Wednesday, June 11, 2014

"Give me such shows — give me the streets of Manhattan!" Walt Whitman


REFRESHED! That couch felt magnificent compared to all the other places I had been sleeping in thus far. Today I wanted New York City in a New York minute! Time to be a tourist since the gyms are closed on Sundays.

Left Cindy home and jumped in the car with Alex. drove into town over the Washington Bridge. Pulling up to the city I began to realize that “City” does no justice to the enormity of NYC. She is a category of her own. It is a world, complete with little mini states within, and subcultures separated by mere city blocks. The city is a goliath monolith of concrete, steel, glass, and bricks with little tiny people scattering about this way and that. America is called the Melting Pot and nowhere is it more evident than NYC. ALL of the worlds ethnicities reside here, all with their own little neighborhoods, languages, cultures, foods, schools, and celebrations that once in a while pour out into the streets. I happened to come on a day of a Puerto Rican festival. I could hear the drums and music in the distance as we scratched the surface of Central Park.

First stop was smack dab “In the City” as the locals call it. Parked and walked to World Trade Center Memorial. Where the buildings once stood there is now a 30 ft. hole. The walls of the hole have a waterfall that falls into a pool and in the center of the pool another hole and again the water pours over into an abyss. I suppose everyone takes away something different on this, for me it resembled a deep wound that is eternal and will not close. The newly constructed WTC building sitting next to the memorial is all but finished. Not yet occupied but from the outside complete. Beautifully designed, when standing below it and looking up it feels like it continues into the sky infinitely.





Next stop was the Trinity Cathedral. Slipped past the massive intricate entry doors as the guard announced its closing in a few minutes. Stepping inside the hustle and bustle of the city dares not fallow you. There is a silence, a silence that allows your to hear your own heartbeat and thoughts bouncing around in your head. The environment forces conscience to come out of hiding and take the throne. You start to evaluate your days behaviors, the choices you have and are about to make. A pleasant splash of sobering cold water reminding you of your purpose; A perfect fallow up to the WTC.



Literally ran down a few blocks to the financial capital of the world. Wall Street was just a quick run through. Not a huge fan of what happens here so I did not linger.



The City was hot and muggy, and on the way to the docks I could feel the cool breeze pick with every advancing block. From the docks you could see the Brooklyn, Manhattan, and a small piece of the Williamsburg Bridge. To the right was Government Island. Looking at it I imagined a black and white New York, with its ships billowing thick black smoke anchoring and awaiting their turn to dock and spew its hundreds of immigrant passengers out for processing. Each one of the tired and weary with a story of hardship and fleeing from their homelands in search of a brighter future. Speaking from experience, America is truly the land of opportunity and the greatest nation on this planet. God Bless her for taking in all of these worn out hearts. On the way back in from the docks passed a shop selling flowers. The smell of the city with it's steaming sewer lids and auto exhaust could not compete with the aroma of the mixture of flowers that sang fragrance in perfect harmony. 





From there we jumped back into the car and drove through Time Square and to the Empire State building. By this time I just wanted to relax and a quick lunch date with My good friends Jo Jo and Robbie was exactly what I needed. We “live in the same city (Atlanta) but see each other all over the country more so than we see each other at home. I will keep this a tradition and I run into Robbie again when I pass through Montreal.





Quick stop in Central park where I am sure I just scratched the surface of it. Spanning some 60 blocks I am sure I only walked through about .001% of it. It was littered with people sun bathing, having a romantic picnic or rowboat ride, taking a walk or running/working out. An older couple duo was bidding each other farewell and agreeing to meet back up next weekend for their routine walk in the park as 2 roller bladers whizzed by. The couples seemed not to notice or mind them any attention. So many little interactions buzzing all around me, I could have sat there all day just people watching.




From there it was back to Alex’s place and a few hours of sleep before a day full of training, or so I thought…

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