When we moved to Manhattan we immediately sold our car, and honestly, we haven't missed it at all. Sure, it's expensive to rent one in the city (we paid more than $900 for an SUV at Thanksgiving), but without a car we don't have to pay huge monthly fees to park it in a garage or fight to find street parking.
But as much as we love New York's public transportation system-- there is at least one time in your life you realize you really need a car. When you're having a baby.
I'm 7 months pregnant (today!) and people often ask when the time comes, how am I going to get to the hospital. I usually joke that we'll either hop on the cross town bus and pray for as few stops as possible, or we'll hire a bike cab and pay him extra to pedal his little heart out.
In all honesty, we'll need to catch a cab, but lord knows, when you really need one in this city, they are no where to be found. No one knows this better than Polly McCourt. She's the New York woman who gave birth on the street this week because she couldn't find a cab. Yikes! It was 3:30 in the afternoon at 68th and 3rd on the Upper East Side which is a time and location that you should be able to catch a plethora of cabs. But nope.
No cab = giving birth on the crowded street in front of a bunch of passers-by. Doesn't that sound like fun? I guess the good news is that New Yorkers are used to seeing all sorts of crazy things, so bodily fluids don't scare us.
What makes this hit even closer to home is that Polly gave birth just a few blocks away from the hospital I'll be delivering in. So that means if she couldn't even make it a few blocks to that hospital, what are my chances of making it from the Upper West Side?
So I guess when we talk about a birth plan, my plan includes not giving birth on the street, in the back of a cab or on the subway. That means I'll need to work this whole "miracle of life" thing around rush hour, holidays, construction, when the cabbies take breaks and concerts in Central Park.
This might be tough.
But as much as we love New York's public transportation system-- there is at least one time in your life you realize you really need a car. When you're having a baby.
I'm 7 months pregnant (today!) and people often ask when the time comes, how am I going to get to the hospital. I usually joke that we'll either hop on the cross town bus and pray for as few stops as possible, or we'll hire a bike cab and pay him extra to pedal his little heart out.
In all honesty, we'll need to catch a cab, but lord knows, when you really need one in this city, they are no where to be found. No one knows this better than Polly McCourt. She's the New York woman who gave birth on the street this week because she couldn't find a cab. Yikes! It was 3:30 in the afternoon at 68th and 3rd on the Upper East Side which is a time and location that you should be able to catch a plethora of cabs. But nope.
No cab = giving birth on the crowded street in front of a bunch of passers-by. Doesn't that sound like fun? I guess the good news is that New Yorkers are used to seeing all sorts of crazy things, so bodily fluids don't scare us.
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| My Fox NY |
So I guess when we talk about a birth plan, my plan includes not giving birth on the street, in the back of a cab or on the subway. That means I'll need to work this whole "miracle of life" thing around rush hour, holidays, construction, when the cabbies take breaks and concerts in Central Park.
This might be tough.
My wife is from California, and we have lived in the Indianapolis area for over 30 years. Recently, the Jack-in-the-Box fast-food corporation opened a few outlets here, but a few years ago (long before they were here) my wife and I got a bad craving for some, and searched the internet for the one closest to us.... it was in Tennessee. We got up early on a Saturday morning and drove the 4-hours one-way to get some... and yes, it was worth it (to us, anyway).
ReplyDeleteOoops... the previous comment should have been put under your post about Outback Steakhouse... I apologize.
ReplyDelete