Tonight Was Perfect Weather To Go Elephant Watching

So I did. It's funny how some days you end up doing something you had no idea would happen. For example, tonight after work (around midnight) I was walking through Astor Place on my way home and stumbled into an old New York friend of mine who I like to call Alejandro (because that's the name his parents gave him).

I must pause a moment and say that seeing people I know on the streets of New York or in the subway cart is one of my favorite things about this big city. The world is so much smaller than we think. Okay, play.

So, he asked me if I wanted to go see some elephants walking down 34th street and Park Avenue. I've been wanting to see the circus elephants march their way into Manhattan for two years now, so I decided I would finally do it. The timing was right, the weather was perfect, I was already out, I had some friends to experience it with, and I wasn't ready to go to bed yet so I said yes. We didn't have to wait long to see them. There were about five that were marching in a line with the leader wearing a sparkly cloak that stated "I [insert heart] NY." Here's what I noticed about the three minute long event of the night:

1. The police were there to stop traffic and they had barricades lined up along 34th Street, but the crowd wasn't very large.
2. The smell was that of a farm.
3. The elephants weren't really as big as I thought they would be (or perhaps I'm bigger than I think I am).
4. The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind depicted the elephant march to be about a million times more romantic than it really is. I wanted to see this before I even found out about the scene in the movie - just watch it again, you'll figure out which part it is. You'll recognize it because it's the scene with the elephants in the background.
5. Lots of horses followed the elephants. Poor horses. Once you've seen an elephant, a horse is no big deal, ya know? They should have had the horses walk first so they could have a little lime light and help build the anticipation of seeing elephants.
6. It made me think, "why don't I have a digital camera again?"
7. It also made me think, "I have a really crappy camera phone."

So the night proceeded to end. I took the subway back to Astor place where I bumped into another person I met earlier in the evening at the Japanese restaurant I temporarily work at. We stopped and chatted for a bit and then went our separate ways. Tonight was great. I got to see elephants, two people I either know really well or briefly just met - all in the span of an hour and a half. Who knew I would see all of this after midnight tonight. It is just one of those Dark Side of the Moon nights. And now I'm drinking warm milk and honey with a dash of cinnamon.