The sky is hues of gray, some soft while others are more stark and the skyline is filled with tall rectangular buildings with small rectangle within each, from this vantage point all the buildings in the background are a shade of gray, while the buildings in the forefront are brick red with the gray of the railing of the bridge running in front. You hear the sound of hundreds of vehicles, horns honking and many sounds of the city running together so that you can't distinguish what they are. You can smell the exhause fumes from all of the traffic and the smell of trash that is on the streets, and the aroma of many different cuisines. You see people everywhere that you look, business men/women in their suits rushing off to work, moms or the nannies pushing children in their strollers headed somewhere in the city, you see people coming up from the subway tunnels scrabbling to be somewhere. Businesses are opening for the day as they slide the large metal doors up that have been protecting their businesses through the night. As you look up you see building that seem to go on forever getting lost in the sky and finally you hear it the rain begins to pelt down on the city.The smell of the city takes your breath away as you drive into the city, it happens everytime that we arrive. Everywhere around you there is the hustle and bustle of the city, the bright yellow cabs are everywhere, we are hearing people whistling and waving their hands to get the cab to stop to take them to some destination within the city. As you walk down the streets of Manhattan you are drawn into the stores to do a little more shopping, maybe to find that perfect outfit for the event that you have coming up, or you go into the one of a kind shop for that gift for your special someone. You come upon the hotdog cart on the corner and you can't walk by without having one, so you order a hotdog with mustard, relish and onion and then you and a knish with mustart. You take a bite of the hotdog and it crunches in your mouth and the taste is like something you've never had before and you keep strolling down the street, you come upon a street vendor with jewelry, hats, scarves, and art work so much to choose from. You continue your journey down the streets and you happen upon one of the many bakeries that the city has to offer and you can't pass this up so you go inside and buy a dozen different pastries because you can't make up your mind and then your off to explore the city once more. You turn a corner and there you are in Soho, so it's time for a little more shopping. When you've finished shopping you continue to explore the city and you come upon the site where Twin Towers use to stand and you see the pictures and letters that have been placed throughout the site and you can't help but feel you heart come up in your throat and the tears begin to run down your face as you read the letters from the children to their parents who perished on 9/11.
I feel like I am coming home as we cross the bridge into Manhattan. I am looking at the skyline, roll the window down and begin to take in the smell of the city, trying to distinguish between the awful smell of trash and the wonderful aroma of all the restaurants. I look up and to me know where else I have ever been looks like this city does to me, when you visit New York you are visiting the world, almost every tongue known to man resides here, it is like a country within a county, on every corner you can hear a different language spoke, sometimes you have to remind yourself that you are still in the US. On one block you are in Little Italy and then on the next you are in China town, just keep going a few blocks and you will be in Spanish Harlem. Culture, Culture everywhere. This is a city that seems to never sleep, you can always find an adventure. You are only bored if you don't take advantage of the many things to do, shows on Broadway, the many Museums and Botanical Gardens. There is no place to shop like shopping here, you can shop for days and days and then shop somemore. For all the wonderful things to explore in this city, you still have to step over trash, maybe a homeless person asleep on the sidewalk, or walk by someone that has decided that this is the corner he will use to relieve himself, or you see those infected with Aids asking for a handout either for shelter or a meal. As you are observing all this you see that the citizens of New York have become desinsitized to the site because they don't even notice anymore, they just go on with their lives like there is nothing amiss. We stop to listen to a street musician playing Amazing Grace on his saxaphone held together with rubber bands. As you stop to listen it seems the citizens of New York stop and listen with you and then we all put some change into his cup.
