Food. New York has it in diversity. You can find almost any kind of food you desire in New York. Heck, animals can do that too:
Now where did I put the lox?
Please pass the cream cheese.
3 November 2012
110th near Columbus Avenue
Category Archives: New York
On guard
A lonely gargoyle keeps faithful watch over the Tudor City Greens in the aftermath of Sandy.
2 November 2012
Manhattan, New York
Willow at Harlem Meer 2
Central Park is closed until further notice. The park closed before Sandy arrived. It remains closed. The park sustained damage during the storm. The closing protects visitors from falling branches or trees. It allows park personnel the opportunity to clean the park.
Updates as to the progress of restoring Central Park appear on the park’s Web page. On the page today are photos of the damage. That includes the uprooting of a willow tree near Harlem Meer.
Immediately upon viewing the photo, I recalled that, a little over a year ago, I walked around Harlem Meer with my friend Peter Tibi. We passed this willow. I took a photo, not of the tree, but of its branches dipped into Harlem Meer. I wrote a poem – of sorts.
Now it stands, toppled. In no way does this compare to the loss of human life or the destruction of homes and the disruption of lives wrought by Sandy in New York, New Jersey, other parts of the United States, including Puerto Rico, Haiti, Cuba, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Canada, and Jamaica. Nor does it compare to such losses brought by Cyclone Nilam to brothers and sisters living on the Indian Ocean.
Still, the fall of the willow that I sought to capture in photo and words tugs at me, a reminder of the storm’s power and life’s fragility.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events, New York
Purple flowers: on 51st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
Purple flowers ordinarily post on Mondays. But this has been no ordinary week in New York and too many places around the world. As have our brothers and sisters along the coast and in other parts of the United States, including Puerto Rico, as have our sisters and brothers in Haiti, Cuba, Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Canada, and Jamaica, we have come through Sandy. Cyclone Nilam has impacted brothers and sisters living on the Indian Ocean. Storms real and storms metaphorical have touched lives around the world.
In all those places, in different ways, storms have battered, bruised, and tested people. There are new saints to remember on this All Saints’ Day. Scars remain and continue to emerge. Tests and challenges continue.
These are no ordinary purple flowers. During yesterday’s long walk, I came across them on 51st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. They survived the storm.
I post them today
in memory of all killed by Sandy, Nilam, and other storms
in support for all who grieve
in honor of all who have endured
in profound respect for first responders
as a modest sign of hope for those who continue to struggle with the aftermath of the storm
as a prayer that our nation, our people and all the nations and peoples
may ponder the storm and how it calls us to change and
may find the courage to make those changes.
Manhattan, 31 October, 51st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events, New York, Photo
Why I like New York 19: Halloween
Confession #1. I do not like Halloween. I did as a child – especially the candy part. I took great joy in the delight that Sean and Eric experienced in their costumes through the years. But as a holiday for me to celebrate as an adult, it does not work.
Confession #2. On my long walk home today, I noticed all sorts of people of all ages wearing all sorts of costumes going trick-or-treating along Amsterdam Avenue. As my friend J.C. Austin points out, it can sometimes prove difficult to distinguish between people wearing costumes and colorful New Yorkers. But clearly some of the people wore costumes. It proved great fun to watch parents and children and merchants take part. At W. 86th Street and Amsterdam West-Park Presbyterian Church, I came across my friend Bob Brasher – pastor of the church – handing out treats to all sorts of costumed children. Perhaps the city’s vulnerability after Hurricane Sandy played a part, but it hooked me.
Confession #3. I took the photo on the hall of my apartment building, not on Amsterdam. Clearly someone here appreciates the day more than I.
See you along the Trail.
A long walk
Today I made my first journey to the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations since the arrival of Hurricane Sandy. The Church Center did not open, but we had heard that our office had sustained damage. I wanted to see.
Given that the subway remained closed and acknowledging my aversion to buses (Sam and Dave are Soul Men – I am a train guy), I took a ride in one of the cars licensed by the New York Taxi and Limousine Commission. I negotiated a price – a more than fair price – before entering the car.
The ride – from W. 123rd and Amsterdam to E. 44th and First Avenue took almost two hours. Two long, slow hours. I doubled the price the driver asked. He continued to thank me after I had left the car.
I arrived at the building and one of the management staff let me enter. I went to our office to discover that one of our windows had blown in. It knocked some equipment off the ledge and blew some paper around the office. I made some phone calls, took some pictures, and prepared to leave.
