Today I had a client appointment in New York City. I get to go there probably 4-5 times a year and I never get tired of the diversity and the sights. I flew in on one of those puddle-jumper propeller planes, right over the city, over the East River and into LaGuardia airport. An incredible sight. It was a crystal clear day and you could see from Battery Park (near where the World Trade Center buildings were) all the way past Central Part and into Harlem. Its amazing to me that several million people live in such a small space.
The amazing part is that they, for the most part, get along just fine. I had people who held a door for me, said thank you when I bought lunch and even a cab driver who said ‘good morning’. If we can do it there, how come we can’t figure out how to do it everywhere, eh? I think its more of a politician issue than a people issue.
Anyway, I had a classic pastrami deli sandwich (I still think the best one I ever had was in the Jewish quarter in Paris). Sat in the upstairs seating area and watched the world go by before my appointment.
I saw businessmen dodging people while talking on their phones- a special talent that perhaps should be an Olympic sport. I saw tourists whose necks will hurt tonight because of the amount of time they spent looking up. I saw friends laughing, merchants selling flowers, an elderly couple holding hands as they walked and I lost count of the nationalites.
I even had some time after my appointment and went shopping at Macy’s on Herald Square - the closest thing to Harrod’s outside of London.
Now- I am safe and secure in my house, feet up, watching a movie with a cat competing for space with my laptop on my lap.
It was a good day to be alive.
Hope yours was, too!