Seven days. Seven days??

When I was seven, I began my tenure at the UN School in New York. One song we sang then went something like this:

So let’s extend a helping hand
Across the Rio Grande
And help each other too
Like all good neighbors do.

Over the years I have wondered whatever happened to that ‘extending a helping hand’ idea.
And, about the good neighbor line – how does that one play out in reality? Say, even in New York?

On 7th street, you’ll find the St. Stanislaus Church – a Polish Roman Catholic church with a statue of John Paul II in front. For many years there was quite a bit of tension between the church and the across-the-street-neighbor, Body Worship. The church officials did not appreciate the fact that their beloved Pope had to look out upon a store that was a major S&M gear outlet. I, myself, found it rather amusing that we had two houses of worship facing each other in this way, but my opinion on this is, of course, hardly relevant. In the end, the powerful St Stanislaus won the battle, if not the war, because Body Worship is no more.

Further down the street, there is another racy place – Enelra’s Lingerie. One critic stated that Enelra makes Victoria’s Secret look like the Gap! Does it have skirmishes with its immediate neighbor, the Via della Pace? Not a bit. Via della Pace is a bar-eatery, presumably named after the trendy bar in Rome. If you go to the NY ‘della Pace’ now, in the weeks before the election, you’ll find an interesting display inside, with clips of reviews, some photos of past winers-and-diners, and a t-shirt with the logo; “Romani Contro Bush.” Oh, and a Kerry pin. Now is that un-nieghborly? Does it repel customers to show such political partisanship? Not so much, or at least not in New York, where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans 5 to 1.

(*see “forty-second street pre-election diary” post, September 22, for explanation of post title)