Recently on the way to work, I was (for some reason that escapes me now) led to turn around and look at the light as it hit the buildings behind me.
One benefit of New York (as much as I long to leave it at times) is that it forces you to walk quite a bit, which I think helps hone your powers of observation; a few years ago, when I was commuting to Westchester County in my car every day for six months or so, I quickly became 'addicted to NPR' (even though I hated much of it) and lost all sense of my surroundings beyond the traffic in my immediate vicinity.
I do kind of regret not having a blog back then, though; my office had an incredible view of the Hudson, which I never took the opportunity to photograph. It now seems as if this period of my life may or may not have happened, since I did such a poor job documenting it.
Last I heard, that building that housed my office at the time was being transformed into 'condos,' but I haven't been back (it was in the town of Dobbs Ferry) in several years, so I wouldn't know. (Although it's true that I regularly fantasize about moving there, ideally into a small but ancient stone house dating to the late 1800s with a garden and river views; oh and a chlorine-free pool!)
This morning I was struck by glowing tree branches through the archway of our apartment building.
This era of my life, it's safe to say, has been very well documented.
It makes me wonder whether it will have more value to me in five or ten years if I have the chance to reflect back on it.
Or if I will still be too busy blogging and photographing the present to take the time?
Will I still be walking down 35th Street every morning, looking at the old buildings?
As long as I have a view of the midtown rooftops, I think I could be satisfied.
Late this afternoon, the sky around the Empire State Building turned a strange shade of pink; the office sent around an announcement that tomorrow was going to be a snow day, a piece of news I digested with pleasant surprise and perhaps a trace of regret, knowing I would miss my views.
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