Post Script.

 

 

This is the PS to the previous blog.  Dig this taxi!   It is located in the surrounds of Grant's Tomb (UWS - RSD @ 122nd St.).  It is my favorite mosaic expression there - maybe because it is simply hilarious!  One can 'sit' in (actually behind) the taxi & wave to the crowd.  How absurd & delightful!  Take a picture.  Be fearless & fareless!. 

While you are cruising the tomb, check out the rest of the City Art creations.   I have sent countless pics to family & friends, everywhere.   I sent pics of the guitars to my brother out west who is mild-mannered doc by day & audio engineer by night (built a complete recording  studio in their geodesic dome - talk about under 'the dome').
 

Flowers & peace sign shots went to my friend, the presbyterian minister who has now seen the entire series of benches for herself & taken her own pictures.   The chess board & kingdom photo went to my son with whom, while in elementary & middle school, I played chess almost every night.   Looking at the scenic kingdom & separate chess table remind me of the 'Dimples Phenomenon', but that's another story.   The robots went to my nephew out west who has a fascination for them & has created his own.   The black kitty went to my daughter who has a cat with the same 'look'.  How did they know?  

Yet still, my favorite is the yellow cab.   Hey Taxi!



Hey Taxi!

 

 

I love taxis.  Anywhere, everywhere.  Conveyance of convenience.  More than just the car, which has several options & is improving (?) all the time, it is the drivers with whom I have a cerebral love affair.  I do! 

 

You want to get the vibes of the city?  Ask Taxi-man.  You want to know what is happening at the opposite end of the city?  Ask Taxi-man.   Which route is better-to-best?  Don't tell the man (or woman - I have met one so far!) his job.   Everytime I thought I knew better I ended up with my shoe in my mouth.  Ook, city shoe in my mouth.   They will sometimes ask you which route you prefer, absolutely.  But more often than not, just sit back & let the man drive, would you, please?   UNLESS... you want a truly great philosophical discussion.   Then speak up.   Now it doesn't happen with every ride but it does happen.  Pay attention.   

 

Dulles to DC.  I made my way to the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars for seminars, a couple of times.  In & out the same day, returning to DTW, at that time.   I loved those early morning flights.  Easy.   Grabbing a taxi one of those mornings, I was most fortunate to have a driver who seemed to be engaged with life, his 'transportee' (me) & his city.  He loved DC.  He was working crazy hours to support & to educate his family.  Indian fellow, New Delhi.   He believed America was still the land of 'golden' opportunity for his family AND he knew, or he was convinced, that with a solid work ethic he could bring anything to pass, to fruition.  Three kids, two in college already, one more to go.  He was well-spoken, seemed to be well-educated; yet as with many immigrants whose degrees do not always translate well or proportionately in a new country, he was determined to create & to finance a whole new venture.  Failure was not an option.   You gotta like & respect a guy like this!   We chatted ninety miles an hour, all the way in to town & 1300 Penn Ave.  

 

In New York I have had the same fascinating conversations with many taxi drivers.  Let me tell you: many.  With some I know to 'zip the lip' & not ask questions.  Leave it alone (whatever 'it' is).  However,  it is my nature to ask questions of people. 

 

Einstein: Curiosity has its own reason for existence.

 

Exactly so.  Part of it is from interviewing people on TV for years.  Part of it is because I know there is, many times, a wonderful story just waiting to be told.  Or philosophies to be shared & discussed.  There may be a 'buddha' waiting to inspire me.  Certainly there is always something to learn.  So many times the driver & I have shaken hands at my destination & we have thanked each other for a wonderful few minutes of humanity & humility.   Who could ask for more?   

 

So I say, never assume.  Never.  Be open to the people on the paths you cross.   Listen to them & quite possibly, learn from them.   Just yesterday I hit the jackpot!   Both taxi drivers to & from a location were engaged with life & engaging.  Their 'greys & whites' were alive & sparkling, their synapses were firing & capturing beautifully.   The topics flew:  religion (see, you can talk about it with some people), education, the after-life, the now-life, teaching kids the golden values by example, these were the subjects covered in two taxis in the midst of a heat wave (yes, I suppose we must have covered the weather too, briefly.  Actually I may have mentioned SNOW!).  

 

We covered it all & I feel wiser for it.   Thank you, guys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cafe Lalo

 

So, Saturday was a busy day.  A good friend in the design world was in town from CT.  We hit the Punk Couture exhibit at the Met Museum - I am a member & hit the joint regularly.

This is an exhibit to be relished; it is truly fascinating.  My advice to anyone planning to see this exhibit is to go online, www.metmuseum.org  to read about what you will see;   this will be time well-spent.   Of course, while you are there, take in a gallery or two & the gift shops - they are a wealth of information unto themselves.   I love that place. 

 

Now, this green fellow above has a lot in common with the designers featured at the Met Museum.  He designs his own home, his own 'couture' wear & offers beauty & pleasure to anyone catching him at work.   His green outfit for the day was a perfect match to his environment.  Besides he is organic!  His head was a shocking, glisteny orange.  Man, this guy knows how to dress!   He was in the wisteria vine along the fence in front of Cafe Lalo.  I am always studying things as I walk & love, particularly, the curling tendrils of this vine.  As I was walking & looking, here was the roly-poly guy doing his thing.  He was a fashionplate! 

 

Speaking of plates...

 

Cafe Lalo is a delightful place.  It looks, from the outside, exactly as it looked in the film, "You've Got Mail" with Ryan & Hanks.  Inside as well, with a little reconfiguration of seating.   Delectable food, pink lemonades, gorgeous desserts.  So fun for visitors & city dwellers alike.   The white fairy lights in the trees add the perfect touch.  I think green-guy agrees. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Morningside Park

 

This is my favorite park in the city.   I know, with all the grandeur of Central Park it seems as if I am missing the boat yet this park is a true gem.  This picture looks as if you could walk right up those steps, yes?   When I first moved to the UWS I came upon this park - just east of Columbia University & St. Luke's - in my neighborhood travels.  Did you know there are more than 1100 steps?   I created a map & catalogued them.  Indeed.  I was curious.   This is the land of the original 'stair-stepper'.  Ha! 

 

              

 The Ghost

 

Usually on my way back to my apartment I cut through the grounds of St. John the Divine - 111th & Amsterdam.  The church itself is reputedly the largest church structure in the US; look it up.    The land around it is beautiful.  The interesting thing is, there is an albino peacock living in the greens, along with his two normally-pigmented buddies.  They live there, summer, winter, year round.  I came upon the white bird once, a year ago, the only time I did not have my cell (& hence camera) with me.   When I told a few people about the phenomenon I had witnessed, their expressions conveyed, 'uh huh, sure you did'.  The search (with the cell) was on; I was going to find 'The Ghost', no matter what!  Over this past year I had looked again & again, to no avail.  Hmmm...  Was I losing it?   Don't answer that. 

 

Two weeks ago there I was, as usual, cutting through the grounds, on my way home from Morningside Park.  I was on the path which, as a rule, has minimal foot traffic.  As I was intently studying the yard to my right (the quieter of the two fenced areas) I heard a rustle just ahead.  Ta Da!  The Ghost.  See? 

 

 

 

I was not hallucinating at all.  Phew!  I was beginning to wonder...