They Say the Neon Lights Are Bright … And They’re Right – NYC Travelblog Four

Our second day in New York ended as well as it began.

Following a refreshing hour or so in the air conditioning of our hotel rooms (oh, and our phones warned us of a Heat Index Warning in New York Sunday and Monday with temperatures expected to rise above 100 degrees both days… an inconvenient heat wave as-it-were), we headed back down to the lobby.

I haven’t noted yet that our hotel is utterly decked out in Major League All Star Game flagging and bunting and posters and banners and signage. The game takes place Tuesday at Citi Field. On our way back in from our Central Park/Met journey, we walked in behind a young man carrying a San Diego Padres equipment bag. Well dressed and well proportioned, the kid caught our eye. Stretch theorized that he was here to play in the Futures Game. On our way down to the lobby to leave for our walk to Broadway (a short mile from the hotel), We rode in the elevator with man who had an MLB lanyard and identification tag he was wearing a Phillies polo. The Cinnamon Girl asked him what was the story on all the All Star Game paraphenalia. He told us that our hotel is hosting the All Star Game and that some players are actually staying here. As we left the hotel for our evening, we noted fans lined up behind stantions who were waiting for other Futures players to arrive for their autographs.

So we’ve got that going for us on this trip.

Times Sqaure was utterly mobbed. Utterly. It was, as The Cinnamon Girl noted, the kind of crowd we thought we would encounter in New York. Knowing we wanted a big meal in a cool location we chose the Hard Rock Cafe. Told we would have to wait over half an hour, we were pleasantly surprised when we were seated in about 10 minutes.

The food was good, the meal was fun and we had a great time.

After the meal we decided to walk Times Square a bit but only braved the crushing crowd as far a Toys-R-Us. I make us go to check for action figures that we don’t have back in Denver (and I found some, too!). The humanity was simply too much and we left the toy store to head over to the Foxwoods Theater.

Playing there was Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. I will post a full review for anyone interested when we get back from our trip but I can say this much right now: there are shows I love more. There are shows with a superior book and score. There are shows that are better. But this was the most fun I have ever had at the theater. I smiled more during this show than any I can remember (more than I smiled, even, when The Cinnamon Girl confessed before the curtain that she didn’t know the play was a musical!)

All five of us loved the show, loved the evening and chatted each other up for almost an hour back in our hotel room.

There are many things bright for us in New York tonight, the brightest, perhaps for me, is the feeling of family I am getting from this trip.

More to come…

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Collectors are Odd Folks and Some of them are Becoming Afraid of the Internet!

It is possible the internet is ruining collectors of all stripes.

I think it’s ruining me.

No matter what people collect, and people collect all kinds of things, part of the joy of being a collector is the thrill of the chase, of being surprised to find the item – whatever it is – in a store you’d not considered before, of paying for it and congratulating yourself that you didn’t resort to buying it online.

But here’s the deal: collectors want things. They want them not necessarily because they need them. In point of fact, if one really needs something, like to clothe oneself or to sustain life, that thing is probably not part of a collection. It’s a staple.

I mean, did I really need the New 52 Wonder Woman Pop Hero bobble head from Funko? I already had the standard Wonder Woman bobble head. Isn’t this just the same bobble head with a different paint application? And how many bobble headed Wonder Women does one guy need?

Answer: as many as they make.

Let’s stick with these bobble heads. They are relatively widely available. They are at Targets and Toys R Us and at Barnes and Nobles (see, there is a reason to go to your brick and mortar book store! of course, I can also get these on amazon.com). There is a good chance I could track them down with patience and effort and some gas money. Even if I can’t find them at those outlets, there are a couple terrific comic book collectors shops in my area (Hero Headquarters  in Arvada – you can see their google page HERE – and Time Warp in Boulder – their webpage HERE – leap to mind) where I can, likely, bag my desired goods. Yes, I can probably find all the bobble heads I want in stores in my area with a little work.

But what if I can’t? That’s the fear. And how long do I have? And what is my time worth?

Thing is, if I look for my items, any items, and miss them in stores, the price may well skyrocket online – not that I’ve ever really seen that happen with something I wanted, but it could.

So, am I still considered a collector if I buy things online?

I sure hope so.

I just got a box of joy yesterday!