Since committing to move back to Seattle, my life seems to have acquired an additional rosy sheen. Any time something goes wrong, I can just shrug and think, “well, I’m leaving soon.” And any time something goes right, I soak it in and feel blessed to have had the opportunity to live in New York.
As far as things going wrong, Menno House has become a bit of a disaster zone. Last Sunday we had downpours of rain all day long (it was the most rainfall in a single day ever recorded in NYC) and some of it started gushing through the walls. When part of the wall was removed to survey the damage, it was discovered that there are areas of the brick exterior that are just stacked bricks- no cement or mortar between them. I’m hoping to move out before the place collapses entirely.
On the happy side, I had a wonderful New York morning on Saturday. On my walk to the grocery store I saw actor Vincent D’Onofrio. He has been in lots of movies, but for several years has been the star of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. When I first graduated from college I spent the summer jobless, slightly depressed, and addicted to television. One of my new favorites was LO:CI and I became slightly obsessed. When my life improved I realized it was sort of cheesy and over-the-top, but I still have a fondness for it. I saw him just around the corner from Menno House and we waited for the light together. I looked right at him to confirm he was who I thought he was. He looked back and I smiled a smug “I know who you are but I am not going to bother you” smile.
I’m on kitchen duty this week so I had to go to Union Squre to drop off the house compost. When I got there, I was confronted with the bizarre sight of hundreds of runners and bikers going up and down Park Avenue. At first I thought it was a race, but no one was wearing numbers or matching colors or anything. I found out that this is a thing that New York does in the summer: closes a street to traffic and lets pedestrians and bikers enjoy it for a few hours. So I changed into my running things and took advantage. It was surreal and delightful to run down Park Avenue, passing famous buildings and looping through Grand Central Station. Just as I was thinking the experience couldn’t get any better, I looked to my right and saw Bill Cunningham with his camera at the ready. You may not know who he is, but if you watch the documentary about him, you will fall in love and be so jealous I saw him. He didn’t snap a photo of me, but it was a thrill just to see him.
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