Winter in New York

It was 3 degrees Celsius when we landed at the JFK International Airport in New York City.  My brother Dr. Jun Uytiepo brought me winter clothing at the airport so I will not freeze or catch pneumonia.  I was in New York to visit my ailing sister Eloise.  It was also some sort of reunion with my siblings who came from California and Vancouver, Canada.  Since it was winter, there were no outdoor activities what with the rain, snow and gusty winds that went up to 50 miles per hour.  I also could not run or walk thus, the additional pounds.  New York weather is unpredictable so the minute the sun came out, I took the opportunity to visit some places in Bronx area where I stayed.  Some of the famous landmarks in the Bronx are the Bronx Zoo, the biggest in New York City with over 6,000 exotic animals, Bronx Botanical Garden, Yankee Stadium (at Yonkers) and the Woodlawn Cemetery where a lot of celebrities are buried.  Irving Berlin composer of “White Christmas”, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Lionel Hampton and Salsa Queen Celia Cruz are  just some of the famous names.  Also buried there are Gertrude Ederle, the first women to swim the English Channel and Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick. I also visited the New World Trade Center upon the invitation of my nephew Joseph Mallari who holds office at the 62nd floor.  Two memorial pools called the Infinity are in the exact base of the original Twin Towers.  The names of the victims are inscribed in the tiles of the pools. Fronting the memorial is the Occulus.  It’s a crime not to visit Broadway or Times Square if you’re in Manhattan.  I also walked a few stretches in Central Park.  I’ll be writing more on New York City in my next column.

Did you know?

Olympic superstar Michael Phelps raced against a Great White Shark off the coast of South Africa last year.  Fans were disappointed however when they learned that the shark was computer-simulated.  Phelps lost to the shark in the Discovery Channel program aired to promote Shark Week.

Cheetahs

In 2013, two NFL players were pitted against a pair of cheetahs.  The Chicago Bears Devin Hester won his race by milliseconds.  The race was  organized by the National Geo Wild Documentary

Man vs horse

A man versus horse marathon was been held annually in a rural town in Wales since 1980.  The race has been won by a human only twice in its 37-year history.  A few years back, our very own Elma Muros raced against a horse (with a jockey) at the Santa Ana Race Track. Elma led for 30 meters before the horse overtook her.