Wall St. Week: We’ve Got Pandas

September 17, 2009

As has been previously established on this blog, my mom loves pandas.

In June, I moved to Wall St. and took a walk to check out the neighborhood. I ended up at Battery Park. And then I saw this:

I took this surreptitious cell phone photo, but then I realized I didn’t have to be surreptitious — this wasn’t someone with horrible fashion sense or a parasitic twin. This was a person wearing a panda suit for the express purpose of attracting attention and cash donations. I crossed the street and approached the panda.

“Hi,” I said. “I’d like to take a picture with you for my mom’s birthday, but I have to go home and get a sign first, one that says Happy Birthday Mom. Of course I’ll pay you. Can we do that?” The panda nodded. I wondered if the panda suit contained a man or a woman.

“Are you on your way to the park?” The panda nodded. “So I can find you there? Near the Statues of Liberty, maybe?” The panda nodded.

In Battery Park, these people pose at Statues of Liberty, and tourists wave flags and take photos with them. That’s fine, but they’re not pandas.

I went home, made the sign, brushed my hair, and headed back out to find the panda. I wandered around Battery Park for an HOUR, asking people “Have you seen a person in a panda suit? Have you seen a giant panda?” Occasionally someone would tell me they’d seen a Wile E. Coyote, or someone selling stuffed dragons or whatever. But no pandas.

I got a sunburn and went home utterly lacking in panda birthday photos. Mom’s birthday was in July. I worked something else out.

Addendum: My mother — who does not live in New York — informed me that she had been “following this story on Gothamist.” So, here.

Posted by jen | Filed Under Jen says, Wall St.

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2 Responses to “Wall St. Week: We’ve Got Pandas”

Jen's Mom on September 18th, 2009 3:47 am

I do appreciate the effort. I love you even if you are panda-less.
Jen's Mom on September 18th, 2009 4:21 pm

Apparently Sad Panda was spotted frequently around NYC, usually near Battery Park. These sightings and all the news coverage of them occured from March through July of this year.
Maybe not being able to contribute to my birthday surprise made him so sad that he went ino into hiding. Has anyone seen Sad Panda since July?

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Wall St. Week: We’ve Got Pandas

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