PARK WALK

A few days a week I walk across Central Park to the C train instead of taking the 6 to the Shuttle. These always tend to be my favorite days at work, as a good visit with nature in the morning tends to put things into perspective.

A couple of days ago I was entering the park at 96th Street and 5th Avenue when a young woman approached me asking if I could direct her to 94th and Broadway. She had an adorable little puppy with her, and therefore wasn't allowed on the crosstown bus. This was one of those moments that come every now and then, where you have the choice to either be a real person or to be a stereotypical New Yorker. I started on the stereotypical New Yorker track, and began to direct her across the park - "just keep walking straight until you get to the other side - you can't get lost if you just keep going straight" - when it struck me that this was an opportunity to be a real person, to connect with another human. We were both going the same direction. Our paths were literally the same, at least until we got to CPW. So I stoped midsentence and said, "I'm going that way myself. You can walk with me if you like."

And she did. And we had a lovely walk and chatted about her life and how she can't wait to move out of her cousin's house and into her own place in the Bronx. And I learned that she had never tried to take the dog (named Patches) on the bus before and didn't know he needed to be in a bag. And so she was walking across the park for the first time ever. This nice lady was experiencing a lot of firsts that day.

I had a first too. It was the first time since I have lived in New York that I let a stranger through my New York protection wall. We all have our New York protection walls. They don't mean that we are rude or anything - they just stop people from getting too close. We can smile and say hello and hold the door for a stranger, but we're not going to comfortably let our guard down.

That day I was able to let it down. It felt good. Really good.