Makes Me Wonder: Ginger Man and Heartland Brewery(12/8/2004)

When I relocated to New York in the fall of 2004, my sister was the first person to come visit. I moved into my apartment in October and two months later I was attempting to use my elementary grasp of the city to show her around. I was determined to show her some of the magic that makes New York so special. I took her to beer bars in the city, bought her a Serendipity frozen hot chocolate and saw the statue of liberty, but most of what I showed her was how to get lost. I was really very good at getting lost.

Because it was early December, I managed to get ticket to a taping of the Carson Daly Show that would air on New Year’s Eve. The taping took place in the tiny Rockefeller Center thoroughfare, generally occupied by the Today Show. As we lined up down the street, staff members handed us party hats and promised that we would be seeing Maroon 5 perform shortly.

We were in line for hours, huddled together under one sadly inadequate umbrella. We kept our sprits up by getting beers-to-go at the pizzeria across the street. As we sipped beer after beer through plastic straws, a limo pulled up and the band members rushed passed us and into the dry haven of 30 Rock. We grumbled at their late arrival.

Shortly after, we were finally ushered in to the staging area. Our umbrellas when down and the band took the stage. Suddenly we were all singing back the lyrics,

“I don’t mind spending every day, out on the corner in the pouring rain”

The crowd swayed together in the rain. We were bonded after our hours of waiting (and our beers-to-go). I could see knowing smiles on the faces of everyone in the crowd. We’d been waiting for hours; tired, damp, and a little bit drunk. We could have been angry. We could have started a riot. We could have, but we were all pacified by the song.

Maybe it was even a little New York magic.

*Recognize this song title? Post in the comments section