Why I crossed the Atlantic to see a fountain

I took myself to New York for my 25th birthday. Other people my age might have gone to Central Park because of Friends, but I wanted to see the Bethesda fountain.

I was obsessed with the HBO version of Tony Kushner’s gay fantasia Angels in America. It was shown on TV when I was about 23.

The characters, the history, the fantasy, Meryl Streep’s incredible acting in four different parts… I was totally hooked. I bought the DVD and watched it repeatedly for months. I’ve got the script book.

There weren’t any gay venues where I lived and I didn’t have any gay friends I saw regularly either. Suddenly there was this incredible play on TV.

Nowadays gay stories aren’t so rare. I’ve written before about why I love Schitt’s Creek and I adored the last two seasons of Doctor Who. I watched a detective drama this week where two of the characters happened to be gay. No impact on the plot, they just were. But back then it was unusual.

At the end of the play, Prior Walter, one of the main characters, meets up with his friends at the Bethesda fountain on his birthday.

As my 25th birthday approached I decided I wanted to celebrate in style. I love travelling and New York felt like a suitably fun destination. This was back in the days of ridiculously cheap flights. I was single, living on my own, and had long realised I would miss out on things I wanted to do if I needed someone else to do them with.

So I booked a plane ticket and a bed in a hostel. The trip was an incredible three days. I didn’t have much money but the hostel put out muffins for breakfast so I took a couple of those and went walking. I headed over Brooklyn Bridge, and down to Battery Park, and got the ferry over to Ellis Island.

On my actual birthday I treated myself to lunch sitting up at the bar in the restaurant at MOMA. Then in the evening I went and found an indie music bar. All my spare cash went on CDs in those days and I was into The Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs so I wanted a genuine New York indie music experience.

On the last day I spent my remaining time riding around on a tour bus with my backpack so I could see some more places before heading back to the airport.

Stories are powerful. They create connection, inspire wonder, and can make you cross continents.

I’m not sure where my photos from the trip are and there won’t be any of me because selfies weren’t a thing then.

So here’s the fountain. Photo by Hector Falcon on Unsplash.