New York City has iconic buildings. Movies and television shows are set there. It’s a magnet for business and the arts and everything in between. Who wouldn’t want to live there?
I had been to the city a few times. I had ridden the subway, wandered through FAO Schwartz, and even watched from along the route of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. So, I was comfortable with New York or at least felt confident I would be sooner rather than later.
I waved good-bye to my brother as he drove back to Philadelphia. I was in my new home, in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Yes, it was actually a dormitory, and it was for graduate school, but I was living there. It was my new place.
The weather that first Sunday in September was storybook perfect. Blue skies, light breezes, and deep greens. I wanted to be in Central Park. I packed some reading material, found the subway stop and hopped the ‘B’ train. As the train rumbled along, my stomach churned with anticipation. Each subway stop was destination to be studied and stored in my memory. The reading material would have to wait.
Finally, Central Park.
To read more about my visit to Central Park and adjustment to living in New York, please visit, You Are Here Stories
Great piece. So tragic about that woman. Certainly shatters the comforting notion of wandering through the city’s great park.
Thanks Carrie.
It really did freak me out. While NYC is relatively safe for a big city, it still can be dangerous and requires one to be aware.
Now I’m curious– how and when did you start making connections in such a big city? I’m so tied to Kalamazoo that I don’t know how to start fresh like that!
(And this was a great post, by the way!)
Glad you liked the post.
I got some connections through the school and some through the synagogue I joined.
Very nicely done, lots of color in this. Terrible about the woman, but so…big city like.
Thanks. Yes, unfortunately it’s not that uncommon of a story.