Shoulder Rubbing

What makes the Big City Experience so special is, not the overall, and sometimes overwhelming, noisy picture, but instead, the hundreds of tiny little personal moments between strangers that make up the days. These are the brush strokes that build up on the canvas to complete the portrait; the fingertip brushes and smiles from the eyes that leave their mark and find you walking away from coffee stands and newspaper sellers with a giggle and a grin.

Having recently returned from a trip to NYC I have been pondering just what this lovely, ugly city is to me.

New York is the rats on the Subway, papaya and hotdogs with Saurkraut and mustard from Gray's, ice cold and extremely sweet lemon Snapple, persistant palm readers at Columbus Circle, Lennon fans jamming at Strawberry Fields, twirling House loving rollerbladers and sweaty joggers in Central Park, an endless stream of buggies at the Children's Zoo, friendly NYPDers telling me I look lost (I wasn't - just spoilt for choice on where to go and what to do in this urban paradise), the female officer who wanted to come shopping with me(!), surprise Chinese massages at a Greenwich Village street fair, breathtaking window displays at Bergdof Goodman, Patience and Fortitude, the fabulous French woman who gives the free tours at the Public Library (her accent is still just as strong after 45 years in the city and her voice a little too loud for libraries...), electric pencil sharpeners cutting through the silence of the reading room, elderly couples sunbathing in Bryant Park, annoyingly attractive cyclers, oh so beautful farmboys selling pumpkins at the Union Square Greenmarkets, iced lattes in the sun, the smell of honey roasted nuts at street corners, yummy frosted cupcakes, strong coffee, stacks of bacon and banana pancakes, 'please help me' signs, decadent Grand Central Station and www.bootothemta.com, yummy mummies posing on 5th Ave, Hell's Kitchen for a sneaky Thai lunch at Room Service and their YUMMY Thai Iced Tea, Greek feasts in Astoria, hunting for Brooklyn tattoo parlours, falling in love with Meg Ryan and Fall whilst watching You've Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally, Vanilla and Cinnamon & Orange at Bigelows, 18 miles of books at the Strand, squinting your eyes against the Times Square glare, Tiki bars with blow fish and Floridians, dancing in the rain, black squirrels at City Hall, palm trees in the snow, picking up gorgeous furniture in the street, bizarrely pretty fire engines (are they safe?!) and their even more beautiful inhabitants, Candy Corn, Candy Corn, Candy Corn, Vintage, Vintage, Vintage (Thrift, Thrift, Thrift), Yoko Ono's Wish Tree at MOMA, the new versus the old at Seaport and St. Paul's pumpkin ale...

New York is whatever you want it to be; an endless adventure of discovery and NEVER being bored.