Thursday, December 12, 2013

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

CafĂ© 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 19th 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

1 comment:

  1. Central Park, especially the north lake @ 103rd, Riverside Park,anonymity among the throngs, my cute walk-up apt., statute of Eleanor Roosevelt where my sister married her partner, yoga class at 80th & Broadway with the windows open.... so many memories. When did you live there? I love sharing these memories.

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