Visiting NYC - it's more fun than living here!

In anticipation of a slew of family and friends coming to NY for the holiday atmosphere, I actually wandered out this past month to the azlways-stunning Central Park, walked around the Roman Greco exhibit at MOMA, toured my literary-famous neighborhood in Gramercy Park, and even took pictures on Times Square like all the zillions of camera-toting tourists!
I even took a photo of my rooftop hot tub deck and garden, my pride and joy in an erstwhile ugly building without a doorman or services ;>)

9/11 + 7 and a trusty truck

It's a gray and gloomy day in NYC, on the 7th anniversary of 9-1-1. This week, I've had conversations with friends and colleagues who survived that horrible day - and remember the details vividly as if it were yesterday.

I previously went to Ground Zero in 2002, and when I visited this past Sunday, it had changed only slightly, vis a vis the hole in the ground. But memorials are popping up and visitors are still big numbers.

I'll never forget my chat with one of the survivors, a fireman from Station 1010, across from the WTC. It was his day off, he was taking a friend to the airport and returning home when he heard the news. By the time he parked his F250 at Battery Park and donned some gear, he was put to work in an adjacent bldg. Eventually, the firemen withdrdew and the building collapsed.

We were standing in front of that very spot, with a new office tower in its place. I asked him if his truck survived, so close to the falling debris. "Yes, and I will never part with it, " he said. (Although he gets around now in a Camry because the cost of gas for the truck is prohibitive.)

I asked if he expects further attacks, and if his services will ever be needed for such an event again. He's prepared.

Solemn day here. Dee