I had one thing that I had to take care of today, and I can blame part of my failure to do so on my brother. Yet, today's focus is not on a minor screw up, but on visiting the neighborhood in which I used to work.
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The plan for today was to trek into NYC to get an official copy of both my birth certificate and that of my deceased father. I'd have no problem getting my own birth certificate. But to get my dad's birth certificate, I would need an official copy of my dad's death certificate - which my brother was supposed to mail to me, but didn't.
So, around 11 am, I drove to Croton-Harmon railroad station, stopping first at a local deli. Instead of taking 5 minutes to get my usual sausage and egg sandwich, it took 15. So I arrived at the train station with barely enough time to make the 11:48 train. And when I say barely, I mean just that. I was in the elevator with 3 minutes to go, and had just purchased my train ticket as the train came into the station. Luckily, I was able to make it down the stairs and onto the train without rushing, as I'd have to wait another 30+ minutes for the next train.
Arriving at Grand Central, I noticed hot hot and humid it felt. (I was glad that I had chosen to travel as Mario, as wearing a wig would have been too much to deal with today.) 30 minutes later, I was downtown and in front of NYC's bureau of vital records. (I wish I had kept in the habit of walking at least 2 miles each day, as my legs were bothering me for the first mile I walked.) After checking to make sure I was at the right building, I killed time at the Starbucks across the street.
Once inside, it was bureaucracy in action. First, one takes a number. Next, one enters ALL the information needed to purchase a vital record, in my case a birth certificate. And then, you wait for your number to be called and to pay for your service. While entering my data, I was told that my dad's birth certificate had to be ordered by mail AND that I needed my dad's death certificate. AARGH! I could have stayed comfortable and done everything by mail had my brother sent me the death certificate as promised.
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Once done with the bureau of vital records, I walked over to where I used to work (a much longer walk than I remembered) to get lunch at the Halal cart I used to regularly patronize. Although there were 2 carts there now, I picked one that best resembled what I remembered from 10 years ago and ordered my old everyday order - a chicken and lamb combo with lots of white sauce and a touch of hot sauce. But I now had a problem. Where could I sit down and eat? So I decided to walk a couple of blocks and find a place to sit. The only place I found with open seats was inside a playground for dogs. This was perfect, as I had free entertainment provided by the dogs and their owner while I enjoyed my meal.
Soon, I was on my way back home, and I was back in my car around 5 pm. Once at home, I fell asleep for an hour or so and then was ready to take care of some chores before calling it a day. At least, I likely won't need to trek into NYC again for paperwork purposes anytime soon.
