I was a student in Ireland looking for adventure, friends, and life experiences. Where better to fly than New York City on a student work visa and soak in the sights and culture? I rode the subway, didn’t run around asking people to take my picture, and didn’t even visit the Statue of Liberty. No, I was much more interested in living the life in this thriving city. Soon, after making a great groups of friends, I discovered one of my favourite activities, which soon became a weekly ritual — summer at Bryant Park: Monday movie nights! My friends and I would get there ridiculously early, hours before the scheduled classic was to be screened. We’d pick a good spot on the lush grass and stretch out our picket blankets. Then we’d chat, debate and laugh…and someone always brought a deck of cards, too. We’d relax with our sunscreen and wicker hats and play old favourites like bridge, hearts, and sometimes even poker, though money was never exchanged, perhaps an embarrassing forfeit or two. Time passed quickly and was punctuated by runs to the pizzeria on the corner. Our group would grow larger as we stood up and flailed our arms about to direct newcomers to our location. The films were often black and white; sporting legends of acting from bi-gone days like Jimmy Stewart. We’d settle down in a mass of limbs in the warm haze that accompanied twilight. When the credits rolled to a close, our group was always last to leave. We’d have a sing-song or debate the plot and acting of the feature before eventually either heading home or seeing if Ben and Jerry’s was still open off 42nd Street for a midnight snack. I will never forget those happy NYC movies nor the friends I made there.
