110th st / 112th st
4.71 miles
today’s streets were more familiar than most. as I made my way along 110th I was nostalgic for last year, when I lived on 110th and manhattan and made this walk every day, passing by the spectacular st. john the divine and the same provocative posters each time.
if you are a new yorker, you are familiar with columbus circle at the southwest corner of central park, presided over by christopher columbus himself. but do you know whose statues grace the northwest or northeast corners of the park? on the west, frederick douglass stands proud, and less than a mile to the east, one is greeted by duke ellington with his piano. the avenues above central park pay homage to african-american history as well, with signs displaying malcolm x and adam clayton powell jr. boulevards. (to be complete, the last corner of central park is occupied by our only lady: the roman goddess of abundance, pomona).
despite these representations, i again cannot help but be struck by the mordant humor of the historical figures one sees commemorated in harlem. thomas jefferson park sits beside the east river, and the housing project of his same name is not too far off. that these locales occupy a neighborhood where most of the people are black or brown is both a symbol of how far this country has come and how far it must still transcend.
there is so much public housing in new york. it is a crisis that must be reckoned with.
my ears were occupied by headphones for much of the walk, although i now realize the dimensionality that comes with listening to the sounds of the city alone, and vow to not wear headphones too often in my ramblings. i listened to a podcast with rachel held evans and a kirk franklin album, church for today. two words that affected me:
when jesus was asked what the most important part of the bible was, he did not deflect with a parable or metaphor as he so often did. jesus answered directly: to love the lord your god with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. it is good to debate interpretation of the bible, because it is a living yet ancient, culturally specific document, one that has been used to hurt and oppress so many peoples— yet all meaning must be read through this lens: love.
and from kirk franklin:
well, my sins are now clean
the loss now redeemed
religion is a prison but truth sets us free
helps us believe
that the world we're in now is not the world that will be
terror, famine, disease
millions in poverty
hungry, can't sleep
with all of this religion, why these babies can't eat?
and if the middle class is gone, how can america see?
how can america breathe?
when the oxygen is gone from the american dream
and these american streets listen close as they speak
the next time you think america please include me
the sights of this sunday afternoon: a man power washing the streets, halal chinese food, four empty playgrounds, four different asian bicyclists, a nanny and three little boys the same age as my brother, a young couple bickering, seven adults on the street huddled around a newborn baby, a closed-down starbucks.
i ended today meandering through morningside park. i will never not think of tessa when i see this pond, trees, staircases. my heart beat bittersweet as i climbed up the steps and witnessed children playing, enjoying the last of the sweet summer sunshine.
