Wednesday, June 14, 2017

These (Kinky) Boots are Made For Walking: NYC


When Panic! at the Disco announced that front man (and my future husband), Brendon Urie, was going to be Charlie in Kinky Boots on Broadway this Summer, my heart skipped a beat. Not only is he a perfect match (if you have ever listened to a P!ATD song, seen a video, or seen Brendon live, you'd know how theatrical this man can be!) for Broadway, but NYC is only a train ride away from me!


Still, I didn't quite think I'd get to see it. With my crazy travel schedule, I just didn't see it fitting in without going crazy. When Red offered to go with me and have a NYC adventure though, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity.

So we looked at the calendar, picked a Saturday that worked for both of us, and grabbed tickets to a matinee showing of Kinky Boots.

BRENDON URIE, HERE I COME!!!


The show was downright amazing. I had never seen Kinky Boots and actually didn't know much about it so it was fantastic seeing it for the first time. Charlie Price struggles with the right thing to do when his father dies and leaves him his shoe making factory. The factory is struggling and Charlie doesn't feel as though he was meant to follow in his father's footsteps. But in an interesting turn of events, he meets Lola, a drag queen with a group of seriously fabulous and fierce Angels who are in need of boots made to support the weight of a man without breaking and is inspired to change the product his father's factory makes and instead focus on the niche market of drag queens and make them the sexiest boots they can find with the quality and support they need. Enter Kinky Boots!

The one shitty iPhone photo I took during the finale - I try to enjoy all live shows with my phone securely in my purse

The cast was phenomenal - I was in love with Lola's angels. They were so fierce and had some serious moves. I loved the music and story but the best part? Mr. Brendon Urie, Mr. "But I make these high heels work" himself (check out his song "Don't Threaten Me With a Good Time" to get that reference). He was AMAZING! His voice sounded so good on each song and he was such a natural. I am now hoping they record some of the songs with him on them (if not an entirely new soundtrack) so I can relive it forever.


Red willingly snapped some photos for me of my outfit before the show. Man, it was HARD to pick the right look for this adventure. I wanted to go full on glam for Kinky Boots but I also had the walking around the city to consider. Not to mention the inevitable food baby I was going to end up with by day's end! Were my glittery red Chucks glam enough for the show?


Hey, they're the sneaker version of THE Kinky Boots themselves! Score! I did good!

We took an early train to the city (it's about a 3 and a half hour ride for us) with the intention to arrive, have some lunch, head to the 2pm show, and then for the 4 hours afterward leading up to our train ride home at 8pm, we'd eat our way around NYC. At least, the parts of NYC within walking distance of the Al Hirschfeld Theater. And that, my friends, is exactly what we did!

Remember: the best adventures involve a lot of food!


We hit up Schmakery's Cookies before the show and sampled their original chocolate chip, funfetti, key lime pie, and cookies & creme cookies. What a sugar rush! I loved the key lime pie cookie - a nice graham cracker flavor with such a lime punch! Red was in love with the funfetti - it tasted like a true funfetti cupcake with the perfect buttercream frosting.


After the show, we found us some classic NY pizza and had a slice of classic cheese. Then we walked for a bit, found a cool comics store, and made our way to Rockefeller center. We found Magnolia Bakery (a place on my bucket list) and I finally got to try their famous banana pudding. IT WAS SO GOOOOOOOOOD!


From there we wandered down to S'MAC. It was a good 30min walk so we were able to digest what we'd eaten so far and see a lot of the city. When we arrived at S'MAC we decided to share the All American (classic cheese with nothing added - we're purists over here!) and nearly died from the cheesiness. S'MAC adds onions to their sauce, which I found quite pleasant!


After that we had run out of time and honestly were too full to stop anywhere else. So we headed to the train station and headed back home. We knew we'd hit up places like Doughnut Plant and Black Tap (they have the crazy milkshakes!) some other time.

Then, my peanuts, our lives stopped.

I didn't know if and how I wanted to share this part of the story - do I NOT share the fun stuff above and ONLY share about my car accident? Do I write 2 posts to keep them separate? I decided to do it together because it was still such a fun day - it just ended in a terrifying way - and I didn't want to give the accident it's own post as it was part of our day in NYC.

As Red and I drove home from the Springfield train station a little after midnight (it's about an hour drive on the highway), we were rear-ended. I was going about 70mph on a fairly empty highway so the other driver must have been going extremely fast to come up that quickly behind me and hit me as hard as they did.


