to try and record any stories that he has told us about his childhood or growing up, things he's learned in life etc. I just want a record of the amazing man who is Lucky Wright. Most likely I will publish them in a separate book so that his grand children and great grandchildren will know him better.  My loving aunt compiled similar books of my Wright grandparents and I have decided to take the torch so-to-speak. If any of you have any such stories I would love to have them.  I will except email, letters, comments on this post, or even a phone call where you can tell me the story and I will write it down.  The stories don't have to be grand, I will start you all off with one of his most recent confessions.

He was put in school early and he said he was always upset about that.  He was always the youngest. (Being number 13 out of 15 children I think this added to the too young syndrome). Anyway he said he always regretted it because he really liked sports but being the youngest (and probably smallest) he wasn't always chosen for the teams.  He says it something he never really got over.

Now I know my dad played football but I didn't know he liked sports so much.  You would never really know that growing up with him.  Sure he watched the occasional football game and we played baseball every Sunday but he never came across as a sports man to me.

Broadway

When in New York you must see Broadway.  Not the street but the theater.  There was some debate about what to see. I really had no preference I was just happy to be there.  It was decided that we would see Evita.  I am well versed in the story of Evita having read the book as well as saw the movie.  The set design was incredible.  Had there been photography allowed in the theater I would have had a picture for you by I digress.  The set looked like a beautiful building with a terrace that went all the way around and then pulled forward and backward.  It was pretty impressive.  Below the terrace they had 4 doors and when they were open they were back lit so that they choreographed the shadows.  My favorite is when they opened the doors and people rushed back and forth behind them so it looked like the people were outside rushing about.  The choreography was really good too.  I thought the way they did the costume changes was inventive. 

THE Ricky Martin was the male lead as the narrator.  I thought he did pretty good however others in my party thought he should stick to pop.  The main controversy was the female lead (Evita herself) Now having read the biography and understanding her past I thought the female lead was very true to character.  She did have a thick Spanish accent so if you weren't used to it she could be hard to understand at times.  I think my living in California and some of my good friends being Spanish helped me a lot.  Also her voice was a little screechy. To me it made sense, she was a girl from the slums completely uncouth and a little trashy so it fit.  Either way I enjoyed it.  I probably wouldn't give it 5 stars maybe 3 1/2.  Lets just say it was no Wicked.

Before the play we went to dinner at this fabulous restaurant called Latzzani a fancy little Italian place that had no room for high chairs. We were quite content to be at such a place.  I had an amazing filet mingion with a side of broccoli and scalloped potatoes.  It was melt in your mouth delicious.  At $35 a plate I expect nothing less. We all tried each others meals and I would have to say mine was the best.  My poor sister Amy was not feeling well so she couldn't fully appreciate the yummy food. Lucky for us she was better the next day.

Only 4

garbage cans

 

site seeing.  This was one day where we decided to go to the garment district but explore on our way.  I loved that they had these little tables and chairs all over the pedestrian islands through out the city.  They were a different color depending on which district you were in.  The green ones were on Broadway near the garment district.  And the garbage cans were so cute I had to take a picture.  Again I love the beauty that New York creates in everyday things.I did find myself feeling a little claustrophobic in New York with hardly any open space.  I could not live here but I would be happy to visit again.  Space is so limited that everything is built up and I mean everything.  I thought this parking lot was quite interesting. The lifts go underground so when they need to take the top car off they lower the lifts so the other cars go underground and drive the top one off.  How ingenious.  I did notice that parking was expensive $20 for an hour.  No wonder no one drives here.  Not only is there no parking the streets are so crowded its a wonder more people aren't shot from road ragers.  Scott would never be able to drive in New York, I am pretty patient but even I was getting frustrated with people and I wasn't even driving.
We only took a taxi on the way to and from the airport.  There is a law that taxi's can only take 4 people.  This was a little bit of a hassle for us because we had 5. So on the way back to the airport our bellman found a willing soul to break the rules and take all five of us.  We squeezed 4 of us in the back seat and let my mom ride in the front.  Our driver was from Nepal and didn't fully agree with the law behind the 4 person limit.  So as we approached a check point on a toll road he told us that one of us needed to duck down so it only looked like 4 riders.  He was so impressed that we had no problem with that.  Steph was the ducker and we just put a backpack on top of her to more hide her from view.  Then he announce that when we got to the airport we shouldn't all get out to get the bags and would one of us mind just walking away from the taxi.  Again no problem there.  As soon as the cab stopped I slipped out and walked in the airport.  I know how to disappear.  When the cabbie got out to help us with the bags he was so surprised when he looked around he said " Hey. Only four."  He couldn't figure out how I disappeared so quickly.  This is not our first rodeo.  

I love to see the temple

We had to visit the New York temple while we were there, no question about it.  So we got ready for the day and ventured on our first real subway experience. Lets just say my map from the hotel and my smart phone with GPS were invaluable tools for getting around.  The subway system was very easy to figure out.  It was hands down the simplest way to get around in New York. And it wasn't nearly as crowded or as dirty as I thought it would be.  The great thing was that every subway stop there was a musician of some kind.  Some were really good others were not but the experience altogether was well worth it. 

The only problem I found with traveling underground was that I had a hard time finding my north when I came out of the subway.  Everything looks the same (tall buildings) Once north was found it was easy to get around because New York is a grid system like Utah.  My sister's smart phone compass was very helpful.

