march meandering in nyc

It has been a great opportunity to be working a solid couple of weeks in New York City. The money is appreciated and while on this particular job I've been staying in the city. It's a night shift and during the day I have had enough down time while here to rediscover the joy of meandering in one of the greatest cities in this world. I grew up close to New York in Harrison, NJ and the city was a short ride on the PATH. As a family my Dad had us walking around NY at an early age. I remember the gritty streets and the dangerous feeling that oozed out of Times Square. I remember marveling at the Horn and Hardart on 3rd and 42nd as we got our lunch from behind the little glass doors. Later, as a young man I would wile away the afternoons walking around Greenwich Village and then Soho when it became fashionable and later when bravery steeled me I explored the gritty streets of Loisaida or the Lower East Side. It was fun to window shop and hop around the galleries or linger in cafes with a coffee and newspaper or simply sit for awhile and watch the world pass by, and well in New York, the entire world seems to be on display at one time or another. When I worked at NBC during the nineties I explored a lot of midtown and that neck of the woods; in fact I often never had to leave the four square block area of Rockefeller Plaza for entertainment. But, work has taken me away from NYC or while there my only thought was to scurry for the train and the commute home. So, this has been rare for me to have idle time in New York and I've used it well these past two weeks. Blessed with some warm weather and a cigar, I delighted in strolling along through the different neighborhoods. It may seem odd to think of neighborhoods in a vast city like New York, but despite its sheer girth and the relative anonymity visitors may feel, it is rife with enclaves of familiarity. If you live or work in a certain area of the city you run into the same people everyday. Strangers are noticed, or better, ignored. The man who makes you your daily egg sandwich in the morning asks about the family. You know about his. You buy a lottery ticket from the same vendor and he's already punching up a Take 5 ticket before you ask, all the while wagging his head playfully, knowing you're not going to win. I used to spend a lot of time in NY and it was good to be back. I followed my cigar in whatever direction it decided to point. Daily I walked for miles and reveled in simply being on the streets with never a real destination in mind. I traipsed through Chelsea, the West and East Villages, Soho, Nolita (which is new to me... it means North of Little Italy), the Lower East Side, the Upper West Side, Grammercy Park, Tudor City and Turtle Bay. In Chelsea I lingered over coffee and a sticky bun at the Chelsea Market which is right near the Meatpacking District. I savored cafe con leche and a Cuban Sandwich in a lovely park on Greenwich Street in the Village. I walked through gentrified Alphabet City and marveled at the throngs of kids waiting patiently for brunch at popular restaurants seemingly unaware of how edgy this part of the city had once been. I strolled the length of the High Line, which is a park created from an abandoned elevated train tracks that was once used to deliver goods to the area businesses. There is an article about the High Line in the April 2011 issue of the National Geographic magazine. One day I went to the Museum of Modern Art, or MOMA. Of course I got in for free with my CBS badge. Each day I would just start walking. I was in NY for two straight weeks, for 5 day stretches and each day I headed in a different direction. One day I headed for a matinee movie another day I had lunch at the Heartland Brewery in Union Square. One day I basked in the sun on a chilly afternoon in Father Demo Square in Greenwich Village, tumbling over the chapter, Hollywood Heaven, from my first novel, Hi, How Are You? New York City is like that, you can always find a place that is reminiscent of some event or scene. It is historical and literary, beautiful and fun to just walk her streets. Well, today's entry in the blog is like my travels through New York these past weeks; a meandering jaunt through different neighborhoods and ideas with no destination. Sorry that there may be no useful information to fellow travelers, but if one thing to take from it, realize this is a walking town.