The Best of Both Worlds

Ok so I've neglected the blog. Who starts a blog and then abandons it? I do. Eff it- everyone does eventually. Sorry-- I never said I'd be good at keeping up with this. And to be quite honest I haven't been in the "writing" mood. *Shrug*

BUT! I found something that I wrote more than 5 years ago... about this beautiful city we live in. Thought I'd share...

Best of Both Worlds 

As I stand here on this rooftop looking down on the city street I can’t help but notice that Central Park West creates a border between two distinct worlds; one of the gray concrete reality and the other the green dream of escape. I look down at the divider, the busy street, and blur my vision to create a kaleidoscope of colors - silver, red, green, and blue all in the sea of slate gray, tar black and the ever so present taxi cab yellow. On this side of the boundary the common sights and sounds of the Upper West Side in the summer grab my attention. The familiar tunes of Eddie Santiago ring from a car on 109th street, as women dance in the street, and kids scuttle by with towels and bathing suits in hand running to the pool located in the great green escape. Beyond the division is a picturesque view of the park. The many different shades of green that represent the trees, the grass, and the shrubbery blend together to form a lake of greenery that makes you want to jump in to leave the blistering heat of this bustling city. Escape. In the midst of the green there are pin points of red pansies, yellow lilies, pink tulips and purple forget-me-nots, and forget you I will not oh beautiful Central Park. It’s a wonder how these two worlds live so harmoniously together, a harmony you may only find in this city of all cities, New York City.
    As I make my way off the rooftop, into the building, the stories of the lower middle class families of this tenement building pique my interest. In every Apartment complex in the Upper West Side you find five stereotypical families- the break up to make up fighting white couple, The single black mother working two jobs to make ends meet, the typical Latino family who runs the “bodega” on the corner, the real quiet Asian family that owns either a Chinese restaurant or a fish market down the block, and then there’s every other family who doesn’t quite fit the above mentioned four. As I walk down the stairs I hear a door slam. A man is standing outside in his boxers and a tank top as the door opens, a truckload of clothing and shoes are thrown out and the door slams yet again. The “break up to make up” couple has broken up, again. On the fourth floor “Big Momma” (as everyone on the block refers to her) is rounding the stair case coming home from her second job, eyes weary from a night without any sleep. Her rugrats are on the third floor playing with the Puerto Rican kids. “Tag you’re it!” “Ah MAN!!!” “Close your eyes and count to ten!” “Ok, fine! One, two... Ten! Ready or not here I come!” “Hey! You cheated!” The youngest goes and tells mami. Two minutes later a head full of pink, green and black rollers pokes out of apartment 3D and a woman with a heavy Spanish accent yells to play nice. In the lobby two young Asian girls are waiting for the elevator, books in hand. A short woman with slits for eyes and jet black hair cut shoulder length is quietly scolding them in a foreign language.
    Once outside the dark clouds gather, a summer rain is about to wash the city. I stay in the lobby as the quick 15 minute shower pounds the dirt off the sidewalks. The children are still outside while it is raining. There is nothing better than playing in the rain (although the beating that may directly follow isn’t appealing). Little five year olds jump in and out of puddles and open their mouths to the sky as if the rain drops were really gum drops. Soon the sun breaks through the clouds and a rainbow appears. ROYGBIV smiles down over Central Park, inviting you to cross the dividend between the two worlds and escape.
    You must always be extra cautious crossing a New York City Street. In this city, one in ten drivers actually knows how to drive. The rest ignore traffic signals and violate most traffic regulations. They speed up on yellow, drive faster than the city speed limit, run red lights, do not yield for pedestrians, start driving before the light turns green, and it doesn’t take much to get a New York driver angry.  Be prepared to dodge cars that are driving faster than a speeding bullet, combat feisty yellow taxi cab drivers, narrowly miss your death by a  millisecond and possibly come in contact with other nasty New Yorkers, some (if you get in their way) might just flick you the finger. Being the cautious pedestrian that I am, I jay walk across the street thirty seconds before the light will change to green and daringly weave through traffic, horns blaring , curses thrown at me in English and Spanish and other languages that cannot be named. Once on the other side I look back and smile. I can see the fiery red sun of the summer day beginning to set. I have survived yet another day in the city.
    Night is beginning to fall and I head to the park. The rain and the heat bring out the smell of fresh cut grass and the beautiful smell of flowers in the gardens that dot the park grounds. I love to come and lay by the forget-me-nots, especially after the rain, the droplets on the petals creating little rainbows of their own. It is a thing of beauty this green world across the threshold of black tar and gray concrete, tall buildings and dirty sidewalks. The sky has darkened and the man on the moon is frowning down at me. I stick my tongue out at him. He’s just jealous, wishing he could lie in the grass and admire the beauty of the stars in the sky, the black night sky meeting the dark green head of the trees standing watch at the edge of the field.
    I look to the left and see endless acres of park, nature recreated in the heart of the city; I look to my right and watch as the lights in the tenement building go off one by one. The families of the Upper West are off to sleep, in preparation for tomorrow, another hot summer day. Big Momma is on her way to her night job while her kids sleep soundly and the “bodega" on the corner is closing for the night. A woman’s laugh breaks my trance and I look to the left again. The break up to make up couple is walking in a tender embrace, looks like their making up, again. I head to the A train stop on 110th Street. Back to Brooklyn I go. Good night green world, good night gray world, time for me to go back to my home and sleep.




The End.... Hope you enjoyed it. :-)

So just to give a quick update on my life-- I've hated the world for the past two weeks... and I know why... and it's actually a bunch of things. And I'm not going to share right now but know that if you see me a little withdrawn it's cause I've been in deep reflection lately. Everything on the surface and from the outside seems like it's all falling into place but I feel like I need to do some drastic changes on the inside. Everyone goes through it. My turn... time to commit to change. And change is something that can only occur from the deepest part of you. But that's for another post...


5 Things I'm Thankful for : 

1. My Mom-- she's always reminding me that even at your lowest there's a high
2. Literature-- anything to be lost in besides my own thoughts and not connected to a power outlet
3. The Sunrise-- a reminder that every day is a new day
4. The Future-- something to always look forward to
5. Shoe shopping with my biff Anne-- I'm a woman- this is self explanatory