When I departed from the Shire on the Hudson, I wore my tennis shoes in case I had to walk. Faced with another interminable car ride, I decided that walking made sense – walking the whole way home – from E. 44th Street and First Avenue to La Salle and Broadway on the Upper West Side. It totaled about 15,000 steps on my pedometer. Sean told me that it showed as 5.4 miles on the map.
I broke up the walk nicely. I made my way crosstown to Sean’s apartment at W. 52nd between Broadway and 8th Avenue. After a brief stop, Sean came with me. Together we made our way north. We paused to see the crane that hangs over W. 57th Street like a modern-day Sword of Damocles. At W. 72nd we chose to go up Amsterdam – a wise choice. We ate a late lunch at the Amsterdam Ale House. Lunch completed, Sean turned back south and I continued north.
As I made my way, I noticed that many children were trick-or-treating in the businesses along the street. At W. 86th Street and Amsterdam by West-Park Presbyterian Church, I came across my friend Bob Brashear – pastor of the church. We talked a while and then he returned to his task of responding to the trick-or-treaters and I resumed my walk.
About 6:00, I entered the door of the Shire on the Hudson – tired, refreshed, and filled with a spirit of accomplishment. A long walk completed.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Exercise, Family, Food, New York, Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations
It is morning
It is morning.
It is after.
For those who passed through
Hurricane Sandy
Tropical Storm Sandy
Nor’easter Sandy
Frankenstorm
it will,
as for anyone
who lives through any
significant, dramatic, traumatic event,
always be after.
It is morning.
It is after.
In varying degrees of
shock and grief,
faith and hope,
assessment begins,
analysis begins,
recovery begins,
rebuilding begins.
It is morning.
It is after.
30 October 2012
Shire on the Hudson
Filed under Current Events, New York, Poem
Tears and smiles
From the comfort of my home,
I watch NYU Hospital being evacuated –
patients, sometimes children,
carried down the stairs
(for the elevators do not work),
riding on gurneys,
accompanied by medical personnel,
emerge from the building
where EMTs meet them –
shield them from the wind and wet –
hustle them to the first ambulance
in the queue, its lights flashing.
As the patient gets on board,
the ambulance leaves
and another takes its place.
Tears run down my cheeks
toward a broad smile.
29 October 2012
Shire on the Hudson
Filed under Current Events, New York, Poem
1:00 PM EST, 29 October 2012
I wait.
I watch.
I see the pictures.
Flooding streets.
Pounding surf.
Fallen trees.
It has only begun,
my imagination runs.
My heart breaks.
My spirit grieves.
For sisters and brothers
already battered by the storm,
lives lost, homes gone.
My heart wrenches.
My spirit aches.
For sisters and brothers
who have no shelter
from the storm.
My heart leaps.
My spirit soars.
For sisters and brothers
who go into the storm
responding to human needs.
I watch.
I wait.
29 October 2012
Shire on the Hudson
Filed under Current Events, New York
Privileged waiting – again
Again I wait in privilege.
This time the date is with
Sandy, not Irene.
Hurricane?
Tropical storm?
Frankenstorm?
Whatever name,
I wait.
Sandy approaches.
I have worked my way
through the preparation drill.
Candles bought.
Batteries obtained.
Electronic products recharged.
Water bottled.
Food purchased –
what happens to year-old applesauce?
Does it go bad?
Does it ferment?
I straighten the apartment,
move and position items –
later tonight I will fill the bathtub
and light again the sentinel.
I prepare.
I wait.
Watching football.
Tweeting, posting.
Contacting family, friends
I wait.
I wait and I remember,
yet again,
the privilege that is mine:
I have a place,
a solid place,
a dry place,
a safe place:
a roof above,
walls around;
I have
water to drink
and water to flush;
I have flashlights, candles for light
food that needs no cooking;
clothes to keep me warm;
loved ones who will check upon.
So much I have,
while sisters, brothers have but little,
while brothers, sisters have none at all.
I wait and I remember,
yet again,
the privilege that is mine
I wait and I pray,
for those who have too little,
for those who have too much,
for myself.
I wait and as before I wonder,
after the waiting,
after the storm,
what I will do differently
with the privileges that are mine?
28 October 2012
Shire on the Hudson
Filed under Current Events, New York, Poem
Along the Graybeard Trail 