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In Search of Theater Tickets

We were in search of theater tickets. That is why my friend and I had wandered from our midtown hotel to the South Street Seaport, at the southern tip of Manhattan. Considering that New York’s Theater District is in midtown, our being at the opposite end of the city may seem odd. But, we had gone to the Seaport to buy tickets. TKTS, a discount ticket retailer, had a reputation for having very long lines at its Times Square location. In my pre-travel planning, I had read that there was a second booth at the Seaport with considerably longer lines. And, so, hoping for a faster experience, my friend and I were in search of the Seaport TKTS booth.

My friend had grown up in a town just outside of New York and was quite familiar with Manhattan. She was not especially familiar with the Seaport TKTS booth, but knew its general location. We had wandered down Broadway, through the financial district, and were nearing the waterfront. We looked around the area for the familiar red TKTS logo. The booth was not where either of us expected to find it. After wandering down a few narrow streets, we stopped at a convenience store to ask for directions. This proved to be fruitless as the clerk obviously had no idea what TKTS was or why we were looking for it. We continued wandering around the southern end of Manhattan, our eyes searching for any hint of the booth.

Before long, we found ourselves back along the waterfront, retracing a route we had already taken. We approached a nearly empty deli, deciding to ask once more about the TKTS booth. If this proved as fruitless as our previous attempt, we would return to midtown, resigning ourselves to waiting in the line at the Times Square booth. My friend and I stepped inside the deli and walked up to the counter. We asked the bored-looking clerk if she knew anything about a TKTS booth in this part of the City. Without saying a word, she extended her index finger, waving it towards the window directly across from her. The window directly behind my friend and me. We turned and saw, less than one block away, the TKTS booth.
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