AT THE TICK TOCK

The Tick Tock Diner is located on the ground floor of the New Yorker Hotel, a venerable favorite once hosting the very elite. It fell into  decline in the '70's and closed to be re-opened by the Moonies, then later resold. Now it is once again a magnet but this time serving as a handy destination for those disembarking at Penn Station diagonally across the street. It's likely I went there for pancakes when my mother and I joined Aunt Stella in 1944 on her lunch hour from the Holiday Book Shop. Every time I watch an episode of the hilarious British show, Black Books, I think of cheerful Mrs. Holiday, elegant in a Noo Yawk way. Perhaps she, too, tried the pancakes with us. There is a mural inside boasting of comfort food with a '50's gas station scene. I like the eager tourist atmosphere. I have learned, and forgotten, eight different languages' version of "Have a nice day." My 34th Street jaunt includes Joey's Discount around the corner where temptation is mighty as I wear symbolic jewelry. For instance, at this very moment on my wrist:

a peace friendship band
a Hunger Site bracelet made from recycled magazines
a Starbuck's jobs for impoverished communities in the U.S. wristlet
shell art given to me spontaneously at the Port Authority Greyhound hub
Henry beads

Joey's is the ideal place to pick up a little somethin' symbolic. Remember my post about the library and the elderly woman I called PHwF? Pink Hat with Flower. Well, "By Jove!" as my dad used to say, I found a ring comprised of a woman in a pink hat with flower for a dollar.  I felt guilty thinking about the person in a sweatshop in Asia turning out hundreds of dollar rings but guilt can always be rationalized away. I decided it was triply symbolic:
1.  honoring PHwF
2.  remembering those who work in sweatshops
3.  grieving over the loss of jobs by corporations moving overseas, such a the Payday candy bar factory featured in a Michael Moore documentary. 

The Tick Tock serves breakfast all day; theirs is a 24 hour day. I heard there are some 20 varieties of omelettes. Grits is a side dish! If you enjoy listening to eight different languages at once, I recommend it. Can you guess? Yes. I am drafting The Little Apple's Guide to the Big Apple's Boroughs and Orchards.