8000 Many dear friends are suffering from Isolation
Total Lock Down goes into force Sunday
*
Late Night Walk
Daffodils bloom in the Silence After Midnight
5 p.m. My friend J.A.F. Loving the neighborhood street trees City Trees by Edna St. Vincent Millay
The trees along this city street, Save for the traffic and the trains, Would make a sound as thin and sweet As trees in country lanes. And people standing in their shade Out of a shower, undoubtedly Would hear such music as is made Upon a country tree. Oh, little leaves that are so dumb Against the shrieking city air, I watch you when the wind has come, I know what sound is there. ~*~ 7 p.m. East 23rd Street at First Avenue "It is in the shelter of each other that the people live" Irish Proverb (4 minutes)
SUNDAY Little Teddy Sending Bear Hugs-thinking Kind Thoughts. There's comfort in compassion when big tragedies arrive.
~*~ TUESDAY Tripped off to the High line for Stargazing The night was cool and bright. Thanks to the NY Astronomers club
volunteers sharing their telescopes, I saw Saturn as a tiny white oval
with a single ring. Wandered among stargazers lounging on beach chairs along paths where summer plants are coming into bloom:
Echinacea
Forgot the name
Astilbe
Life size sculpture called "Sleepwalker". Various people posed with him for selfies. To me it looked like violation, and I had an interesting conversation with two older men also waiting in line. They agreed, and we talked a bit about how nakedness make us uncomfortable, nervous. We three identified with the vulnerability. Read what the sculptor says: (link at the end)
A cool-Jazz trio serenaded at one end, and a disco DJ at
the other where a film was in process with mostly men dancing. Emerging near Christopher street I headed back North along 10th Avenue where many stores are closed or closing.
Then a brief sweet encounter with a beautiful drag queen on her way to an
event, her costume of cleverly draped stiff cellophane was worn over
shorts and top, and she was quite happy to pose. I didn't ask her name and she didn't offer it. (Anonymous)
~*~
WEDNESDAY
After a Zazen at the Zendo, I headed West on 23rd Street.
Walking leisurely until the sun set, then
caught the bus back East to home.
~*~
THURSDAY Mask at the Opera Thrift
The hand of a metal plated Buddha on display
A homeless man napping on 21st Street ~*~
FRIDAY Unwell, but bumbled through the day doing chores, getting my notice to the post office to hold mail while I'm away for a week in Massachusetts (Clover and Ialanthus in neglected street tub) Cooked and froze all foods that might spoil. (Potato, cumin and coriander in broth)
Did some hand laundry and pre-soaked sheets and towels. Now ready for a trip to the laundromat.
On the advice of a trusted wise-friend, I tuned in to this Omega session
with a favorite teacher, Pema Chodron and found it most helpful.
A last surviving original tree on East 21st Street glows in the street light
A Favorite Holiday Card of Yesteryear
Trims around the Apartment
Who was this from?
Madame Collette Angel
A Jim Bird with an Emily Bauble
That Tin Heart
Friday More Cards for this Year
Glitter Reindeer & Two Cardinal greetings
Wolf Friends
A package of home-made treats from my Massachusetts friends: Zucchini bread, three kinds of Cookies, Quince Jam and 'bread & butter' pickles Saturday Washington Square Scenes Looking South to the 'Freedom' Tower "Dedicated to General Giuseppe Garibaldi,
the 19th century Italian patriot. He crusaded for a unified Italy during
the European era of state building."
Roses still Blooming despite the Chill air
Caroling at Judson Church With the West Village Chorale and my friend Michael
Hot Chocolate, Snacks and more singing Inside around the piano
Sunday
So many expensive 'Urgent Care' centers opening around town while the hospitals turn into high end condominiums, or consolidate--one taking over another as homelessness increases at an alarming rate. Too much sadness, displacement and despair. Monday The Turning
It has begun, begun in the dark.Darkness that deepens till dawn.Dawn loosening light that wakes.Wakes within the sleeping world.Worlds, all seamless as dreams, dreaming wave on wave of light, light fading then back into night.
then on to the Eternal Light Flagstaff at Madison Square Park
Dedicated on Armistice Day 1923 commemorating the return of soldiers and sailors from World War I. Commissioned by Rodman Wanamaker at a cost of $25,000, it was designed by Thomas Hastings. Made of Milford pink granite, it's inscribed with the names of significant battles. The ornamental iron cap of garlands and rams heads was sculpted by Paul Wayland Bartlett
19 No photographs, just resting, writing and being
20 Sheltering inside the Amalgamated Bank (23rd Street at 3rd Avenue)
A short while later
Found on the street
Still warm No breath
No marks
Such beauty Farewell Not the end Return to Innocence
