The long march.

October is here which means we’re winding down in terms of warm weather. Thus begins one of my least favorite parts of the year - the horrible period after the baseball season ends and the days get shorter and colder. Can’t say I ever had much use for the cold after the age of about fifteen (a little bit of a story in that) and it has only gotten something I’ve felt more acutely as I have aged.

Tonight, was an evening where the warm weather was trying desperately to maintain its grasp on us and I welcomed its tenacity.

As part of my celebration, I walked. Oh, how I walked. Today I worked and walked all of about four miles from below Wall Street up to Grand Central. If I am fortunate, I will not notice this when I try to get up tomorrow. I notice lately that while I don’t notice these things the day of, the day after is when I must pay freight.

I enjoyed my meandering stroll - quite a bit so whatever the price is it was more than worth it. I get the sense now I must force myself to do these things, take these long walks, if only to maintain the ability to walk like that. It was just over four miles. On the way I got to see how the city is changing.

I can’t walk in front of City Hall anymore - I can walk in the beautiful park but, I can’t walk in front of the building and look at the grandly ornate and majestic facade as I once was able to. We live in different times and there are all manner of security measures in place. Walking further up Broadway, I couldn’t help but take notice of all the cameras in and around Federal Plaza - the thick stanchions in place to prevent a truck from getting too close to the building and repeating Oklahoma City.

My thought about that as I walked past was that those measures are great for the building but, what about the people across the street who are afforded no such protection.

I don’t know, these things make sense in one way but, in another they speak about giving up some things which are very good about us. Things which make us lesser as a people.

Tower Records is going out of business too. They had a big sign in front of the store advertising a big sale, all sales final and all that. On the heels of the closing of CBGB this past weekend, it probably says something about New York.

Along the way I did a quick bit of shopping along Canal Street, picking up something for someone from very far away. A bit of a surprise, which was placed in a flimsy bag which broke as I tried to beat the light at Houston Street. I watched as the speeding cars danced around it until it finally succumbed to some unknown driver’s tires.

Ouch.

So, I guess it makes the walk sound a bit sad but, it wasn’t. It was glorious and beautiful and wonderful and all those things a walk through the city should be.

How could that be?

Well, while things may be closing and I may have watched something get crunched but there’s nothing bad about change. It’s not my enemy. I welcome it, just like I welcome the promise of each new day. Tomorrow is full of promise and if a infrequent crunch finds its way into my life I’ll try not to let it bother me more than it should and certainly not so much that it will ruin my walk and the many more walks I want to take in each of those new tomorrows because change is all around us and there is plenty to see.

Just a thought.