To wander through Central Park
On a chilly, drizzly April day
The daffodils! The magnolias! The blossoms! 
The lupines! The tulips! 
The grand beauty of it all 
Whispering a thank you
To those visionary souls
Who saw fit to ensure green
(The kind that circulates oxygen and carbon dioxide
Not the kind that circulates poverty and greed)
Amidst the industrial landscape 

The wonder of Shaina Taub
Writing and composing and starring in her own show
The contents of which are
Empowering and moving and uplifting and infuriating
The weaving of stories of so many women
Daring to tackle intersectionality
Daring women to take up space
Daring women to swear
You don’t want it to end
You want the storytelling to keep going
Show us where we are today
We’re still fighting
For autonomy over our bodies
Our paychecks
Our very existence
Produced by Hilary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai
Remember meeting Malala in London
What a life she has led
Could she ever have imagined she would produce a musical about women’s suffrage?!
Musical theatre royalty on the stage
Being awed and humbled and inspired by it all

To step out on to the street
With your neighbors 
Literal and metaphorical
And glance up at the sky 
The air is noticeably colder 
But also warmer
Strangers sharing a historic moment 
Passing the glasses around 
So each one can see 
The light is different 
We explain how it works to one another 
Confirm what we know
Make new discoveries 
The extraordinary magic of a total eclipse 
Making it all visible. 

Another Too Good to Go bag
This time, a bag of fruit and veg 
I passed a family with three small children
Two boys, maybe 5 and 4,
And a little girl, still a baby 
Barely 2 
Mama begging with an empty pizza box
"Would you like some fruit?" I asked 
"Solo español" she replied 
"Quisieras frutas?"
"Si. Gracias." 
I gave her all the mandarins I could find in the bag
The little girl
"Gracias! Gracias!"
Her radiant beaming smile 
What has her mama endured to get her here
To the streets of New York? 

Returning to the Kit Kat Club
This time in New York
This time as an usher
The adrenalin of working a show you've never worked before
In a brand new space 
With all new logistics
How gorgeous it looks
The thrill of it 
The theatricality of it
Getting to feel a part of it 
Even though you long to be on stage
And to paint your face
And wear fabulous costumes 
And to dance to that glorious music 
But for now you're in the room...
And how joyous it is 

Et spiritui sancto 
"And to the holy spirit" 
To sing divine music 
Feels sacred 
Even if Handel and I 
Don't worship the same deity
To sing in harmony with 100 other voices 
To provide the song for dancers to move their bodies 
To know my dear friends are in the audience 
To be gifted the most beautiful bouquet of flowers 
To feel seen and appreciated
To be a part of it all 
​Absolute bliss 

A beautiful morning
Despite the chilly wind
A bright blue sky
Dotted with puffy white clouds
The sneaky wind kept trying to steal my hat
I told her it was mine 
She wanted to slow me down
But in some moments I could pretend I was a kite 
whoooosh! 
Running felt good 
I've finally figured out a regular route 
That let's me clock 3.1miles / 5km 
Through three parks and around Yankee Stadium
Who would've thunk living in Harlem would let me explore the Bronx 
Discovering urban trails and art deco monuments 
The white magnolias have burst forth 
The yellow daffodils are in full bloom
Pointing their cheery faces to the sun 
Even the green leaves are starting to pop
The giddy promise of spring

To be able to bear witness
To a friend's story 
To hear their voice 
Not just in song
But how they see the world
How they interpret it
How they navigate it 
What lifts them up
When life keeps threatening a downward spiral
An honor, and a joy. 

In the rear mezz of the theatre
There is a big burly bear of a man 
At intermission
He keeps trying to say "Eurydice" out loud 
It's a new word for him
This whole theatre thing is new for him 
But his kid loves theatre
And when the school announced a trip to NYC
He thought, "Why not?!"
He loves any chance to spend time with his kids 
He wants to be supportive of their loves 
Even if he doesn't really get it 
But tonight something has shifted 
The whole trip has been fantastic
Traipsing the length and breadth of New York City with all the kids and the other chaperones
It has been fun
Bit more costly than he was expecting
But that's what it's all about, isn't it? 
A trip of a lifetime 
Can't beat those memories 
He has heard that the kid from the Harry Potter movies is in a play called 
"Merrily We Roll Along" (also new to him) 
He wants to see it before they leave 
But tonight at Hadestown
He leans forward in his seat 
Checks the song titles in the Playbill during each applause break
He is trying to memorize it all 
He applauds loudly with his giant hands after the trombone solo 
"Fantastic stuff. Wow, that dude can play." 
When Hades and Persephone find each other again
He weeps and uses the inside of his shirt to wipe away the tears
He glances over at the other chaperones
"Can you believe this?! Amazing!" 
When Orpheus turns around, he gasps 
Squeezes his own arms tighter around his chest 
He didn't know theatre could do this 
What a place, this New York City! 

I had an hour until I was meeting
My dear friend
So I walked down Sixth Avenue
From 48th to 3rd
Down past Bryant Park 
Through Herald Square where the bells were heralding the hour 
Past Michaels 
Past the turrets of the Jefferson Market Library 
Into the West Village 
How amazing that the city now
Holds so many memories
Remember being here
Sixteen years ago
And wishing it was where I was lived
How lovely to not need a map
To have Vietnamese in the Village after work
And a drink in an underground bar
To ride the uptown A
And smile at the elderly couple  
Sitting with their legs crossed toward each other 
Her glamorous hat
(Does anybody still wear a hat?!
She does, and well)
The matching gold rings that they've been wearing for fifty odd years
The way they were talking about Hamlet 
They got off the subway at 59th Street 
They probably bought their apartment for a song
Way back when in the Olden Days 
How amazing it is to call NYC home
​I hope I get to be old here, too.