New York People

When it’s as cold in New York as it was today, no one wants to be out on to the streets. They stay inside where it’s warm in their little (or big) apartments and take comfort in the fact that at least for a day, they don’t have to venture out into the big world outside their windows.

Because I pass so many people all the time on the street that I think I’ve seen before. But what it is, I think, is that we all have the same feelings about the city so are all, in a way, the same. We are all dreading going home and waking up tomorrow and going to work. And we’re all tired and worrying about money and our relationships that just can’t seem to work out. We’re on the subway together speeding towards our jobs trying not to stare at the person crammed in front of us whose arm is reaching past our nose to grab hold of the bar, (smells like...cigars and...comme de garçons?) and when they catch our eye we look away quickly and pretend to read the If You See Something, Say Something, warning posted by the door that says: caution, do no lean while car is in motion.

And you want to say: I see it all! You see the half-asleep eyes (and fading dreams behind them), and the lost chances at love, and the regrets (oh, the regrets) all around you, packed in tightly, so close but all strangers, each having the same feelings about the city in a silent communication.

When it’s as cold in New York as it was today, when you can see your breath in such large puffy clouds in front of you with each step, the more you’re reminded of just how alive you are. There it is - each white puff of your life spreading out into the air around you being consumed again by other New Yorkers. So in the end that’s why we all know why we’re inside our little (or big) apartments and pretending not to stare at all the windows across the way, filled with television-lit living rooms and motion-filled kitchens - because we all know what’s out there and how it feels and when we get the chance to stay at home where it’s warm and safe from worry and all that we think and long for, we do - and we all know why, without ever having to say a word.