Monday, October 22, 2007

When New York Gives You Lemons, Drink Lemonade




Most people equate $$$ with New York City. I do. But, I found an exception. Cheap drinks, specifically in reference to lemonade bought from a lemonade stand. Not what you would except to run across in a metropolis of eight million urbanites. Yet, my husband and I have enjoyed lemonade from two different stands since moving here. Who knew lemonade was such a hot commodity in NYC?

We walked upon two endearing and business savvy girls with a lemonade stand a couple of blocks from our apartment yesterday evening. The youngsters knew how to run a business and bring in the big bucks. In my day, we dragged a miniature plastic table to the end of the driveway and voted one neighborhood kid to dance in the street with a poster board sign. Not these girls.

The budding entrepreneurs set up shop on Broadway, prime real estate property in New York City. They sang songs in cute, tiny voices to lure customers. They admitted their mom had made the lemonade, already learning to capitalize on free labor. We fell hook, line, and sinker. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to swell their piggy bank. For fifty cents, the girls said, we could get a “tasting, medium, big, or extra big cup of lemonade.” Only in New York do kids under ten offer a “tasting” of lemonade. Somewhere between 76th and 77th the sidewalk doubled as a vineyard.

My husband rummaged for a dollar. We each enjoyed a medium sized cup of lemonade on our walk home. Delighted that the whimsical idea of lemonade stands still exists as a way to make a profit even if locations, times, and prices may change.

1 comment:

Stephanie Klein said...

Drink lemon martinis. Or eat lemon curd. Ooooh, lemon curd! Enjoying your blog.