Tonight’s Sunset

Tonight the sun set over the ocean like a slice of big bright red cherry pie, juices flowing and spreading across the horizon.

Across the way, the moon shone full and silver in a melting Japanese blue sky.

Both were streaked with clouds--

Yellow-gold for the moon,

Peach and blue and pink and gray for the ocean.

A tall Torrey Pine split the moon shimmering through the dark spiky branches.

Both stood whole.

Dark clouds streaked above the ocean like smoke flowing sideways from a chimney.

The whole sky like one big “on the other hand.”

Things I Miss About NYC

Conversations with people

The grit, grit, grittiness of the city, the sidewalks, the air

People who talk to people

People who notice people

Granite boulders

Pocket parks

Elm trees

London plane trees

Sweet gum trees

Beech trees

 All kinds of people

All kinds of trees

Winter

Summer

Fall

Waterfalls, Fountains, Rivers

Central Park

Grand Central Station

Union Square Farmer’s Market

Indian Food

Burmese Food

Angelica’s Kitchen

Thai Food

Roma Pizza

Van Leuwen’s Ice Cream

Café Mogador Monday's after meditation

Bach Vespers

Organ concerts at the Little Church Around the Corner

The entire East Village, especially my meditation group

The West Village

Brooklyn artists  (Areta and Peter)

Beautiful old buildings, even ugly old buildings—just old buildings

Crowded sidewalks

Buses and subways that come every few minutes

Subways

People on subways, in stations, on sidewalks, everywhere, everywhere

Cabs

Looking every night at the Empire State Building to see what color it is

Lying in bed, on the sofa, on the floor, and looking at the Empire State Building

Standing on my balcony and looking across the urban canyon

Watching people party on a balcony a block away

Walking, walking, walking the streets

Vast old upper west side apartments

Tiny little east village apartments

Huge east village illegal-sublet apartments (I’m talking to you, Sadie!)

Bathtubs in kitchens

$2000/month tiny apartments with bathtubs in kitchens—or no bathtubs-- and a five-floor walk-up

The Upper West Side

Riverside Park

Central Park West

West End Avenue

Tibetan shops

Tibetan sales people—the best in the world!

Rockefeller Center Ice Rink

Beautiful doors

The 19^th century

Dry cleaners, grocery stores, nail shops, banks, and cell phone stores every block

French food

Rasa Yoga

Zabar’s

The East River

The Hudson River

Stuyvesant Cove Park

Ukrainian shops

Free ferry to Ikea in Red Hook

NY Public Library

Bryant Park

Ping pong tables in Bryant Park

Luxurious public restrooms in Bryant Park

Christmas shopping bazaars

Doormen

Fairway grocery stores

Grand Central food court

Sunday flea market/farmer’s market on Columbus Avenue

Chocolate chip cookies from Levain Bakery

Soft Bavarian pretzels from Blue Moon Bakery

Beautiful yoga students and sweet, gentle yoga at the Hamilton Senior Center and JCC

Marymount Manhattan College

2 Penn Plaza

IBI

Minar

Statue of Gandhi

Statue of Gertrude Stein

Tango dancers on west side pier

Julie’s backyard—the only one I knew

People who ask me questions about myself, even if it’s just how much I pay for rent

People who want me to ask them questions about themselves, even if it’s just how much they pay for rent

Everyone I ever knew in NYC