My Stepfather, Frank Dellapia, was born and raised and spent the majority of his life in the Bronx and Manhattan until about 25+ years ago when he met my Mom and decided he liked the Texas heat over the New York cold.  Frank and I have spent countless hours talking about New York City, the diverse cultures and lifestyles, the buildings, Wall Street, Yankee & Shea Stadium, the Empire State Building, the cemeteries, the subway system, the churches, the restaurants, etc.  Personally, I am amazed at the city father's forethought concerning the construction of the subway system and of the dedication to hang on to a little piece of land for all to enjoy known as Central Park.

After working in Philadelphia the first 2 weeks of December, 2000, Kathy joined me and we caught a train into New York City to be there for the Christmas holidays.  It was very cold, snowing and windy...remember, this was December, 2000, thus, pre-9/11 and we felt very safe.  We went everywhere and did everything and almost froze.  We even attended The Gotham City Swing Club Christmas dance and visited with some of our dance family.  We saw all the highlights of the Big Apple...Statue of Liberty (all the way up to the crown), World Trade Center, the Empire State Building observation deck, Wall Street, Macy's with it's Winter Wonderland picture window displays for the holidays, Madison Square Garden, Rockefeller Center with it's big Christmas tree all in lights and everyone ice skating beneath, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Times Square, Central Park, Dakotas Apartments where John Lennon lived and was assassinated.  Kathy and I had both worked in and visited the city before, but this was the first time together and that made it very special.