Taking a Walk on 5th Avenue on the Onset of Spring

My friend Jeff suggested I take a walk from the 13th St up to 42nd St where I'd be meeting up friends tonight, after I told him I was just going to kill time as I wait for my 7:30 dinner schedule with other friends. I thought that was a ridiculous idea when I rebutted him while we were in the subway. But I nevertheless did it. Along the way, on 5th Avenue, I found the idea of walking pretty irresistible....the weather was just perfect, though I could see the greyish clouds in the horizon, and I thought it would be dark soon.

I entered a book shop that was offering all curious interesting choices of literary, motivational, and procedurally technical bookstuff and materials coming mainly from the "East" side of the world that connotes mysticism, transcendental meditative techniques and approaches, and other thought provoking materials that would likely help stabilize one's life outlook here in NYC, if one would have the time, inspiration, and inspired motivation to do what's being suggested on a book, whether it be a bestseller or an obscure, highly esoteric tome....I noted a book I've read and reread, and would highly recommend to anyone's who's willing to take charge of their lives right now (Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich"), somewhere among the shelves. I even got to see something which I can give as a birthday gift to a friend from the other items that bookstore carries and offers to its curious customers....I hope and pray my friend will find time to use it to relieve him of his sinus problems. Also, I got an organically formulated, nature-based (whatever this notion means!) lip balm (but I noted I saw a similarly named ingredient, like a petroleum based item from other lip balms available in the market) to replace what I just consumed after nearly 8 months of using, which I later found out to be at least 34% more expensive compared with the ones I saw when I checked a drug store close to the Empire State Building...

Along the way, I saw a church with all those yellow, green ribbons hanging on its wrought iron fence. They had names in them, which I suspect could be the names of those warriors who died in Iraq war. They have been old, raggedy, and pale yellow, which could be a sign that it's been really that long since this war has started, and has since then cost a lot of precious human lives that could have been rendered to serve other worthy, more purposeful endeavors...but that's how life can be, which can be just as fragile, and useless at the same time.....particularly for those who have in their very power the decision to make warriors get into wars like that in Iraq.

I noticed a woman, an Asian woman, who was dressed lightly in greyish organic cotton, billowy one-piece outfit that gets closer to her legs, and looks cute among small, young girls, and she was wearing a panty hose that had a run in its back right side, which she must have not noticed or ignored.......but she was pretty on the overall walking profile she makes on the avenue...I even saw another woman glancing at her, in complete agreement to the image she's creating while walking along 5th Avenue.

A number of tourists were with me during my walk, and I was grateful, they appeared towards the late part of that walk. They create a lot of noise, and eat a lot of space when congregated in one major site, particularly the Empire State Building...but they're generally courteous, conscious, and looking like they're enjoying themselves...they'd be taking photo shots of all the interesting views around....God bless them for being around here in this great city!!!

I saw a black guy giving instant feedback to a white couple who was embracing, hugging each other on a street corner.....he's actually looking like being intrusive, even envious...but I figured he meant well, even going up to the extent of demonstrating to the couple a more intimate, more loving way of embracing each other.....he might have just wanted them to just look more romantic, more loving in their tight embrace for everyone to see..

i noticed a big electronics shop has now vacated its 2-storey space; I remember having checked out prices of laptop computers there with my friend Ella when she was in town once and she helped me acquire my 1st laptop here in the US, thinking it's rather outrageous not to be having one during these times when it's a must for one's social life to be more meaningful these days.

I saw a lot of different shades of tulips, including those in lightish pale yellow, white, salmon pink, blood red, cool violet, crumply maroon, shimmering lavender, purplish, elegant sapphire, fruity orange hues. I wonder and got myself reminded of how the Dutch have made a great monopolistic industry over planting, raising, trading tulips. I wonder how those tulips that the Dutch have got in their temperature controlled commercial gardens, and known to be among the best tulips the world over, could be more prettier than those tulips I encountered during this walk up to 42nd Street.

When I was nearing 42nd Street, I was reminded of one of my previous part time jobs, distributing flyers for a yoga gym. I remember I must have been given the job, after I told the interviewer that I saw her once attending a meeting at St Bart's church. Those were really difficult months during my 1st two years of stay here in the US, mostly in NYC. I always got reactions like "how could you?" from well meaning friends when I tell them how I did part time jobs like distributing flyers, as they've known me back in the Philippines doing a managerial job (but could have been doing a slave job, beneath the smooth surface of a good sounding position, and with all the creatures (characters) I have to contend with in the corporate world that I used to move around ha ha ha ha). I earned reasonably well from the part time gig. I earned more valuable lessons, on getting to know myself better. I got to know how the Lord has been managing, leading my life better, all these days, that have counted in those challenging, lonely, stressful ones that I'd like to believe I've learned most about life, being itself a most precious, valuable gift.

I soon got to see my 2 friends, seating, and with their backs on me. They were just preparing to walk towards the corner of 42nd Street and 5th Avenue. The dinner we shared later in Katsu Hama, a Japanese restaurant, was fantastic, and has brought back memories of my meals in Japan, as well as in the Philippines.