Thursday, May 7, 2020

Memo from NYC

As the world drifts through this weird, new normal of COVID-19, we know that life "after this" (whenever that is) will be different -- some way, some how, at least for a while.

So we embrace the familiar. We embrace the things and people that we recognize, that give us comfort, that possess some kind of predictability and order in a world thrown into unpredictable chaos. 

Like the virus, it's chaos we cannot see -- at least not on the streets of NYC. It exists behind closed doors and in the minds and souls of our citizens. The world's greatest place has turned into a ghost town, an empty shell, its scared residents hunkered down. Yet the city persists, its iron will stronger than anything holding up any of the city's eddifices. That strength can be seen -- literally -- in the hospitals treating those inflicted by this horror, and this profile of the city's first responders is both a scary and enouraging testimate to that strength. 

And while doctors, nurses, paramedics, and all "essential workers" are keeping our city going, we can also appreciate the people who bring us another kind of comfort -- laughter. Who's more New York, and more of a comedian, than Jerry Seinfeld? This lengthy interview with him about how the original funny guys who's "about nothing" is dealing, like all of us, with something very real and very serious -- call it "Jerry in Real Life." Oh, and he has a new Netflix special coming up -- something that we could all use right about now.

But not only do our essential workers and entertainers give us comfort. Sometimes, at least for me at least, it's comforting to remember what made this afflicted city so fascinating in the first place. That's why I LOVED reading this wild story about the gorgeous building on Madison and 72nd Street built over 100 years ago to resemble a French Chateau and that the eccentric heiress who built it never actually lived in! It's this kind of history, this kind of New York Story, that makes me think about the longevity of this town -- and how the story of NYC is by no means finished yet.

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