Ever felt as though you were living in your own ‘Groundhog Day,’ living the same day over and over again? One might say this is the pattern of living within a routine. I think this may be one of the most unique things about New York because it is hard to consider anything routine in this town.
Living in New York for over 21 years, I have become conditioned by the rhythm and the pattern of this great city. Creating a logical system for getting around, my routine benefits from the city planners that organized the Grid Plan of 1811. In the past two hundred years the streets of New York have changed from muddy, rutty, horse manure trenches to brick laid paths, and now paved blacktops. Through the ages, the streets like a rushing river moves constantly, the ebb and flow of traffic, the lullaby for ‘the city that never sleeps.’
Never taking my day for granted, traffic may be the only given in a city with a population over 8 million people. I rarely pay attention to the white noise, the friction of the streets, until today. Today started like any other, my mind was set on the task at hand, my eyes following concrete sidewalk anomalies as I leave my apartment and turn onto 2nd Street, I stepped into the 1950s.
It is odd because, I wasn’t born until 1965 but I was clearly in the 50s. The street lined with cars from the past. It wasn’t the vintage cars that I recognized first, it was the fact that the cars were parked in the opposite direction of traffic. New York has a flow that is ingrained within me and seeing these cars parked backwards gave me pause. This is when I realize that I am standing in the middle of a movie set.
I would love to hear your street experiences, and if you have never experienced the streets of New York City, One Token Tours will help you change that!
No comments:
Post a Comment