After a major snow storm (but not like what was experienced in Winter of 2014), and thus wondering if we’d even be able to make the trip, my travel mate and I spent a full three days in the city that never sleeps.  It was fantastic!  The main reason for being in NYC in February was to attend a concert given at Carnegie Hall at which my daughter’s Centenary College Camerata Choir was singing.  No better reason.

We arrived at LaGuardia Airport on the 15th about 3:00 p.m.  I flew in from Houston, my friend from D/FW.  We had a bit of a challenge finding each other since we weren’t familiar with the airport – she was down, I was up.  However, we finally connected.  The information we thought we had on a limo was incorrect, but we found another limo service and were able to get into the city!  I loved that ride!  The driver was courteous and endeavored to let us know about the sites we were passing.

We settled into our hotel and planned our visit.  Then, we acquainted ourselves with the area and noticed a nice café across the street – it looked like a really good breakfast place (and we did, three times.) My daughter’s choir arrived not long after we did.  We were all in the same hotel, just across from Carnegie Hall.  It was her birthday, and we had hoped to meet for a short time as the choir had a busy agenda.  Fortunately, we did coordinate – we joined the choir at a New York pub for a delightful dinner.  The next day, we found a nice neighborhood Italian restaurant within walking distance of our hotel and enjoyed at least three meals there – it was good, fast and convenient.

The choir was supposed to practice at least four hours a day before the concert, then students were free to sightsee.   My friend and I had separate plans since we were to meet one of her friends who lived in NYC – he and his roommate met us on Saturday morning.  Being in Lower Manhattan we were  introduced to Chinatown, Little Italy, Greenwich Village and wonderful small shops – we treated ourselves to rice pudding from Rice to Riches and souvenirs from a marvelous little shop called Pylones.   In that same afternoon, we accompanied the choir when they went over to St. Paul’s Chapel in Trinity Church and then Ground Zero. This was a subway lesson continuance with all of its challenges.   It was fun riding with a group of youngsters.  Local entertainers boarded the trains and serenaded the passengers (for a small donation).  The subway, though, wasn’t as daunting as I had expected.  If I could do the “T” in Boston, I sure could learn the NYC subway!

Snow covered the sidewalks and streets, but we slushed through with great abandon.  The cold was fierce in comparison to what we were used to in the south – I loved it, even though my feet were frozen (in spite of the waterproof shoe/boots and wool socks I had worn.)  After dinner, on our second full day, we took a detour to walk past a glistening white Central Park.  We went past a building that had all of the time zones represented, Tiffany’s (we did not go in, it was after hours), and further up Fifth Avenue to Trump Tower.   Finally we took our exhausted selves back to the hotel and collapsed.  On the day of the concert, my companion and I visited New York Public Library, Rockefeller Center and the Empire State Building.  All the years I had lived in New Jersey and visited NYC, I had not been to the Empire State Building.  It was wonderful!  The views, of course, were spectacular – the wind, mighty.  We had an early dinner and then prepared for the concert.

Another dream of mine came true – a visit to a marvelous auditorium with superb acoustics, Carnegie Hall.  More than impressed, I was flabbergasted by the sumptuous interior.  Our tickets couldn’t have been better, middle tier, center.  Of course, this provided us with a sufficient view of the stage. There was a private vestibule for the hanging of coats behind our seating area, and no more than nine seats in our box.  The concert began.  Dr. Julia Thorn conducted the choir in singing pieces from Mendelssohn, Orban, Childs and several other composers.  It was engaging and enthralling, permitting me an opportunity to be lost in the lilting voices of that choir.  I admit to pride – it was so beautiful.  The evening was a great success.  Although we were to travel the next day, the memories would never leave us.  And so, the 19th dawned, our day to return to Texas.  All of us were due to leave in the afternoon, but my daughter, friend and I managed to have a breakfast together.  It was certainly a joyful time, one that we can never relive, but one that will always be remembered.  I <3 New York City!

Joy: a very glad feeling; happiness; great pleasure; delight. 
 

I woke, about 4:45 one morning after going to bed around 11:00 pm, maybe a mere five hours is considered normal for me.  Nevertheless, I woke – and on my mind was a recent conversation I had had with a close friend.   Actually, only part of the conversation, we had been talking about someone who had died and the deceased finding joy. Thus, waking early, because of such elated feelings from an inspiring conversation, precipitated a need to write.  Here is the result:

I believe we all have the capability of knowing joy regularly. It is all around us.  At times it is hard for us to recognize, but it is always there, nonetheless. Often the complication of life hides it from us – sometimes it can be revealed in simple ways.  For me, I felt the pleasure and the joy of just sharing those moments with my friend.  And, I believe that although I am serious at times, that seriousness can be translated into compassion, and a passion for life, for love of life.  Through this passion, this zest comes the ability to see the joy in many things.  Although I don’t always exhibit that capability, I know it is there.  Yes, I do recognize the joy in the fragrance of fresh clothes as they come out of the dryer, the smell of freshly brewed coffee, of baking cookies, of freshly dug earth.  I can feel the joy in the wind against my face during a walk, the soothing warmth of the water during a shower (and the sense of being clean), the touch of soft skin, the comfort of being cozy under covers on a cold morning (and I woke to a cold morning), the tenderness of a hug.  I can see joy in the smiles of others, in the beauty of the clouds with their endless shapes, in the shape of someone’s hand, in the gloriousness of daffodils, in the radiant moon over a sea, in the design of a building, in the art of Michelangelo.  I can hear the joy in the sound of the leaves rustled by the wind, in the patter of rain against the pavement, in the chirp of birds in the early morning, in the sound of the voice of a loved one, in the resonance of laughter and, yes, even the rumble of a lawn-mower (as long as it is a block away.)  There is joy in the accomplishment of a task - a small job or a large one – joy in washing a car, in vacuuming, in making spaghetti sauce, in fixing a garage door, in the completion of a Power Point presentation, of answering a complicated reference question, of guiding and mentoring staff, of completing a house painting/repair project, of seeing a product through production and into the possession of a client.

 There are many joys, different ones for each of us.  So, indeed, joy is all around us and with the help of that conversation, I once again had the realization. Thus, I say thank you – because there is joy in this revelation, this reawakening, and this rediscovery of the positive side of my nature.  I think, and forgive this sentimentality, that is what I mostly want in life, to share in the discovery or re-discovery of joys. The trick is not to just share joy, but transmit it, transfer it. And, that can be done with whoever is near at any given moment.  So, here’s to realizing joys, to the continued realization of them – the simple, the complicated.  I want that legacy of joy that many have recognized so well, to live on.  It does live on, because it is in each of us – I see it in my friend, the bounce of his step, his energy, his wit, his humor, his compassion – and so it can live on in all of us, from the memory of loved ones deceased, through the continued contact of all of those around us. And, it needs to be re-discovered daily – maybe easier said than done.

A small contribution to my collection of thoughts in the form of Haikus:

Importance
 Importance, a dream
Definition elusive,
Never meant to be.

 
Snarky
A snarky mood hits,
My quietude compromised,
Try not to have fits.


Nastiness
Purging nastiness,
Not as easy as it sounds,
Release the feelings.