Riverside Park

Yesterday I had one of those quintessentially New York experiences. I had a moment that in my experience you just don’t get anywhere except the Big Apple. So I get up to stretch my legs in the mid-afternoon like I do almost everyday I usually wander around Morningside Heights, take a walk through Columbia University, or up to the Jewish Theological Seminary to do some people watching or I stop by the local bookstore which is a fabulous spot to peruse. In short it’s a nice break from the office in the middle of the day. Yesterday I did not feel like dealing with anyone so I wandered over to Riverside park, much like every other little park in the city its tranquil and beautiful, you can look up and see the big building surrounding you while you take in a little bit of nature. So on my walk I saw the most amazing thing, there was a big red tail hawk just chilling in the park. He/she was eyeing the squirrels running around like a, well like a hawk I suppose. So for the next ten minutes I was treated to the sight of this amazing bird trying to catch a meal he/she was completely aware of my presence (I was standing no more then 20 feet away from it) and didn’t seem to mind. I really felt like it was just me and it.

Some moments in life defy explanation. They defy all that we think are real and that for me was just such a moment. I mean I grew up in the country where there are actual woods and forests within reach, for all the wonderfulness of the New York City park system it will never be the same as real wilderness. Even in the middle of Central Park where all the city noise is absent it still smells like the city you can never completely escape that fact. But for those few moments I really forgot where I was I’ve observed birds of prey in the wild before, I spent my entire childhood in the creek by my house but never have I gotten so close to something so wild. Growing up when ever anyone would ask me what kind of animal I would most like to be I would always, always say a hawk(or a tiger) I’ve had a fascination with them ever since I read My Side of the Mountain as a young child. They have always represented pure freedom to me, the ability to get beyond all that restricts us, all that binds us to this earth.

I’d like to say I thought about all these things when I stood there quietly watching that amazing animal. In truth I thought about none of those things. I thought about very little, I just tried to experience without qualifying, without assigning an arbitrary meaning or context to the situation. Because the experience itself was enough, it doesn’t need anything to make it more real to me then it was. Even writing this isn’t necessary except that I wanted to share the experience with others. I know that no one will truly be able to understand that experience and selfishly I’m glad it was just for me and that’s enough.