it’s springtime! almost. spring officially starts on march 20th, but mother nature was kind enough to give us a preview today with temps up to 70 degrees! and with warmth like that, what new yorker can pass up an opportunity to spend some extended time outside?
i planned ahead and wore my sneaks to work. i also brought sweat pants to change into so that i’d be comfortable on my walk. the goal: walk from work in midtown east all the way home to bk. google maps said it would be a little over 8 miles.
the result: i made it to brooklyn, but not quite to my neighborhood. it took 1 hour and 59 minutes and i’m guessing it was about 5 miles. i wasn’t walking fast at all and i stopped a few times to take in the sights.
i was reminded of how massive a metropolis new york city is. so many businesses, so many people, so much food, so much going on. and it’s all nonstop. you kind of lose sight of its scale when you live in your own little bubble, rushing to get here and then there every day.
here’s a summary of what i observed on my walk:
1 million white women. lawd there’s a lot of white girls in manhattan. new york city’s diversity is anchored in the boroughs and just a few manhattan neighborhoods (btw, harlem is in manhattan). i already knew this, but it became abundantly clear as i walked down 3rd avenue. there were some dots of color here and there, (before china town where, of course, the whole complexion changed) but it’s sort of like sand on the beach…
1 bike crash. that poor guy went down hard. and he was UPset. i think he had the right of way and a pedestrian walked in his path. i’m usually on the side of walkers, but the guy who caused this accident was a jerk. it was obvious that something was off about him by the way he laughed and walked away.
1 person i knew. added a few minutes to my time, but it was a nice surprise.
1 amalgamated bank. that’s a horrible name for a bank. it sounds like they would eat your money.
1 celebrity. celebrity? yeah, i think he still fits the bill. mere minutes after saying to myself that i never really see anybody famous and wondering if i would, i looked to the right and saw damon dash getting out of a car. i did a double take and for a brief second wondered if i should go all tmz on him. then i came to my good new york senses.
2 haddad’s trucks. these are the trailers they use for movies. i get a little hype when i see the haddad’s logo. not because they are filming a movie or tv show and hollywood stars are lurking, but because of the 412! shout out to the burgh.
1 movie crew person. it must have been a small production.
15 restaurants or nail shops that i had previously patronized. i’m not sure if 15 is the exact number, (i didn’t start counting until 31st street) but i passed a lot of places that i had been to before.
5 thousand people drinking with friends after work. i never think about going out for drinks until i see everybody else going out for drinks.
1 thousand people eating and drinking outside.
30 new york police academy… cadets? not sure exactly what they’re called. they had little sailor looking hats on and each one was carrying a police academy duffle bag.
1 person that looked exactly like someone else i know. after walking a few blocks either in front or in back of her because we were going at a similar pace, i noticed she sounded like her too. same voice, same laugh. i was thiiis close to yelling out “hey___!” so glad i didn’t.
10 bikers breaking the law by riding along the pedestrian walkway of the manhattan bridge.
20 apartments with lights on so i could see inside as i walked across the bridge. the apartments in china town looked small and cluttered. on the other side of the bridge the dumbo apartments were new and littered with macs and flat screen televisions. there weren’t too many people home at that time, but most of the people who were home were fixing or eating dinner.
1 person talking to herself out loud and singing a medley of whitney houston songs. that person would be me. at some point i just started making my internal thoughts external. i probably sounded and looked like a tourist as i crossed the bridge.
by the time i crossed the bridge and got to bk i was a little bit over my adventure. i realized that getting to brooklyn was one thing. getting to my neighborhood was another. i wasn’t really tired, but it was getting late and i was hungry. maybe i’ll make the whole journey another day.
i encourage everyone to explore their city. you don’t have to walk 5 miles, but take some time to see where you live from another perspective. if you’re not up to the walk it could be taking the bus instead of driving or vice versa. don’t get wrapped up in your own thoughts. pay attention to the people and things around you. i think you will find it to be a refreshing break from the norm.
i can’t say “break from the norm” without thinking of this song. people were definitely out as if it were summertime.