Trash

I'm sitting in the Lobby of the Hotel Edison on 47th Street just off Broadway.  The lobby is quite cozy with murals on the walls depicting Radio City Music Hall, the Statue of Liberty, the Cotton Club and other icons of NYC.  XM channel 4(the 40's channel) is playing which seems appropriate given the age and vibe of this place.  Perfect place to be sitting on a rainy day in New York.

Took Donald for a walk this morning over to the Morningside Park dog run.  Ran into Dottie who has lived in the same apartment on Amsterdam avenue for all of her 66 years.  She's part of the volunteer crew that maintains the dog run.  Very pleasant woman who gave me a brochure about activities that are happening in August in the neighborhood between Amsterdam and Central Park West, stretching from 96th to 110th street.  Lots of good stuff going on including the Jazzmobile(free jazz concerts in the Park) and a couple of farmers markets.

We also talked about Trash.  New York is one of the most beautiful cities in the world but also quite possibly the filthiest.  People who live here don't seem to respect it.  Chicken bones, condoms, beer cans, Pringles cans, plastic bottles, paper, piles of cigarette butts, dog shit... everywhere you look there is litter.  You really have to not look at it or it can make you crazy. I've been to a number of large cities(London, Paris, San Francisco, Chicago) but there's nothing quite like NYC.  Donald has an incredible nose and he's always finding chicken bones on the street.  And if he sniffs them out before I see them they're in his mouth and swallowed before you can say "Purina".  New York is incredibly safe these days(I've been in Harlem, Bed-Stye, Dumbo, East Village, Tribeca, Mid-town, etc this trip and have never felt threatened) but still very dirty.  And I imagine, with the economy the way it is, it will only get worse.  Too bad.

But still, life is great.  Rehearsals continue and tonight I'm headed down to 21st street to see a friend of mine who performs with an improv troupe.  Or I may see an off-broadway play about a family that suddenly realizes the horrors of the Suburbs!  Sounds hilarious.

Till next time.