When I began working in New York 3½ years ago and told my new boss how much I liked being in the city, he said to me, “It’ll get old fast.” As a New York native with fond childhood memories, I didn’t think being in the city could ever get old.
I was right. In fact, I fell in love with New York all over again.
I fell in love with the diverse group of fascinating people in New York, each with their own stories and reasons for being in the city. I sometimes stopped to talk to a few of them, including the Mexican man on 48th Street and 6th Avenue holding a sign advertising a nearby Irish bar, and the African man wearing a sandwich board for a discount clothier on 5th Avenue near 49th Street.
I became familiar with some of the people behind the counters of many of the inexpensive eateries in midtown, including the Asian-featured man with the Spanish accent who takes pride in the salads he prepares at the deli on Madison Avenue between 48-49 Streets, or the cheery group of Latinos at Margon on 46 Street between 6-7 Avenues who always seemed happy to see me when I stopped in for lunch once or twice a month.
I fell in love with the buildings and scenery of Manhattan, which makes a fascinating backdrop for the workers, residents and tourists that occupy it. I enjoyed walking around Rockefeller Center, watching the ice skaters and seeing the Christmas tree, rarely being annoyed with the crowds. I was wasn't bothered by tourists in Grand Central Terminal standing in the middle of rushing commuters in order to take pictures of the historic ceiling.
Bryant Park, a chameleon of an oasis where sun worshippers relax in the summer and ice skaters glide through the chill in the winter, was often the highlight of my walk back to the Port Authority Bus Terminal at the end of the day. Other times, it was Times Square or the theater district, both of which looked like oil paintings after a rain, that punctuated my day. If it was pouring at the end of the day, the crowded subway, with its own subculture, was a fascinating option.
I took advantage of being able to stand in the back of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral on 5th Avenue, or sit in a pew of the Church of Saint Paul the Apostle on Columbus Avenue and 59th Street, and quietly thank God for all the blessings in my life.
Working in the city enabled me to watch Mariah Carey, Katy Perry and others perform outside the Today show studios, take in a few more Broadway shows than normal, attend some midweek Mets and Rangers games, participate in a few Jets playoff rallies, and stand a few feet away from Bono and Henry Kissinger, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former mayors David Dinkins and Ed Koch, Governor David Paterson and former governor George Pataki. Actually, I’m sure I crossed paths with many celebrities – I just didn’t know who they were. I doubt, however, they were much more interesting than the countless working people who found themselves with me in the city, by choice, by birth, or both, most days.
It’s these kinds of people, and the gorgeous landscape in which they operate daily, that I will miss most when my current work situation officially ends next week. New York isn’t going anywhere, though, so I’ll look forward to returning to play, eat, sightsee or, perhaps, work…and certainly, I'll be reminded what it is about the city I love so much.