Back to the temple. . . We learned which stop to get off and as we came up there was this really nice farmers market with beautiful fruits veggies and flowers.  It was a nice welcome to enter the temple.  We looked at our GPS and it told us to walk to the temple once we got out of the subway.  We couldn't figure out which way to walk when Stephanie "looked up" and saw the word Jesus on a building then looked some more and found the angel Moroni.  It was literally in front of us.

As soon as we stepped in the temple we noticed the silence.  There is always  noise in the city at all times of day everyday.  In the temple it was an immediate feeling of peace and tranquility.

The New York temple is small in comparison to other temples so when all 5 of us showed up to do initatories they were very happy but a little overwhelmed because they only had the one booth.  It was a wonderful feeling to do temple work with my mom and sisters.  As we read the names we couldn't help but think it was divine intervention.  All or names were Hungarian.  Our ancestors are Hungarian and we planned on visiting Ellis Island specifically for our ancestor Elizabeth Farkas who is Hungarian and the first of our line to enter the US through Ellis Island. It was a wonderful way to start out our trip, with something familiar and wonderful and peaceful.

This is to get the full experience of the subway.

It was quite crowded during rush hour but other than that it was fine.

Times Square

Everyone warned us about rude New Yorkers.  Even New Yorkers warned us to watch out for rude people.  I am happy to report that we didn't run into anyone who was rude with exception of one security guard. I don't know what everyone was talking about, everyone that I came across was nice.  I think its one of those things where if you be nice to them they will be nice to you.  Sure we came across a few crazies especially at Times Square but they were nice and fun to watch. Always plenty of people in costume trying to score some cash by having tourists take their picture with them.  We avoid this tourist trap but took a few from a distance.

Some of the more interesting characters we came across were the "Naked Cowboy"  a man in his tighty whiteies and cowboy boots with a guitar.  Then there was the crazy man riding a bike in a woman's bikini with pink bathroom slippers and turban (like the one Clark Griswold wears on Christmas vacation when he falls through the attic floor). Neither of which I got a picture of because this is a family blog.

Times Square was very overwhelming at first.  So many people in a strange city and more than half of them a little on the eccentric side.  It was my least favorite place we visited.  But we quickly got used to the crowds.

LOOK UP

If I could give one word of advice for visiting New York it would be LOOK UP!!

One can get carried away with the hustle and bustle of the crowds pushing you to and fro, trying to get to your destination that you could miss the beauty that is New York.  I learned quickly to look at the incredible architecture the fine craftsmen have created.  It seemed everywhere you went there was beauty, if only you looked up.  I often wondered if the locals knew what a beautiful city they lived in or do they ignore it as they rush to work.

There was a mix up at the hotel or first night.  They assigned us to a smoking room.  This was definitely going to be a problem because 2 of my sisters are pregnant.  As we tried to correct the mistake we learned that the hotel was sold out and that we would have to use that room for the night but they assured us an upgrade (the 42 floor of 43 floors) and nonsmoking room for the following day.  For our trouble they offered us some free breakfast coupons.  We had no choice but to agree.  As we went down the next morning to collect our breakfast coupons we were happily surprised to receive 12 free breakfasts.  After we ate and got our check for we were even more happy about the coupons because breakfast for 5 people came out to be $130.  It pays to complain NICELY.  I think if we were not gracious they would not have been as giving as they were.

We stayed at the Hilton in Times Square.  It was perfectly located for us with the subway hub less than a block away.  Thanks Jared for the fabulous hotel!!!!

view from our Hotel window

View from our hotel window

New York

My baby sister moved to New York so my sister Amy came up with the idea that we all go for a trip to visit her and make sure she was okay.  It took a lot of preparation to get this trip going.  I was nervous about what to do with my kids.  As I went back and forth on the idea Scott said this was a trip of a lifetime and I should go.  When I told him my concerns he stated "I'll just ask my mom if she'll watch the kids."  This is no small feet.  I once asked if she would watch the kids while Scott and I went on a date.  She firmly declined.  So when Scott asked her if she could watch them for my trip I was surprised that she said yes.  I made sure everything was taken care of and I cancelled all lessons (she doesn't drive).  Finally the big day came.  We headed off to the airport at 11.  

While we were waiting to board the plane we got caught up in finding a game on the ipad.  My sister Amy walked away talking on her phone then my sister Kate said "See Ya".  It wasn't until we heard our names being paged that we looked up and realized our plane had boarded and we (Mom, Steph and I) were not on it.  We ran to the gate and made them let us in.  When we found Amy and Kate already on the plane we asked "Why didn't you tell us you were boarding?"  Kate replied "I said see ya."  That doesn't mean anything Kate always says that when she doesn't want to be near us.  We all got seated just fine.  

I struck up a conversation with the 2 ladies sitting next to me.  We were laughing up a storm we had such a good time.  The gentleman across from me was chuckling away as well.  When the plane landed one of the ladies announced she didn't want to go home she wanted to come to New York with us because she could tell we were going to have a great time.  The gentleman across agreed.  This trip had the promise of a great time.
As we arrived in New York I realized that this is not a place for children.  We kept saying over and over that we were glad we didn't have our kids with us.  It was crowded and the air quality was awful, and we did A LOT of walking!!  I think we walked around 100 miles in the 6 days we were there.  This is not an exaggeration.