Last year, when it was announced that there would be a competition for Miss G Train, several people encouraged me to enter. I wrote about why I did not want to do that, and in that post I also mentioned a different dream I had. A much bigger dream...
You likely know I commute through Grand Central Terminal daily to get to and from work. I've been doing this for over two and a half years now. And I do not take a single day of that portion of my commute for granted -
After getting off the 7 Train each morning, I walk up 3 flights of escalator stairs to reach the main floor of the terminal. And when I arrive upstairs, I walk quickly as I check the current time and which track my train will depart from that morning. But then there is that moment I look forward to every single day - the magical moment that I turn the corner to enter the main hall - where I first get a glimpse of that magnificent building - to see the high ceiling with the painted constellation, the giant chandeliers, the round center island information booth with its famous clock as well as the hustle and bustle of NYers walking in every possible direction but not colliding. And as I quickly walk through, I take a few seconds to notice the way the sunlight is streaming through the huge windows on that particular morning. It's nothing short of breathtaking to me. Still. I absolutely love that terminal and consider myself very fortunate that I get to enjoy seeing it every day.
It's because of my deep affection for that building that I had a much greater desire than the "Miss G Train" title. In that blog post, I wrote:
Of course the title of "Miss Grand Central" also does not exist, but if the City Reliquary could create "Miss G Train", I see no reason why I can't create a title for the grandest of all train terminals in the greatest city in the world.
But I still don't want to be judged, so the way I envision it is either: 1) I convince someone there to create the title just for me, or 2) I just tell people I'm Miss Grand Central. I can buy a sash with the title and wear it through the terminal. I'll have someone follow me around and take photos while I carry a bouquet of roses and wave like the queen. Why not? What's stopping me?
Now, I'm not sure why there has never been a "Miss Grand Central" but I figured if they had a "
Miss Subways" competition for 35 years, why shouldn't there be a Miss Grand Central? And as I wrote in that blog post, what was to stop me from just saying I *am* Miss Grand Central?
So yesterday was the big day. I finally found a suitable dress on Friday night and spent all morning curling and recurling my hair. I grabbed my sash, gloves and tiara and hopped the B62 to the 7 Train, as I do every morning - but this time I wasn't going to work...
Since I am a creature of habit/repetition
(*cough* OCD *cough*), I took a photo of myself in the bathroom
as I do every weekday morning:
Then, much like Superman, I made a quick change. And with that, I was no longer ordinary "Citizen Bitch Cakes" - I put on my tiara, sash and gloves and emerged from that ladies room as
MISS GRAND CENTRAL. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day, in no particular order
(I was all over the place!):
The funniest part was that as I walked around to pose for my photos, I overheard so many people say things like
"Miss Grand Central? I didn't even know they had that!" or
"Look! There's Miss Grand Central!". People waved to me, said hello to me, congratulated me, photographed me and two tourists
(one from England and one from France) even asked to have their photos taken
with me! As far as those people knew, I really WAS Miss Grand Central!
I cannot tell you how great this day was. I don't think I've ever felt more beautiful than I did yesterday and I can't remember the last time I felt such pure, simple joy and happiness. It's a day I will never forget, and one that I will cherish forever.
I loved being Miss Grand Central, even if my reign was for just a day. The photos and memories will last a lifetime.
(the entire photo set can be seen here)
