Although in America, winter officially starts on December 21st, the feeling of winter often begins in October, when the skies become darker and the wind becomes wild.
Looking from the River
Taken while standing on a freezing, windy curb of the West Side Highway suspended over the Hudson River. These bright skyscrapers comprise a new residential and business neighborhood in Manhattan called Hudson Yards. New home to Google, META, Warner Brothers, and the Whitney Museum of Art, there one feels the irony of so much power concentrated in a little island of Manhattan, bedrock formed at least 450 million years ago.
OPEN
An old-fashioned laundromat on the East Side. It's cozy and busy. An intrepid little Christmas tree stands in a cheerful wash of light, welcoming folks who work during the day and must tend to their personal lives, which of course includes laundry, at night.
Friendly Pizza
One afternoon, while rushing to a play through the Theater District, I just had to stop when this friendly slice of pizza flagged me down!
ICE RESCUE STATION
For tourists who may not realize they are walking over a frozen lake to cross the park, these Ice Rescue Stations are strategically placed and used by Police and Fire Departments if someone falls through. The water is shallow, so there have been no recent fatalities. Unfortunately, several animals, including dogs, have been lost to the icy lake during some NY winters.
Snow Deer
An example of how a statue can capture nature. I imagine the concrete encasings softening at night, allowing for fun frolicking among the trees and park paths until dawn.
Neapolitan Angels
Since 1957, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has displayed its collection of eighteenth-century Neapolitan angels on the boughs of its 20-foot spruce Christmas tree. My sister and I know the family that originally owned and donated these angels. Made from terra cotta, wood, wire, and fabric, the figures give you a glimpse of what it actually must have been like for the people and angels rushing to the scene of the the birth of Jesus.
Black Santa
I hope it's changed, but when I was growing up in New York, I never saw Black Santas, Black Barbies, or a Black Jesus. This excellent Muhammad Ali quote comes to mind, "Everything was white — Santa Claus was white — and everything bad was black; the little ugly duckling was a black duck, and the black cat was bad luck."
Frozen Night Lake
Home of the NYC Marathon, Central Park sees New Yorkers lacing up at all hours of the night and day. This is lucky for me, because I always feel safe walking through the park in all seasons on my way home from work. New York is filled with so many places where one can stand by the water and observe the changing light of day.
