Hello! Today is Saturday, June 22nd, and although I have settled into a nice groove of daily recollections of the 2013 Sing for Hope Pianos, I need to increase the output before my upcoming trip to Denver! Here is Day 9, which took place on a very busy Sunday.
Before meeting up with my friend Beverly at noon for the 3rd National Animal Rights Day in Union Square, I raced the clock and squeezed in one piano. Day 9 was an exercise in patience and flexibility, but it all worked out well.
Piano #28: Astor Place. When I got off the 6 train, nobody was playing the piano, but I ran anyway. I was cutting it that close to noon. I played two songs. The piano sounded good, and I would have liked to have stayed longer to play more songs and take a picture of people resting in hammocks (aka the view from the piano). Instead, I quickly took pictures of the piano and then caught the uptown train at just the right time.
The National Animal Rights event didn't start at exactly at noon, so Bev and I chatted in the shade. We participated in reading an excerpt from the Declaration of Animal Rights, tossed flowers in front of sad photos in a remembrance ceremony, visited the various tables (free food & drink samples? don't mind if I do!), and my favorite part? We did yoga in public! No mats or anything, and the poses & movements were easy enough for beginners, although Bev and I did laugh when we had to lift each other back-to-back with our arms linked. We weren't sure if we were doing the lift correctly, and therefore we laughed. At the end of the class, our harmonious om at the end allowed me to feel the group's connectedness and energy.
During the flower ceremony, there were extremely sad pictures, but then they were replaced with peaceful images of animals as they should be: free to live.
After visiting the various tables and eating a Philly-style empanada with salsa from V-Spot ($5 and worth it), I invited Bev to visit a piano with me near Chelsea Piers, but the M23 bus was taking forever and didn't show up, so Bev headed uptown, and I decided to change up my plans -- again, patience and flexibility were required.
Piano #29: Greeley Square. I took the subway up to Greeley Square and the piano was being played by a man who was part of a larger group. There were also people filming and taking photographs. So I sat down to listen and take pictures and videos of my own. I wasn't sure if I'd get the opportunity to play, but there was a slight lull when friends of one of the dancers came to say hello. The dancer pointed to the piano and said, "This is you!" I then figured that that dancer must also be the artist who designed the piano. Very cool! I tried performing "Arithmetic," but the piano was so out of tune to me that it seemed like my left hand was in a different key from my right hand, and my voice couldn't agree on where to sing, so I just stopped. Ha, not my finest moment, but it was just too messy for me to continue. I tried playing another song from my core trio, but my ears & brain were not having it.
Faces and body parts on the piano that the artist had pointed out to her friends.
When I got home, I learned via Sing for Hope's Facebook that I had stumbled upon Swingin' Sunday at Greeley Square. So when I tweeted one of my photos, I ended up winning a contest! I sent them a YouTube video to share, and they did!
Watch the video below. It's funny -- the piano sounds really good for the swing dancers, but it didn't work for the type of music I was playing!
Piano #30: Hudson River Park - Pier 45. After Greeley Square, I walked over to 7th Avenue and took the 1 train down to Christopher Street. Little did I know, the M8 doesn't run on Sundays, so I had to walk to Hudson River Park, but it wasn't too bad. Off the top of my head, I can't remember if a piano was in this area in previous years, but the area seemed a little familiar to me. Maybe I've been there before, or maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. In any case, it was a nice area and filled with lots of people, but not overcrowded.
I wanted to get a photo of the piano as I was approaching, and then at the same time, so did some other people!
The view of downtown Manhattan.
Wanted to capture the shape the keys were in. Thought it felt different to play the keys, it was still playable, and that made me happy.
After I finished one song, this boy was eager to play, so I got up from the bench to let him play.
Piano #31: Hudson River Park - Pier 63. To get to Pier 63, I walked back east for a few blocks and then caught the M20 bus to 23rd Street. While riding the bus, I saw two Organic Avenue locations. There was a woman at the National Animal Rights Day event giving out samples of a green juice and coconut water from Organic Avenue. I once again waited and waited for the M23 crosstown bus to arrive, but it was taking forever. My stomach was telling me that it was time to eat something, so I walked to the second Organic Avenue I saw (on Eighth Avenue). It was a "grab & go" store with lots of raw food and drinks. I wanted a coconut water, and though it was pricy, I knew it would be worth it to splurge a little. I also bought a Thai collard wrap with sweet & spicy plum sauce. Upon returning to the bus stop, everyone was still waiting for the bus, and two buses arrived at the same time within seconds of my return! Patience and flexibility, Allison. Patience and flexibility. They were paying off.
I couldn't find the piano right away. I had forgotten exactly where Pier 63 was, and when I arrived, there was a huge yoga festival going on. LOTS of people. It was like a sea of yoga practitioners. Many, many more than those who did yoga at Union Square earlier that afternoon. (I may be biased, but I appreciated my yoga session more because our Jivamukti Yoga instructors had us repeat the word ahimsa, which means "do no harm to others.") So instead of searching for the piano (patience and flexibility), I found a spot to eat my raw meal, which was light and tasty. I walked through the festival and found the stone field with Octvia Upright! Octavia needed a tune-up, but I was able to play one song from my core trio okay, as I didn't have to sing it.
The most adorable piano this year.
Just look at that underbite.
Piano #32: Times Square. Last but not least, I made my way to Times Square by bus and subway. It was Tony Sunday, and I stopped by the Marriott Marquis for a bathroom break. As I stood at a mirror to compose myself, I stood next to a girl wearing a prom-style dress. I asked her if she was going to the Tony Awards, and she turned to me with a wide grin, and said, "YES!" I replied, "That's awesome! Enjoy!" Her enthusiasm for theatre was palpable. (I am giggling now as I write this because I have never been to the Tony Awards, yet I briefly spoke to that girl with reciprocal enthusiasm, as if I had been to the Tonys before. Is that weird? Perhaps it's just a recognized kinship between two theatre fans...)
I went on my way to find the Times Square piano. I saw the crowd in Duffy Square, ready to watch the Tony Awards on a big screen. I thought about staying, but it was hotter than I would have preferred and besides, I had a piano to find! For some reason, I thought the piano was going to be in Duffy Square, but it wasn't, so I asked a Times Square officer where the piano was, and he told me it was by the food stands between 44th and 45th. And sure enough, it was. Nobody was playing when I arrived, so I played and sang one song from my core trio while gazing at the Minskoff Theatre across the street. I saw a man eating empanadas to my left and another man standing to the right of the piano. When I finished playing, the man eating empanadas applauded. I smiled & got up, and he sat down to play something, so I took his picture.
The view from the piano.
I was getting hungry again, so I looked at the menu of the empanada stand, and to my delight, there was a vegan emapanada! Curry with shiitake mushrooms. It was only $3, so I tried one, and it was nice! Smaller than the emapanada from V-Spot, so it was more of a snack than a meal. While I was taking pictures, the man who had played the piano came up to me and showed me his phone -- he had taken a picture of me and offered to send it to me as proof that I was there.
After finishing my empanada, I headed home to check on the piano in my neighborhood, rest, and watch the Tony Awards on TV!
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