Week 39: NYC

Week ending February 24

Tue 2/19  3 miles. More tired than I thought I would be.

Wed 2/20 The trip begins. I picked L up at school. All four of us of us at dinner (I’m getting a little nostalgic about that), and packing.

Fri 2/22 5 miles on the Norotuck Rail Trail. I got up early in Amherst, Mass, where L was auditioning at UMass. Fourteen degrees and sunny at 7 am. I ran on the rail trail a few miles toward Amherst. If I had to do that regularly, I’d own some kind of traction, for sure.

The weekend in New York City was amazing--C’s first trip, L’s audition, Big City multi-modal transportation, and even the rain. We did things I hadn’t done in 35 years, and L and C had never done. We got to experience small-town NYC at the Lexington Avenue Candy Shop, where the cooks wore ties, and all the wait staff were women who’d worked there for years. 

We saw Ground Zero and the Empire State Building, and looked at the area from both those perspectives. Ground Zero reminded me of the unity we all felt while under attack, how I put a flag on my car and waved at others who did. That unity was squandered, and the flag was again taken over by war hawks. At Ground Zero we focused on an empty space at ground level, something missing and something bigger replacing it. The Freedom Tower is visible above all, but the real building seemed to come between the people there. They handed out tissues in the museum shop.  

The Empire State Building after lunch in Koreatown showed a whole other element of New York City. From the guy who sold us tickets on the street to the top of the building, there was a touristy feel for sure, but one that brings people together. There were so many languages there, and different types of people, but everyone was very polite with space, allowing others to get the view from the edge. Maybe it was so cold we all just wanted to get back inside, but it felt like cooperation.  

Total: 8 miles in 2 runs

We walked all over this place.