Underground, hurtling darkly for pancakes and the coming spring
MANHATTAN, N.Y. — I rode the 2 train from President Street in Brooklyn into Manhattan – changing to the 4 train at Franklyn Avenue or maybe Atlantic Avenue. At Fulton Street in Manhattan I switched to the A train, getting off at Canal Street.
Screaming and hissing through the gritty tunnels, the color of charcoal and foggy ocean nights, over rats, garbage and stagnant water the trains hurtle at what seems to be break neck speed from station to station. Each trip starts and pauses with a scream and puff of machine-churned air, the color of wandering thoughts and a million traveling souls.
My destination was the Moondance Diner on Grand Street and Avenue of the Americas in SoHo for pancakes and endless black coffee.
Above the train, through the iron and concrete, through a million coats of paint, layers of sediment, dirt, rocks, conduit, utilities, cobble stones and asphalt, the lay the dormant streets carrying the foot prints of commerce and art and science and the monday-through-friday business in the snow and frozen slush. Ice puddled foot prints left over from the last icy howl of winter the other dimple and scar the streets, lined with piles of shoveled snow, ice and frozen slush.
Today the almost warm kiss of spring time sun is melting the snow into streams and puddles of clear melt water. Luckily, the City didn’t dump its usual salt and dirt all over everything. The snow will take a few days to a week to melt but at least it won’t be a gritty few days to a week.
I can deal with that.
Spring will be here soon and this will just be the memory of last winter.
The sun will rise soon
My eyes want to be asleep in this rainy predawn night.
Each blink drags my eye lids laboriously across my tired eyes. Tired eyes that mask a mind not yet asleep, thinking about the day’s events: Tom’s Restaurant with my friend Liz, Tea Lounge, Prospect Park twice.
I can feel the early spring air – warm enough to carry with it humidity and with that, the first sign of the approaching spring:
Crocuses.
The rain is forecast to reveal a warm spring sun later today, this afternoon. And just an hour and a half ago, we changed our clocks forward for this year’s modified Daylight Savings Time.
This winter was more mild than memory reminds – more rain than snow by a long shot. It’s also my first winter working as a bike messenger in NYC.
So far I survived.
My eyes grow tired as my mind slows down for the close of this Saturday. I think it’s time to sleep.
