The van pulled up to the parking for the ferry to Liberty Island. We paid the fees and went through the extensive security process, which took much longer than I’d anticipated. This meant we’d have to do some of our interviews tomorrow. We only had two more days in the city, and I’d wanted to spend one of them just with my guy, but that didn’t seem likely. It was already three o'clock and it would get dark, which wasn’t ideal for filming and getting good backdrops for my interviews. The goal was to make the entire segment visually stimulating, too. Give the audience a trip through New York that they might never get otherwise. So far, it had worked beautifully.
On the ferry, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and interview someone who was standing alone. Turned out I found exactly what I needed when I saw a bundled up blonde with striking blue eyes standing at the rail. The wind whipped her hair around as she stood silent, watching the island get closer. I interrupted her and asked if she’d be willing to share in the segment, and she was overjoyed. Her Scottish accent surprised me. I found out that she was a romance writer attending a writer’s conference in the States and had a free day. So she decided to take advantage and see the full New York skyline in all its glory.
I grabbed the mic and stood very close to the railing of the boat as it sailed through the waters of the Upper Bay.
“Friends, I’m standing on my first ferry ride ever, speeding toward Liberty Island, and found this lovely woman. Janine Marr is from Scotland visiting our great nation on business. How has your first visit to the States been?” I asked.
“Lovely. Overwhelming, but overall, I’d say it’s been memorable. I love Americans. Everyone is always in a hurry to get to the next spot as if the person they are going to meet is the most enchanting person in the world and they need to get there fast.” Her Scottish accent was thick as molasses and just as sweet.
I grinned into the camera, not sharing her enthusiasm for people rushing around, but loving how positive hers was. “That’s one way to look at it. Now I know you’re heading back to Scotland tomorrow and you do not celebrate Thanksgiving, but I’m wondering, what are you thankful for?”
Janine glanced around the boat and looked at the statue, the New York skyline, and finally the Bay. “The world. Our Earth. Look at it. No matter where you are, whether it be in New York City or the sprawling lands of my home in Scotland, there’s always beauty to be found everywhere you are.”
Once I finished with Janine, I took her business card so I could look up the wicked hot romance novels she'd written and gave her the gift card. It was time to exit the boat. Before the other tourists could get swept away in the incredibly cool, ginormous Statue of Liberty, I stopped the Martins, a Canadian family seeing the statue for the first time.
“Thank you, Jacob and Amanda Lee Martin, for allowing me to interview you and your brood before your appointment with our beautiful Lady. First of all, let’s start by telling our audience where you're from.”
Amanda held her only daughter, a toddler, on one hip while her husband wrangled the two older twin boys into a lockdown at his sides. “We’re here from Ottawa Canada,” she said proudly.
“And have you enjoyed your trip so far?”
“We have. Only keeping twin six-year-old boys in check alongside our precious girl in a city of this size is not easy.” Jacob laughed.
“I’ll bet it isn’t. Well, I know you have a lot to see, and these little guys are ready to check out our super cool statue aren’t you, guys?” My voice rose higher as they focused on me.
Two little fists popped up into the air as synchronized yeahs were screamed into the air.
“All righty, then. So tell me, Amanda Lee, what are you thankful for?”
Her pretty caramel-colored eyes got misty with unshed tears. “My family. They are all I need in this world.”
I smiled and moved the mic to her husband Jason. “And you, Jason?”
“Same.” He shrugged. “There’s nothing else I’m more thankful for than my wife, our two boys, and our daughter.”
Knowing the audience would love to hear it, I crouched down and the camera followed. I pointed to the first twin boy. "What are you thankful for?”
He pursed his lips, and his eyes grew big. “Candy!” His decibel was much higher than I expected.
I laughed. “That’s a good answer. And you?” I held the mic to his brother.
“My bike. I love my bike. It’s awesome and has a cool lightning strike down the front,” he said, matter-of-fact. All the adults chuckled.
Standing back up, I moved the mic near the chubby-cheeked toddler who couldn’t be more than two and a half, maybe closer to three. “And you, little one. Would you like to tell America what you are thankful for?”
Instead of responding, she shoved a ratty pink elephant in front of my face and right into the camera. “You’re thankful for your elephant?” She nodded and then buried her face against her mother’s neck.
“Thank you, Martin clan, for sharing what you’re thankful for.”