Forty-sixth Entry

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Friday, May 1st, 2020

Noise has reemerged.

Most of Spring’s tulips are long gone, though others, which are larger than “normal,” and just flowering. Color can contain a lot of noise, though a riot of color is more easily avoided than its sensory cousin. I am not sure why more city noises are returning, perhaps it is a mix of warmer temperatures and restlessness. It might simply be a need. This place may need noise, perhaps it is part of its identity.

One of the gifts of this odd time has been the chance to see things in other ways. Walking or riding a bike around the city has required less focus toward cars or pedestrians which frees up a lot of attention for observation. And riding the other way on a way street is an easy way to see new vistas in familiar places. Having so few cars parked along the curb also changes the scene. Once things are out of balance, not “normal,” our eyes and minds explore familiar things differently. All over town, buildings, architectural details, trees and plantings have been revealing themselves to me. 

Yesterday, riding down Mott Street, I glanced up and saw a large masonry building with a subtly concave facade in the distance. Most Manhattan streets are straight, the few that curve are nearly all lined with flat facades.