nine one one

I took the red eye to New York last night, and thankfully slept. I woke up to the incredible sight of the sun rising over the city as my plane was descending. As I rode from JFK into the city, I realized that, although I’ve only visited here twice, I know this city. New York City has got to be the city most portrayed in movies and television. How many different ways have I seen it destroyed? There’s all the various creatures who’ve caused mayhem, King Kong, Godzilla, and of course a variety of aliens, and then there’s all the natural disasters and projections into the future. Being a lover of old Woody Allen movies, Law and Order, and having watched every episode of Sex In The City, this place is familiar.

I’m so excited about being in New York and even more excited about spending time with my dear friend, Reya. We’ve had a series of visits that included magical intensity that we both have been ready to jettison. The last time we planned a visit together it turned out to be the same time a close friend of ours did an ill-advised ritual to have Lucifer dwell in her. It turned out to be a time of electrical storms and grief. This time, we were determined to have a different experience.

We laughed heartily at the strangeness of our room number being 911. And we quickly moved away from all the poor mummies at the Met, instead giving our attention to the Tiffany mosaics and stained glass. We were determined to walk and then seek refreshment, then walk again. We noticed that every time our urge for refreshment came up, there were establishments at hand with names like “The Slaughtered Lamb” or “Jekyll and Hyde”. Instead, we walked on until we found places bearing names like “Miracle”.

Reya and I are both actively engaged in shifting our storylines, and what better place to do it than in this city of stories, city of dreams? This city may never sleep, but the dreams of this place live in us all. When you bite this apple, you don’t fall into slumber, but become more vibrant and alive. We savored the beauty today, the aliveness, the thrum and hum of life that pulses so strongly here.

I love New York!