Woman in Heels with Instrument

 

What sort of life do you think this woman has? She's dressed to the nines in her 5" heels and is walking the streets of New York with her base violin (?) slung over her shoulder. I just had to take this shot even though my husband was fussing at me to get into the cab he had just flagged on a busy Saturday night in Midtown.

911 Tiles Memorial

 

If you take a wrong turn in NYC, you often run into something interesting which makes the extra walking worth the effort.

I came upon the 911 Tile Memorial yesterday in Greenwich Village as I was headed in the wrong direction. It is simply a chain link fence with thousands of small individually decorated tiles attached. Apparently the original ones made shortly after 911 were stolen, but thousands were sent from all over the country to replace them.

Last year each one of tiles was hastily, but carefully, removed to preserve them from Hurricane Irene.

Raw Emotion on the Streets

Yesterday after church, my husband and I were walking along Lexington Avenue looking for Best Buy when I glanced to my left and saw a man in a wheel chair. The guy was alone. Both his legs were gone from the knee down. And he was crying.

I could tell he was trying to not be seen and also trying to stop crying. He wiped at his red face to stop the tears, but I had caught this man in the very moment of his grief whatever it was. I was very sad for this man.

When we were headed back we ran into him again. This time his wheel chair was placed at an angle toward the walking crowd. He was in front of the Home Depot and talking to people who were ignoring him. It was noisy, and he really couldn't be heard, but people assumed he was begging.

As we approached, my husband realized he was wanting someone to open the door for him. That was all. We did, of course, and I said to him "God bless."

I have learned to keep $1 bills handy as I walk through Manhattan. I frequently come upon musicians on the street or in the subway with instrument case open for donations. I would have given this man something, but he wasn't begging. He was crying. What could I give him, but "God bless?"

Don't Miss Your Stop

 

The other day I accidentally stayed on the subway so long that it actually came out from underground. My usual train home was out of service so I had to use a different one that dropped me off further north but still fairly close to my Queens apartment. 

I must not have been paying attention when we arrived at my stop. When the light of day started coming through the windows and the buildings displayed more and more graffiti, I knew I was out too far. This is what it looked like when I got off to turn around.

The 911 Memorial

 

A visit to the 911 Memorial was just what I thought it would be. I'd seen pictures of the fountains, and being close to them was not that different. You have to have a ticket to enter which I was able to order online the day before. I had to be there at 11 a.m. and I was right on time, but I think I could have been as much as a half hour early or late judging by the way the crowd was moving.

There are lots of cops inside and surrounding the construction site. You have to show your ticket about five times to finally get inside and go through security, removing your belt, emptying your pockets and so forth.

I'm sure this will be an amazing place once it's complete, but personally it's just too close to the event to appreciate anything positive or uplifting.

 

This sculpture located in the southeast corner of Central Park was created by Michael Sailstorfer. It is inner tubing knotted around a steel beam and is called "Tornado." It stands 30 feet high and really grabs your attention despite all that's going on in that part of New York.

Like most public art, I appreciate it much more if I know something about the artist and his/her motives. You can read about Tornado and the artist himself at this website: http://www.publicartfund.org/michaelsailstorfer/about/. The website itself is pretty cool.

The Beauty of Window Shopping

 

I snapped this shot through a shop window on Park Avenue. Sometimes the window dressings are as beautiful as any painting you will see in the museum.