Sunday, January 29, 2012

In the Center of New York City, Fifth Avenue

There is so much to say about the SCBWI conference I attended over the weekend.  But I'm still digesting, still thinking it all through.  Look for more posts throughout the week.

In the meantime, I'm about a week behind in everything, so I leave you with a visual of last weekend.  Unable to sit still (it's a problem, I'm working on it), I walked 56 blocks down the heart of Fifth Avenue, something I hadn't done in years.  

As a New Yorker, there are areas to avoid unless you must go there out of necessity.  SoHo. Times Square.  Macy's.  Rockefellar Plaza.  To name a few.  Fifth Avenue is another.  Unless you have a relative or friend in town, it can be overwhelming, lined with tourists window shopping, figure skating, waiting park-side for carriage rides, getting to elevators that will take them to the Empire State Building or the Top of the Rock.

I am so often looking to hide away, to sit in tiny restaurants tucked on named streets, to find quiet along the river or under a bridge at the northernmost tip of Central park.  In a city like New York, to survive, you must walk to the edge of things.  That's where you find running paths and quiet playgrounds.  It's where astronomical rents fall, too many blocks away from transportation, a sanctuary from the office towers stretching to the sky.

And so, sometimes, I forget what it means to be at the center.  To get lost in the rush.  To never know darkness under all those bright lights.  

Going there last weekend, being reminded of all that, was, to sound as sentimental as possible, magical.  That's the only word I can think to use.










10 comments:

  1. Can't wait to hear about the conference. And loved the pictures. NY is like DC in that you avoid certain places if at all possible. But that doesn't make them any less cool. Still, most of the time, I prefer the edge, too.

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  2. Magical is exactly the right word. No other word quite fits New York, especially at certain times of day. Though I should say I'm saying this as a tourist :)

    Sarah Allen
    (my creative writing blog)

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  3. Lucky you. How fun to go to a writing conference in New York. I liked what you had to say about going to the edges and being in the center. Very poetic.

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    1. Thanks Alice! I feel lucky I got to go to the conference. AS I said, I'll have more to say about it throughout the week :)

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  4. I've always wanted to see NY. It looks pretty amazing :)

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  5. "...the edges..." loved it! The photos show how powerful the city is, and how filled with life are the walkers! I was there in late June a few years ago; I melted on a sidewalk.

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    1. Yes, powerful and full of life. And summer is brutal in NYC! I am not surprised you melted.

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  6. Some day, I really need to get myself to a SCBWI conference! Maybe next year! Loved these pictures -- especially the bare trees kissed by snow.

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  7. I'm sooooo jealous!!! I wanted to go so bad! I might make it to the one in August in LA. We'll see . . .

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  8. I actually love all the activity on the places you named. It shows a city alive and thriving with movement and things to do.

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