Eight days after a bomb shook the Chelsea neighborhood of lower Manhattan, I am in NYC on a business trip, staying in a hotel just a few blocks from where the explosion rocked W 23rd Street. You would never know anything had happened.
I arrived here Sunday afternoon, to be fully rested for a long day of meetings on Monday. I was tired from the train ride, but I didn’t want to lose the day, sunny and clear, with a hint of fall in the air. So I took a long walk to visit to the new Whitney Museum and catch the last day of a powerful retrospective exhibit by photographer Danny Lyon. After a lovely dinner, I walked the High Line back up to 23rd and across 5th Avenue to the east side of Manhattan, passing the site of the explosion without even noticing anything unusual.
New Yorkers are hardy folk. It was incredibly reassuring, after all the horrible headlines, to see how life goes on as normal here. People were out walking their dogs, going on dates, hanging out with friends, taking selfies, eating in restaurants, smoking cigarettes, sitting on benches while immersed in deep conversations. Two men sang their hearts out, busking for the High Line crowd. I passed a man sleeping on the sidewalk. Next to his head, someone had placed a bottle of water and a fresh sandwich wrapped in cellophane.
I must have walked at least four miles, down to the museum and back. Any tension I felt when I set out in the afternoon had completely vanished by the time I returned to my room, a little after eight. There is much more to life than what is filtered through the news. So, come along with me and enjoy the view. . . .
Evelyn Herwitz blogs weekly about living fully with chronic disease, the inside of baseballs, turtles and frogs, J.S. Bach, the meaning of life and whatever else she happens to be thinking about at livingwithscleroderma.com.
Pat Bizzell says
Thank you for the breath of fresh air–something I never thought I’d say about NYC!
Evelyn Herwitz says
🙂
Pat Osten says
NYC is the one place on earth where I feel alive, rejuvenated and capable. The vibrancy of NY is evident around every corner & in every doorway and though some see problems and danger I see opportunity and vitality. I now live in North Carolina but lived in Manhattan for many years and my son and his family live in Brooklyn & so I visit several times a year. I always feel much better physically and mentally when in the city & am trying to make 2017 the year I return as a permanent resident. Not that there are not challenges (subway steps are the pits!) and I know I cannot handle a 5th floor walkup apartment BUT I know these are challenges that I can overcome.
Evelyn Herwitz says
Thanks for your comment, Pat! I love NYC, too. such an amazing, stimulating (sometimes overstimulating) place. Good luck with your transition.