We left the house at 9. On the train, I tried to choke down a piece of pizza rustica, which is an Italian bread eaten on Easter. It has cheese and meats inside, and after sitting in their fridge for a week, it tasted absolutely disgusting. CI got off at Essex St to catch the F Train to get to her school in Brooklyn Heights while I continued on the M to W 4th St, where I caught the 2 train and took it three stops to 34th St/Herald Square. then I took the NJ Transit to Newark Airport station. Of course, it cost me $12.50 just because I was accessing the airport station. It would be the one good time for me to be a senior, because then it would only cost me around six bucks.
So I took the Air Train to the P4 stop, where is not only a parking lot, it's also where the hotel shuttles all arrive. After a little too much waiting, I got my shuttle to the Newark Airport Marriott and checked my father and I in. It's one of those fancy hotels where you have to enter your room key just to operate the elevator. We had Room 338 and it was a nice double room, though I had to coerce the maid for some extra soap. It was cool having NHL Network on the TV too.
After unpacking, we headed back into the city and met CI at school around 1:30. We walked a few blocks and headed underground to the New York Transit Museum. Dad and I had never been there before and we really enjoyed it. It has old school tokens, turnstiles, and train cars that are 100 years old. Seeing the ceiling fans, the exposed light bulbs, the different styles of seats, the wooden cars, it all struck me how much it's evolved and improved. They had a really nice gift shop too. Jigsaw puzzles, toy train cars, tote bags, T-shirts, pens, even boxer shorts! I took a luggage tag that resembled a Times Square station sign, with all of the lines that go through it.
After heading back up to the street, we checked out Modell's Sporting Goods, but nothing really caught our eye that was worth buying. I was pretty amazed that half the store seemed to be Brooklyn Nets gear. After 20 minutes of fruitless searching, we took the F Train back uptown from Brooklyn and she left us midway through to head home to Queens. We continued onto 23rd St, and we had Dad's birthday meal at Ben & Jack's on 5th Avenue. I didn't think there was any way we were going to order anything but the Steak for 2. But we arrived at 3:30, so we could still order from the lunch menu. We wound up getting sandwiches, he ordered the prime rib, I opted for the sirloin. The sandwich was really good, but felt a bit unsatisfying, probably just because I expected to eat something else. But it saved us $45 and included a side dish, so I guess it was worth it. the fries and onion rings were both delicious, fresh and crispy. I enjoyed the creamed spinach, which barely had a taste of cream to it, yet was still very enjoyable. Needed a little salt and pepper, but it was a good vegetable. And of course, their thick cut bacon. Almost an inch thick and broiled in their oven. Dipping that in their horseradish steak sauce, it's just an amazing taste. The only sad part is we were too full to enjoy any dessert. I wasn't overly stuffed, and I wanted some pecan pie or key lime pie with their homemade schlag (whipped cream), but I knew any more would start to make me uncomfortable. I figured I'd better quit while I was ahead. Oh and I was happy to enjoy a glass of Greg Norman Shiraz. 15 bucks, but it was worth it!
So then we walked up Broadway and then west on 34th St. to the Manhattan Center for Ring of Honor. We arrived around 5:15 and the line was already out the door to get in the building. the doors opened around 5:30, because there was a huge autograph signing downstairs. Dad and I immediately climbed four flights of stairs to the second balcony to grab two seats in GA. We wound up getting the second row straight away from the ring, which was an awesome spot. I went back down and I saw Nigel McGuinness at the merch table signing his DVD, which I supported and I made sure to go up, shake his hand, and say thank you for his great career in the ring and also for making the documentary himself. Then I headed to the basement of the arena where the signing was taking place. I was happy that Cary Silkin and Joe Koff both recognized me, even without my Jets jersey or my friends around. I purchased two autograph tickets, one for each of the American Wolves, Davey Richards and Eddie Edwards. Little did I know that Daizee Haze would be the one giving me the tickets. She hasn't been seen in Ring of Honor in so long, and I wanted to talk to her so much. But of course, there was a large muscular guy standing right behind her with the word "Security" stamped on his black t-shirt. I can take a hint...I moved on. Eddie and Davey both signed my DVD covers and I went back upstairs. Before the show began, I bought Dad and myself a couple sodas. Now usually, I go to the Frontier Fieldhouse, in the Chicago suburbs. So I would expect prices to be a little higher in midtown Manhattan. But I didn't expect to spend $6.00 per soda, four times as much as in Chicago Ridge! Or I could have spent $12.00 for a Long Island...
The scariest moment was during intermission when Dad and I headed upstairs to the men's room. Dad stepped through the curtain and didn't see the stair he had to step down on and fell face first on the carpet towards the stairs. I could only scream "Dad!" as I watched him go down to the ground and nearly tumble down an entire flight of stairs. It was just a terrifying moment. I along with another guy helped him back up to his feet. He said he was okay and told me to go on. Reluctantly, I walked down and met up with Jimmy, a friend of mine I had met once before. It was his first time at an ROH show and I was glad he was having such a great time. After talking with him for a few minutes, I went back up. Dad's wrist was bothering him quite a bit and his hip was a little banged up, but other than that, he said he felt okay. Thank God, because it could have been a lot worse.
Supercard of Honor was a great show, not quite as great as the 11th Anniversary, but close to it. RD Evans endless, yet creative, monologue where he announced himself as QT Marshall's mystery partner even had my dad cursing at him! Brendell, aka Cheeseburger, made an appearance and verbally ripped Maria Kanellis that made my jaw drop. Michael Elgin defeated Jay Lethal in a No. 1 Contenders match that had an amazing finishing sequence. The Wolves and red Dragon had a phenomenal match for the tag team titles. But the most memorable moment was easily Jay Briscoe shocking Kevin Steen to win the ROH world title. This guy has been in ROH since the day it was founded in 2002. And he became the champion of the world in front of a sold out Hammerstein Ballroom. I was nearly in tears as we all sang "Gimme Back My Bullets." Although Dad had not been to an ROH show in four years, he loved it too. He was doing a lot of applauding and he doesn't do that so easily.
With no voice left to speak of, we headed right back on the train to Newark to catch a little sleep. But we got even less sleep than we planned on because I wound up playing some Boomer and Carton clips and kept Dad up till maybe 2 am.
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