Wanderlust

Overlooking 53rd

Photo by SB

Now that I have been back in California for a day, I've thought about my little trip to the east coast. In an earlier post I wrote about a few observations. Here are a few more.

Pondering
Photo by SB

I never had the chance to see the New York skyline when the Twin Towers were a major part of it. I wish I had. In my very brief visit there I did not have any experiences to write about them and their absence. I didn't talk to anybody about them or their demise. I wonder if they are slowly slipping into history. I doubt New Yorkers are ready to put the pain from their loss in to history yet.

A Warhol... I think
Photo by SB

It amazes me how I can be next to the biggest US city and be lost in the very sparsely populated countryside trying to get to West Point. I always believed that NYC was a huge metropolis that spread all over the east coast. Who knew it was so close to so much nature? I guess they know.

A Date
Photo by SB

As I write this, I realize that I really have no deep appreciation for this place. I spent a few days there and only had one day to explore it to any level. I did not have time to meet anybody in the city and get to know them. I didn't get a chance to appreciate the food, the arts, and the life of the city. I did not have time to have a crush on somebody. I feel that I still hardly know the area any more than I would from reading a postcard.

Generations Talking about Pollock
Photo by SB
(She had a lot of great insights into this painting, which was my favorite in the museum. Her Dad encouraged her to talk about it and Pollock's other works. I think both he and I learned from her)

I really want to go back to New York and explore it deeply. I want to spend a year there and photograph it, photograph the people, eat the food, walk the streets, and at least live it for a little while. I want to feel how cold it gets and how hot the summers can be. I want to meet a dark-haired beauty (I don't know why she has to have dark hair, but it is my fantasy I guess.) at a book reading event and we seduce each other. I want to make love in a cramped little studio apartment that has a kitchen smaller than my bathroom counter. I want to feel the immense size of the city try to crush me and make me feel so alone, yet know there is a part of it that will comfort me.

Four Different Reactions
Photo by SB

Damn, I sound like some lost romantic puppy, but I can dream about it. There is no other American city (well, maybe Chicago) that I have these desires for. I have similar desires to explore London, Berlin, Paris, Rome, Moscow, Mumbai, Madrid, Toronto, Beijing, and many other cities of the world in the same way. Wanderlust is a tough affliction to get over.

The Quiet Hudson
Photo by SB

All photos, except The Quiet Hudson taken at the MOMA in New York City on April 13, 2009. All photos taken with my old 5mp Nikon that has been around the world with me. It takes decent photos for a 5 year old camera.