left the house pretty early with one goal in mind, hadn't gone for a walk like this in awhile and I needed it. Grabbed a cup of coffee at the corner bodega, made my way down the central artery that cuts through Harlem valley. looped around the large green space in the middle, cut across millionaire's row, minks and uggs galore, pharmacies and florist shops since the 1890's.
Passed the luxury shops wondering how they can afford to stay open with no traffic going in. Light a candle for the lost souls in the church where F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald got married. Beads, threading, hats and purses. move on...
Passed what once was Tammany Hall, the sight of Luchow's and realize I'm hungry. Thought I could hold out till Veselka's for soup but got enticed by the hole in the wall selling dumplings and corn soup. Get distracted by the meat shop on Second Avenue and gaze at the sausages, blitzes and lamb chops the size of a football and have fantasies of being able to cook all of that. Russian filters in and out of my ears as I go up and down the display cases...mental note to come back but only to buy something I will realistically cook and eat.
Almost there...pass houston, delancey, grand..can see a partial view of the Manhattan bridge. Pass the cup and saucer lucheonette which looks more like one those old timey places for people on the run as I didn't see any seats, just counter space.
I made it!
then conversations of reform and orthodox, uptown and downtown, mentally making a note of what I need to change in that one chapter, unexpected company from a woman whose grandmother was a Ratner and the lady I was partnered with filling my head with 124 years of history I will have to remember at some point.
" Well you found you're right place, everyone has their own way for telling the story." It's alot to remember but think I can handle it,
As dusk sets, I get ready for the return trip cutting through another swath of my home. I survived. but the sneakers finally gave out. oh well, time for another pair.
5 comments:
What a marvelous trip! But where were you headed?
the Eldridge Street Synagogue, that candlebra above is in the main sanctuary. I signed up to be a tour docent and had to shadow somebody and decided to walk it back and forth.
I love this! I'm convinced we are the most open-minded and creative while on a walk. And a long walk can heal and inspire.
thanks Goggla! So true, I can only think clearly when I am walking, I get restless when I sit still for too long. I find my true quiet space walking the streets and absorbing everything around me.
Walking is so fantastic! And I love how when you walk through this modern city, you are also seeing what was there before, the churches of yore, and land that once was, the stores that used to exist. You remind us that we live in a city layered with memories.
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