I had many ideas, many myths, legends and stories going around my head when I would think of three words, the Hudson River. I thought of black and white films depicting various late night epic tales of gangsters and mobsters, some wearing “cement boots” and others, the lucky ones, not. My first trip to Manhattan was during the summer of 1996. It was hot. I grew up in Phoenix, but the August heat in New York was something to be reckoned with as the air was so thick I had to swim along the streets to my hotel. I was lucky to find a great hotel with central air. I mean, I knew I was lucky once I felt the heat outside and then felt the cool of the lobby. I really had no idea that it would be so hard to breathe.
My friend had suggested my hotel, as she had found it the year before by checking here. And I was very appreciative of her suggestion. The funny thing about traveling, is the small differences. In Phoenix, once it’s hot for the summer…well, it’s hot for the summer, even at midnight. But in places such as Chicago and Manhattan, the weather changes on a dime, sometimes catching you off guard but always providing unexpected relief. This is what happened on my second night in NY. My friend Robert grew up in the city, and he suggested we take a walk that second night, scheduled to begin at midnight with a cup of coffee in hand. I said, “Cool”, he said, “Meet me in the lobby at 11:45″….I asked, “Where are we going?”…He replied, “Just wait and see.”
With our cups of coffee in hand we headed west. He wanted to take me down the walkway that runs parallel to the Hudson River. I found that in the mist of that cooler evening the Jersey shores were in view. I found that people were still out and about at midnight, something that in Phoenix really only happens in bars and night clubs. I found that sometimes, the city of Manhattan is truly, quiet. The one thing I didn’t find was evidence to support the myths, legends and the stories. He said to give it another hour, as those things tend to happen around 3am. I would have believed him, had he not raised his eyebrow just before smiling and turning his head.
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