Walking in New York
The group Missing Persons sang,
“Nobody walks in LA.”
Lots of people walk in New York.
I recently went to Manhattan to see
my sister, Tina, conduct her women’s choir. Tina and other faculty at Oregon State University conducted
three university choirs first at the Church of St. Paul the Apostle and then at
Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
My wife and I had a wonderful time.
As a pedestrian I was struck… Oops, let me rewrite that. As a pedestrian, I
quickly found out that in Manhattan there is a certain rhythm to walking. Red lights, green lights, walk and
don’t walk signs served more as suggestions than absolute rules.
At red lights taxi drivers and
other motorists revved their engines while waiting for the chance to charge
ahead. During that time, streams of walkers flowed across street in spurts and
dribbles. A red light for oncoming
traffic along with a Walk sign for foot traffic was a pretty good clue that
you’d be able to cross the street without getting run over. But it wasn’t a certainty. Taxi drivers
in particular would sneak through when there was a break in the action.
A green light with a Don’t Walk sign
wasn’t a promise to vehicle drivers that walkers would not step into the
crosswalk. Native New Yorkers were
able to time how to cross in front of oncoming traffic with inches to spare,
which, of course, did not mean tourists could safely repeat their actions. I tried. Once.
I also discovered any time I came
to a corner, whether I wanted to go ahead, left or right fifteen to twenty
people came at me walking at various speeds singly or in groups. I had to sidestep and move forward at
the same time. It was sort of like
driving a bumper car when actual bumping was discouraged. In groups larger than
three it was very difficult to keep tabs on the people I was walking with. Individuals move at individual speeds
paying varying amounts of attention to others in the group.
I admit walking in Times Square can
be distracting. I saw the singing cowboy dressed only in his underpants, Elmo,
Darth Vader, Hello Kitty and multiple interpretations of Lady Liberty. That could have made a difference. My wife stopped to help an
inebriated woman push a woman in a wheelchair up onto the curb and I
temporarily lost track of her.
Nancy Pickard does a wonderful job
of describing New York in her But I
Wouldn’t Want to Die There. Pete Hamill makes New York come alive on the
page. What descriptions have you read that rang true?
