I found myself walking north up 5th Avenue, towards the Park. It was Wednesday, very cold, and by 12:30 had already been a whirl-wind day, the kind of day where it takes you about five minutes to close out all the tabs on your work desktop before heading out to lunch. With unusual decisiveness I had made up my mind to take a long lunch; my mind needed a good airing out. As I walked hurriedly, fur hood pulled close around my ears, I almost ran smack into two girls I used to know at college. Running into people you know in the middle of the city is always a surreal experience. Many an author and movie and song pay tribute to New York's ability to hide you. This feature has its darker side, but it is also one of the things I love best about this place. You can walk happily along without any pretentions; no one cares what you are wearing or doing. Happily alone in the swirl. It shouldn't surprise me by now--I run into people I know all the time. Having lived here almost 5 years (!), I am bound to know a good number of faces. But still. To take a moment to brag, other's I've run into include Karlie Kloss, Taylor Swift's bestie. It was in the West Village, and she was on her post-Sunday-brunch-jog. Her neon Nike sports bra was fierce. At just about this spot--5th and 43rd-- a few years ago I also came across the cast of Glee while they were filming. It must have been in the winter because all I remember is that my hands were freezing when I tried to take a picture. But by far, the coolest person I have run into is Leonardo DiCaprio. Spring semester of last year, hurrying to class, head down like a true New Yorker, avoiding eye contact and buzzing past the slower lane of walkers who insisted on taking pictures of One World Trade Center from every angle. A curb approaching, I glanced up and spotted a very ugly, ragged looking man walking towards me. Dismissing him, I eyed his companion: a leggy, tottering blond with a smirk and a latte (not from Starbucks). "She's just the type Leo would date," I thought. Honest. It dawned on me. I was so close I could have touched him, which I did. Just joking. Instead I ran all the way to school, yelling to the security guard and all fellow students my good luck, and finally collapsing in a tizzy at Student Services, where Laura and Kendall helped me hyperventilate. (EDITOR’S NOTE: It must have been when he was filming The Revenant. It was his greasy beard that was so off-putting and veiled his otherwise lovely appearance). I was so flustered that I didn't have the wherewithal to snag a picture. Apparently in the time between freshman and senior year my celebrity-sighting-response-skills have decreased. Below, taken a few months after moving to New York, my shot of the wonderful Hugh Jackman, caught exiting a play on Broadway. I had just left The Million Dollar Quartet, and he was coming out of some talk show. I got him to look in my direction by screaming, creatively, "HUGH JACKMAN----LOOK AT ME!" But I digress. Despite the desperate cold, the city looked fine this week. Clear, brilliant, and fast. On my lunch breaks I ate yummy left overs at my desk, then darted out for brisk walks, sometimes on Park, sometimes on 5th, and sometimes even all the way to 3rd. I discovered a lovely French patisserie on a side street near the Library. Delightfully, a macaroon shop opened across the street from work. An old man gave up his seat on the train for me on Friday, so I got to read my book and it was a treat. Another day, a sweet stranger and I shared an inside joke on the train when I made an "I give up" face at the pushing throngs and she thought it was hilarious. And to top it all off, I have--all at once--some amazing food in the fridge: roasted butternut squash soup with apple, curry, and bacon; spaghetti with creamy meat sauce; and homemade tikki masala. It's been a good week. Here's to the next, in which I will try to remember the little things I have to be grateful for.
1 Comment
Julia
2/14/2016 01:25:27 am
Love the Hugh Jackman part. 😂
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Authorwife to a med student and mama to three under three, seeking the joyful and learning to live by faith. Find me on Instagram and Pinterest or shoot me an email. I'd love to hear from you!
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