Monday, April 13, 2020

Easter Sans Bonnet

Annamaria on Monday


To celebrate Easter, I went outside!  I hadn't left my building for two weeks except to go to the the curb to put out the trash.  And that was a week ago.

By staying inside, I hope to save myself from getting sick.  But I have been missing spring, my favorite season of the year, despite the fact that it attacks me with pollen that makes me just this side of miserable.

Two weeks ago, suspecting that the magnolias were in blossom, I went for a stroll early on Sunday morning, a time of low traffic in NYC, even in the best of times.  I was rewarded with many beautiful sights, this prime among them:



So On Easter Sunday morning, instead of a spring bonnet, I donned my face covering and went to see what I could see.  I found many things.  Strange, Sad, and Splendid things.  I will show them in the order of my route - north on Broadway, across 14th Street, circumnavigating my beloved Union Square, down University Place, and back to my front door on 11th Street.

As soon as I spotted the long queue of appropriately distanced people along Broadway,  knew what they were waiting for:



Union Square was resplendent:


George looked as if he was holding up his hand to stop the virus.



The Marquis de Lafayette.  I was tempted to climb up and
put a protective mask on him,

The flagpole in the center has a gorgeous bas-releif .

The inscription:
"HOW LITTLE DO MY COUNTRYMEN KNOW WHAT PRECIOUS BLESSINGS THEY ARE IN POSSESSION OF AND WHICH NO OTHER PEOPLE ON EARTH ENJOY" THOMAS JEFFERSON"
This was literally true when Jefferson wrote it.  The US Constitution was the first such document.
I only hope we can preserve it in the face of the current assaults.

So sad: the flag, limp in the absence of a breeze,
flying at half-mast in mourning for our many fellow
New Yorkers who have died in this plague. 

Abe






Too sad!


Kids playing: I was a big sister.  I know how it feels to have a little brother who doesn't want to do what Mommy told us to do:





Look closely at the officer behind the wheel!

Like the homeless person on the bench above, this well-dressed man with three
elegant suitcases and large duffle bag, seemed to have all of his possessions with him.
I wonder why.  

14th Street, normally one of busiest cross-town streets in NYC:
Looking west.

The same, looking east

The man in this pictures, lives in that cardboard box.

Near my my front door: A masked man.
Every evening, we New Yorkers open our windows at 7 PM and applaud our heroes:


 Thank you, Nurses
Thank you, Doctors
Thank you, Technicians
Thank you, Orderlies.
We pray you will be safe!

8 comments:

  1. Thank you, Annamaria. Not only for the virtual tour, but also for reminding us that things do rejuvenate, with or without us.

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    1. Michael, I once wrote a scene, in Invisible Country, where my character Alivia, in the midst of a dreadful war, sees the beauty of flowering trees in her village and thinks they are trying to comfort the poor people in their suffering. You know how it is. That sort of thing just falls into a writer's mind, seemingly out of nowhere. Yesterday, that is what my favorite beautiful flowering trees did for me in real life. Our sacred planet, even in a time like this, shows itself to be splendid.

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  2. You have brought me into today's strange version of your beloved world, Annamaria, and I am overwhelmed by the poignancy of the contrasting beauty and sadness... thinking of you, and wanting the miracle for us all that we don't expect. Pat

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    1. I know, Pat. I thought about making it all pretty and leaving out the other vision, but not even optimistic I can be that brand of pollyanna. I think a lot of the sad parts will stay with us, but this particular stealth invader will be brought under control. The science that the idiots in my country deny will find and prove a vaccine. I only wish it could happen faster than what I think we can reasonably expect.

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  3. Thanks for the photos! I am in the Deep South, surrounded by beautiful blooms and trees--and not many buildings. Stay safe and well!

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    1. I am glad you came on this walk with me, Martha. At this time of year, the Deep South is way ahead of NYC. While a friend in Mississippi was on the phone with me a few days ago, he had to keep interrupting our conversation to correct the behavior of his grandsons in the pool. It was 42 degrees here at the time. It's up to 48 now at noon. Pool weather is months away for us.

      STAY SAFE!!

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  4. I wondered which baby brother you were talking about who didn't listen to Mom, Sis. Thanks for the walk around my old neighborhood. It's always beautiful there in Springtime. I hope I'll be able to return by next Spring. And I hope Jefferson's quote portends a joyous as opposed to silent spring. Stay safe!!

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    1. The bells at Trinity Church are chiming at this hour in the old neighborhood, Bro. It's gorgeous here today. Too bad I am stuck inside with my potted plants. But it keeps my spirits up to have my real as well as my imaginary friends to play with.

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