Joe’s Karate Adventure

Joe is packing for a trip to New York for a karate competition. He is so excited!

“Joe, come down with your suitcase, we’re going to the airport!” called his mother.

He quickly ran into the vehicle and waited. “Mom, get out here!” he yelled. He was getting impatient!

His mom got into the vehicle and started the car and went to the airport. They arrived at the airport, unpacked their luggage, gave their keys to the valet and entered the airport, where they waited and got their tickets. An hour later they boarded the plane. They have first class seating. They found their seat and were immediately greeted with pajamas. They summoned the flight attendant and ordered their food. It was time for bed, but the engines were too loud to fall asleep. Joe was too excited to sleep anyway!

Soon the plane was landing. Time to get off the plane!

Day 1: Joe and his mom walked into the airport and called a taxi. Within minutes, the taxi came to pick them up. The taxi took them to their hotel. They stayed at the Callaway Hotel. They went through the revolving doors and were greeted by a bellhop. After they brought their luggage to their room, they rested for a while before it was time to get ready to go to the competition. They called a taxi and went to the event center where the competition was. When they got there, Joe got into his karate robe and went to where they were all meeting.

Later, when he went out into the crowd, he suddenly forgot almost everything that was covered in the meeting! He forgot everything he knew about karate! He froze! When his opponent came out, Joe couldn’t fight, and suddenly he dropped out cold!

When he came to, they were in the clinic. The doctor told him that he had a panic attack and that he couldn’t do karate for two weeks.

“Two weeks!” Joe said. “I can’t fight for the competition!” He panicked. He was extremely disappointed about it. He begged them to let him fight in the competition. No luck.

His mom took him out to lunch at Olive Garden. Olive Garden always makes on feel better. They got all you can eat breadsticks. He got the herb tomato soup, and his mom got salad and zuppa Toscana soup. They went shopping at a strip mall, and went to Dick’s Sporting Goods.

They saw Wicked on Broadway. They saw Cabaret and Hamilton too. Who knew there was so much to do in NYC besides karate?! Then they got supper at the hotel. He got beef Wellington and duck liver, and a lava cake for dessert. When they were done, it was already 6 pm. By the time they got back to the hotel, it was already 6:30 pm and time to relax. They just sat down and watched TV. It was time to go to bed.

Day 2: They went to get breakfast in the lobby. Joe got pancakes and his mom got a waffle. When they went back up tot the room, they got ready for the day. They went to Times Square and saw all the TV signs. After that they explored downtown New York City, and went to all of the stores and seafood restaurants and got sushi. They went and explored New York more and went to the Statue of Liberty and got souvenirs. And then they got a call from the doctor about a checkup.

They headed over to the doctor and got checked in. When the nurse called their name, they got up and went in. The doctor asked him how he was feeling.

“Good,” Joe answered. “We explored all of NYC! We saw Broadway shows! We saw the Statue of Liberty! We saw EVERYTHING! I just don’t know what happened to me yesterday at the competition!” Joe sadly declared. He really had been enjoying his time in NYC so much, that he almost forgot the REAL reason he came in the first place! But thinking about it made him sad.

Then the doctor said there is a possibility he will be able to fight in the competition after all.

However Joe replied, “No, the tournament is over. They are in the final round now.”

“Maybe next year!” said the doctor cheerfully. When the doctor said they were done, Joe walked out, furious. He didn’t want to wait until next year! What an emotional roller coaster this trip has been!

They ended up going back to the hotel and tried to relax. They went to the gift shop and got supper at the restaurant in the hotel. They went back up to the hotel room and calmed down and watched TV.

Last day: The next morning they went down to a breakfast and ate heartily. They went to Central Park and fed the ducks and then had a picnic. They went to Brooklyn Bridge and walked across it. Then they had to go to the airport from Home Alone 2.

Boarding the plane got Joe thinking about the movie and ALL the great Broadway musicals he saw in NYC that he would have NEVER gotten to see if he had been competing for karate instead.

“Hmmmm.” Joe thought. “Perhaps since martial arts didn’t work out for me, maybe I should try PERFORMING arts instead!!” Joe decided that was definitely something to think about, but not until he has a very LONG nap at home after his very artistic trip!