NYC and me

I flew out to NYC at 8 am this morning and am having a marvelous time. The urban culture is fascinating and colorful. So although the temp hovered around 25 degrees today, I was grateful to be out walking, walking, and walking some more. :)

I saw Ground Zero and walked through St. Paul's cathedral...the church that stood standing with not a window shattered when 9/11 exploded on the streets of Manhattan.

It was beautiful and poignant inside with a moving tribute to all the heroes that served the volunteers and those who were hurting emotionally and physically in the 9 months following the accident. There were chiropractors and massage therapists, cooks and counselors, thousands upon thousands who held hands and wrapped up sore feet and offered an ear to the devastated.

When you walk in, it is quiet with candles burning, and you feel a hush as people talk in low tones. It's a sacred place, and visitor after visitor lines up next to a long roll of paper to move a crayon over the sheet, leaving their condolences or blessings on our country and its heroes. Since this was my first visit to Ground Zero (and NY City in general), I felt tears welling up and an incredible sadness as I looked at so many pictures of people who were "missing" after the twin towers were struck--so many of them looked radiant and vivacious, never knowing that an event soon to come would end their lives and change the landscape of our country forever.

I imagined loved ones combing the soot-lined streets after the bombing, begging passerbys to look at their photos, to hope perchance that the missing were just that--missing but safe. Oh, the relief that came when some were found, and the tremendous anger and grief when some were permanently gone from this earth.

It is good to remember, to be grateful for life and the sunshine and your family and your livelihood. To thank God that he is still gracious and kind even when very, very bad things happen.

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The plane ride

I met two new friends today. One of them named Tim sat next to me on the airplane. Tim runs a brewery in Kalamazoo, and he's actually attending the "Extreme Beer" festival here in NYC this weekend. His brewery's chocolate dessert beer will be featured at the end of a long beer-filled meal. :)

He told me the ins and outs of NY, taught me how to navigate the subway, and gave me a plan for visiting the sites I'm interested in. Middle-aged but young at heart, Tim kept whetting my appetite for Little Italy, insisting that I must visit a particular restaurant there. (This was his second choice for my dining pleasure, since he found out I don't really eat barbeque.) Hey, what would you expect from a brewery owner?

Tim, if you ever find my blog, thanks for showing me the ropes before we landed in NY!

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Whole Foods Forever

If you've never visited whole foods, you haven't lived. Everything is natural, and living, and delicious, and I ate a scrumptious vegetarian feast, filling my body with delicious bites of eggplant, and chickpeas, and all sorts of salads that Whole Foods prepares. You can eat Moroccan, or vegetarian, or organic salads, or macaroni and cheese, or beef...you can eat anything at whole foods, except artificial ingredients.

I sat at a high table, and a lawyer took the seat across from me. He was friendly and kind, and he asked me what I do, and was only mildly turned off when I said I work to market Christian books!

He munched on his sushi while standing up, speaking with a strange Chicago/NY accent that he acquired from living in both places, of course. I had to listen intensely to follow him. And as I raved about the beauty and goodness of Whole Foods, he shrugged his shoulders. It's OK, he said. But since he can eat at Whole Foods 365 days a year, it's not really special to him anymore. How very sad, I said.

I can't imagine having so many delicious natural food choices and ever getting bored. But I guess that shows I live in the midwest, where they don't yet believe in Whole Foods in my town. But someday, someday... (written very wistfully)

Enough about my healthy food fetish...

More on NY tomorrow. Enjoy the pics. And, as always, feel free to post to say hello.