Walking in New York

New York is a wonderful walking city. And so I walked and walked and walked. Stopping briefly for an espresso macchiato, my first purposeful march was down Madison Avenue from 59th Street to Union Square for a more relaxed stroll through the green market, and on to Tisch School for the Arts. Tara's rehearsal was a 'tech' run-through, which is slow and after watching for awhile, it was time to move on. Back up to Times Square and TKTS. Valentine's Day has brought many theatre-goers to the city and the lines were long. I waited patiently in the cancelation line to see Will Ferrell's play about George Bush; I was surprised to see so many other hopefuls, but to no avail. I walked to Carnegie Hall and imagined Maya making her debut, wandered back to the Sherry Netherland to recharge and then realized I had hardly enough time to march back down to 8th Street to meet Tara during her two hour break.

Walking New York streets is entertaining. People-watching, listening to the many different languages spoken, looking at the beautiful shops and stopping at cafes and diners and pastry shops, looking up at the architecture; never a dull moment. There is no need to visit a museum, the museum is in the streets; vital, moving, alive.

I needed a day to adjust to the rhythm of the city. There is so much going on here, so much activity, everything catches my eye and intrigues me. I imagine that the people who live in the city become accustommed to being overstimulated and start to pay less attention, and are better able to focus and function.

I did get to a play this evening. Tara has been encouraging me to see 'August;Osage County'. I have been avoiding it until today, knowing how painful it is to watch a dysfunctional family operate for over three hours. It won several Tony awards including best play of 2008. It was well worth seeing, excellently acted, powerfully written. I am exhasuted.

It is remarkable to feel so safe in such a big thriving city. I feel I can walk anywhere; the streets are full, the restaurants and bars and shops are open late. I am sure that life can be mundane and repetitive here as it can be in any other city, but I don't see it. I see people celebrating life.