Metropolitan Rooftop Garden

I have been visiting the Metropolitan Rooftop Garden often this summer.  Not only does it have one of the best views of the midtown skyline, but it allows me to pretend to be a tourist.  I like to imagine that I am seeing these wonders for the first time.  It helps me look at them from a fresh angle.  The excitement of the real tourists helps, and the Met museum was full of them last night. People had converged on the museum for the same reason as I:  to take advantage of its super mega powerhouse air conditioning. In the American court, two Chinese girls chased their brother past the Tiffany stained glass.  In the balcony bar, a middle aged woman sat carefully hiding her boredom from her date, both of them groping for conversation.  In the medieval armor section, a young English woman giggled at King Henry the VIII's ample cod piece.  And in the rooftop garden (I couldn't resist a visit, despite the heat and humidity), a French couple argued while Central Park and midtown bloomed behind them.  All the world's a stage, and the Met provided plenty of actors last night.