The Noreaster

I just had the weirdest night. I had difficulty falling asleep again so I decided to go out for cheese cake at midnight – why not? There is a bakery near my hotel and I never get the chance to do this sort of thing back home.

New York was being blasted by a Noreaster and the snow fell like a heavy curtain. Soon the streets were buried under a foot of glop. I watched the Noreaster and read Anthony Bourdain for a couple of hours and then I went for a long walk. I ended up in the middle of the night in the Garment District. There is this statue of a Jewish man sewing and I thought about the loss of that industry. It was the perfect industry for Jewish immigrants and it allowed many families to establish themselves in the city. The garment industry was also instrumental in establishing labor laws and unions. 

At about four AM I helped push a cab out of a drift with another man. It was a lot of work and by the time it got out we were both wet from falling in the snow. He seemed like a nice guy so I asked if I could buy him a coffee. He was homeless and a veteran from the Iraq War and said he was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He said almost a third of all the veterans have PTSD. We talked for about an hour and then I walked back uptown.

By six I found a classic old diner – this place hadn’t changed in fifty years. It seemed to be owned by a Greek man who stood proudly at the till. The waitresses were all elderly and wore matching uniforms and also appeared to be Greek. The menu was typical diner fare so I had Challah French toast and slowly made my way back to the hotel.

Most of the side streets are impassable and the city buses aren’t running. Today I’m picking up my rental car and starting the trek to Rochester (for meetings). Under good driving conditions it would take about seven hours. However, today it will likely be a slog. I’m going to wait till early afternoon before venturing onto the highway – I don’t need the drama. It’s going to be a long day.