Elephants on 34th Street
By Michael Domino
By Michael Domino
I got to the city shortly before eleven o’clock tonight. The drive was easy,
no traffic, a breeze.
I parked the Hummer on Lex and walked over to 32nd street, said “Hi!” to
Mohamed the doorman, took the elevator up to the 11th floor, opened up
the door, and AHHHHHHH, stepped into my home sweet home away from
home. The lights of the Chrysler building gave me a big welcome. I dropped
my bag, turned on the TV for some background noise, plugged in the laptop,
and then headed back out for a snack. Let’s see, I thought… Chinese,
Italian, Hot Soup, Subway? Wait a minute, Rob told me about Karl’s on 34th
Street - the best cheesesteaks outside of Philly. Off I go, to 34th and 3rd. I
find a little hole in the wall with two rickety tables up front, but what a great
sandwich. Rob was right on the money. I borrowed the Post from the guy
behind the counter and I was all set.
It was time to go back and I was so full; I felt like I could sleep. But there
were so many people on the street all of a sudden. Where had they come
from? When I went into Karl’s just 15 minutes ago, the streets had their
normal flow of bodies; now there were hundreds of people on the corner of
34th and 3rd, some cop cars, and a lot of buzz on the street.
I squeezed in a little bit, next to a tree, between a few people. Was it an
accident, a celeb sighting, what?
“Excuse me,” I asked a lady next to me. “What’s all the commotion?”
“Elephants,” she replied.
“What?” Did I hear her correctly?, I thought to myself.
“Elephants on 34th Street,” she repeated. “It happens every spring. The
elephants walk through the MidTown Tunnel from Long Island City, turn
right onto 34th Street, and then walk across town to Madison Square
Garden.”
“Really? Elephants are going to walk here, tonight?”
“Yep! It’s for the start of the circus. Last year, it snowed. I come from Union,
New Jersey every year just to see the Elephants!
And suddenly, there they came! Sirens blared, lights flashed, and the crowd
(which had swelled into the thousands) roared. The elephants strode up
34th Street, trunks clutching tails. One, two, three, four…big, lumbering,
heavy-muscled grey elephants…I counted 12 all together. They were
moving along quickly, with purpose, in a hurry to get out of the cold and
into Madison Square. How would you feel after walking the entire length of
the Midtown Tunnel on a cold March night, after midnight?
Now you see them, now you don’t. Twelve elephants on 34th Street.
no traffic, a breeze.
I parked the Hummer on Lex and walked over to 32nd street, said “Hi!” to
Mohamed the doorman, took the elevator up to the 11th floor, opened up
the door, and AHHHHHHH, stepped into my home sweet home away from
home. The lights of the Chrysler building gave me a big welcome. I dropped
my bag, turned on the TV for some background noise, plugged in the laptop,
and then headed back out for a snack. Let’s see, I thought… Chinese,
Italian, Hot Soup, Subway? Wait a minute, Rob told me about Karl’s on 34th
Street - the best cheesesteaks outside of Philly. Off I go, to 34th and 3rd. I
find a little hole in the wall with two rickety tables up front, but what a great
sandwich. Rob was right on the money. I borrowed the Post from the guy
behind the counter and I was all set.
It was time to go back and I was so full; I felt like I could sleep. But there
were so many people on the street all of a sudden. Where had they come
from? When I went into Karl’s just 15 minutes ago, the streets had their
normal flow of bodies; now there were hundreds of people on the corner of
34th and 3rd, some cop cars, and a lot of buzz on the street.
I squeezed in a little bit, next to a tree, between a few people. Was it an
accident, a celeb sighting, what?
“Excuse me,” I asked a lady next to me. “What’s all the commotion?”
“Elephants,” she replied.
“What?” Did I hear her correctly?, I thought to myself.
“Elephants on 34th Street,” she repeated. “It happens every spring. The
elephants walk through the MidTown Tunnel from Long Island City, turn
right onto 34th Street, and then walk across town to Madison Square
Garden.”
“Really? Elephants are going to walk here, tonight?”
“Yep! It’s for the start of the circus. Last year, it snowed. I come from Union,
New Jersey every year just to see the Elephants!
And suddenly, there they came! Sirens blared, lights flashed, and the crowd
(which had swelled into the thousands) roared. The elephants strode up
34th Street, trunks clutching tails. One, two, three, four…big, lumbering,
heavy-muscled grey elephants…I counted 12 all together. They were
moving along quickly, with purpose, in a hurry to get out of the cold and
into Madison Square. How would you feel after walking the entire length of
the Midtown Tunnel on a cold March night, after midnight?
Now you see them, now you don’t. Twelve elephants on 34th Street.
© 2007 by Michael Domino
Manhattan
February 2008
February 2008