Back
Upon
hearing that and Israeli fighter jet had breached the Eastern defense
command of the United
States and found its way to the West
Side of Manhattan, an elite volunteer contingent went to investigate.
Steve Hochberg, Steve Gartner, Bob Myers, Mark Bucksbaum, Gene
Felder and Marty Wasserman did the ever-brave thing and volunteered,
without
worrying about their own personal safety, for this very dangerous
mission.
Leaving Rutland in the very early hours of Sunday May 7, 2006 (so
as not to be detected) in our stealth command vehicle piloted by
Captain Mark and co-piloted by Steve Gartner, we headed for our
first checkpoint: The Bagelry in Manchester, VT. After safely acquiring
provisions to last at least until our next checkpoint (one of the
rest stops on the New York Thruway), We were off!
(l.) Wishing we were on the "Booze Cruise" instead
of an aircraft carrier. (r.) Long shot of fighter jets from the deck
of the USS Intrepid.
(l.) Getting up close and personal with the Israeli
Jet (r.) and proving we have some culture... here in front of a venerable
NYC shul.
Darfur is on the minds of all... here, above Lincoln
Square Synagogue.
Several
hours later, after Navigator Marty sent us on a unscheduled detour
in New
Jersey, we made it over the George Washington Bridge
into Manhattan. It was decided that everyone would give Captain
Mark directions and in a city that is laid out in an easy grid
design
we proceeded to follow a very circuitous route until—there
it was—the USS Intrepid.
After completing our dangerous mission and inspecting this aircraft
and the rest of the aircraft and ship itself we were elated:
mission complete and no casualties.
On
the way to NYC we were on a mission
and now we were on our time: Artie’s Deli was only a
short 40-odd blocks away. First, we walked to Times Square,
each with a “dirty-water
dog” in our mitts. Once in Times Square, it was “Why
are we here when Artie’s is up the road?” So off
we trekked through the hazards of the Big City. We went through
Central Park
and past the Tavern on the Green but Artie’s was in our
scopes. Heading west to get back on track, New York Pizza was
a must-stop
on Broadway. Finally: Artie’s Deli. The trip was worth
the risk.
After
leaving Artie’s in a bloated state it
was back to the command vehicle and back to Vermont.
Out
of Vermont at 7:00 am and home at midnight. Mission accomplished.
It was a great trip
Back