Coming Up

Writer's Cramp entry, 391 words

The tallest building I ever visited was the Empire State Building in New York City. I was just a kid and don't recall the exact year, but Paul McCartney's "Coming Up" was all over the radio and that charted in 1980 so I'll go with that.

I'd been staying with my aunt in Queens for the week, and she'd been taking me around to see some of the sights...we'd seen the New York Experience, window shopped at Macy's, and enjoyed the botanical gardens just up the block from her apartment. The trip into Manhattan was on a misty, rainy summer's day and the streets were alive with shoppers, tourists, vendors, and lunatics. More than once I paused to stare at a rambling homeless person arguing with the air, and had to be urged on by my aunt. I was still young enough to be enchanted by everything.

The elevators at the Empire State Building were like nothing I'd experienced before. When the button was pressed I felt my insides drop and my eardrums expand. As I recall the 102nd floor observation deck was closed for maintenance that day, so we went to the 86th floor deck. Wandering among the tourists was someone in a King Kong costume (which had to have been stifling on such a humid day). My aunt, who was always a little "off center", was scared by the costumed employee and kept shying away from him. Naturally, he (or she, no way to know) noted this and followed her. As the view was not that spectacular on this foggy day, I got plenty of amusement watching "King Kong" chase my prissy aunt around. It was a good visit to the Big Apple.

Later that evening, back at the apartment, we called my mom in New Jersey to relate our day's adventures. I got a serious case of the giggles as I remembered our meeting with "King Kong" and "all the crazy people in the street". Mom did not correct me, but I could tell she wanted to but didn't want to spoil my memory of this day with a lecture. My childhood was almost at its end, and this memory would stay with me long after my youth fled. I've thought of it many times over the years.

And I still smile every time I see King Kong.