Comments
« previous | next »
Rewind it back a few years. When I was about to make the move to New York City, I started looking at apartments in various neighborhoods. I hardly knew the layout of the city back then. The only thing that was certain was I was drawn to the East Village/Lower East Side. One of my earliest memories of both of these places has a lot to do with apartment hunting. I would walk around the area, list in hand, trying to find the right spot. Often this would happen in the evenings - after work. I would take the train to that “wide, colorful street” known as Houston and plot paths from there.
One evening this past week, as I was walking home through this area (specifically 1st Ave and Houston), I started thinking about my first impression of the city all those years ago. For a moment there, in that weird spot where Houston and 1st Ave and 1st St and Ave A come together, where EV meets LES, where Katz’s meets the old buildings meets the park with the trees, I felt like un etranger.
I suddenly became a younger version of myself. I suddenly remembered how cold it was those evenings so long ago. I remembered what I was wearing. I remembered the excitement I felt exploring this part of the city. I remembered the places where I got food, the places I went into “just to see what it was about”, the places I entered to get out of the cold, the places I used as a spot to think over the apartments. And I made a note of places I needed “to come back to”.
I remembered how naive I was. How young I was. And then the flashback ended. I was in a familiar place again. As wise as I have become about NYC in the last few years, I still am naive - and young. In a way, it’s still the same cold evening. There’s still so much more to explore: some new, some old. It’s one of the exciting things about the city. I saw a tiny juice “shack” on the corner of A and 1st: was that there before? Why hadn’t I noticed it the last couple of times I’ve walked by?
I should like “to come back to” it.
Discussion
Add New Comment
Viewing 2 Comments
Thanks. Your comment is awaiting approval by a moderator.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Do you already have an account? Log in and claim this comment.
Add New Comment