I remember looking into my mirror and seeing headlights coming way too close and way too fast. Before I could react, say anything, move my steering wheel, or even register what was happening, we were hit from behind. We started spinning and I told myself "you're fine. You were rear ended and will spin but you'll probably hit the guardrail in a moment and stop."

But then we didn't stop. We started flipping and it seemed to go on forever. I'll be honest, hearing my best friend screaming beside me and feeling my car rolling over and over and over...I told myself I was about to die and accepted that. I just thought of my family, friends, and of course, Cody. I thought of Red's wedding in October and her fiance, Jimmy.

Nothing flashed in front of my eyes at that moment, as the cliche goes, but I saw them all in my head and hoped they knew I loved them. I really thought - no, I KNEW - I'd never see them again.


Finally the car did stop. We rolled 2-3 times. We landed upside down with the back of the car up on the guardrail and immediately we knew we had to get out. My glasses were gone and I couldn't see or breathe. I thought the car was smoking and that was what was making it hard to breathe but it was just the air bag dust - all of them had deployed. I told Red to unbuckle herself if she could and I did the same. She crawled out of her belt but mine unbuckled, letting me fall out of my seat.

Once we were on the ground we made sure we were both all right enough to move/crawl/walk and then we worked on getting out. I was on auto pilot. First, my instinct was to find my phone and call for help but I couldn't see so I switched gears and used my hands to find my door handle. I unlocked it and I was able to push my door open so we could crawl out.

The passenger side got the most damage - I don't know how Red wasn't more severely injured

The moment my door opened, I was greeted by a couple who had pulled over to help. They pulled us to our feet and made sure we were all right just as a highway department representative arrived at the scene and began to help (he had been driving on the other side going the opposite direction and saw the wreck). They were all so nice and went back to look for my glasses, our purses, and my phone, which was charging on the dashboard as we were driving home.

Somehow, my glasses didn't break and my phone was fine. How that iPhone didn't get destroyed is a mystery. My camera also survived in Red's backpack! What a clunker. When I put my glasses on, Red and I threw our arms around each other. That was when I saw my car for the first time with clear eyes, over her shoulder, upside down and absolutely destroyed. My auto pilot turned off, reality hit me, and I freaked out. I just remember the kind woman who helped us stroking my back and reminding me "you're okay, you're okay, it's just a car, you're okay" as they helped us across the highway to safety.


How we walked away from that car, I will never know. Every time someone arrived at the scene (state police, fire rescue, ambulance, etc.), they expressed how scared they were to look into the car upon arrival and how shocked they were to see us across the street in one piece. They all asked if we had seatbelts on and when we said we did, they were so relieved to hear we were smart drivers.

I think of that moment when the car stopped rolling and how afraid I was to open my eyes. I didn't know what I'd see or feel. Was I OK? Was I bleeding? Broken? Was Red alive? Was she hurt? Thankfully, my car did its job and kept us safe.

In the end, we are bruised and sore but alive. The other driver is OK as well - she crashed a quarter mile down the highway (I believe she hit us, swerved as her car kept going and then crashed shortly after). Red has a broken toe (she got out of the car without shoes on! That is the one thing we joke about - how did she manage to lost her shoes and break her toe?!) and I have a bad abrasion/burn on my upper left arm from the seat belt that has been bruising up very nicely (it looks like a galaxy).



Considering what we went through, we are extremely lucky to be here.  I have also been joking that my petticoat and corset helped protect me. My limbs are pretty banged up but I have no bruising or tenderness in my abdomen, really (thanks puffiness and corset boning!).

The mental recovery will be harder than the physical recovery for me. It was such a terrifying experience, accepting death the way I did in that moment. Every time the car rolled I braced myself for something to stab me or hit me in the head or break my neck. But nothing did.


Betty (my car) is totaled and I will have to get a new one. I loved that car and hate the idea of getting a different one but Betty served her purpose and she did her job well. It was heartbreaking to see her in the service yard the day after when I went to get my things and take photos for insurance. It was also hard to believe what I was seeing in broad daylight - seeing what I survived and walked away from.

TL;DR? Wear you fucking seatbelts, my peanuts. WEAR YOUR SEATBELTS ALWAYS. They saved our lives. We would NOT be here if we weren't wearing them.