Running through the parks of
Upper Manhattan
Uptown = UP
Downtown = DOWN
Reveling in the hills
Even when they’re hard
They will make me better.

The joy of sitting in the park
On a warm and sunny afternoon
Watching a family kick around a ball
Their goofy retriever rolling in the grass
People watching
Meeting Jan for dinner
And getting to see
Titanic at City Center
The all-star cast of musical theatre royalty
The stunning score played with a full orchestra
Feeling lucky and spoilt
In the best kind of way

A gorgeous blue sky day
The heartbreak of passing nearly a dozen people sleeping rough on the park benches
The plethora of trash on the ground
The beauty of the parks
The green of the trees
The cool of a tree-lined avenue

Birthday cake for a lovely friend
Sharing delicious food
And fun conversation

Coffee with a dear friend
Talking theatre

​How a bright blue sky can lift your mood
How a street fair can brighten your spirits
How a nap can revive you

What a privilege it was to know
Abuelo’s youngest brother
Remembering his visit to Australia
Dirt cake and tomato sauce on ice cream
Help with a last minute science project
On my first trip to the U.S.
We suggested a week over Christmas
We stayed for six
And were told it wasn’t long enough
Being greeted at the ferry
By his smiling face
And warm hug
The Spanish and American flags outside the house
Going to dinner at the lodge
Tuesday lunch (strictly divided by gender)
Long walks along the cobbled streets of Nantucket
With Duke the German shepherd
Staying up late to watch old war movies and Cranford
Making lumpia
Brunch after church
(Tinka’s boozy maple syrup!)
Cheese and crackers and nuts and wine spritzers before dinner
Three course meals and crystal glass
Afternoon siestas 
“Measuring the bed”
When it was time to go
“Ok, vamanos”
When it was time to sleep
“Sleep with your eyes closed!”
Shopping at the “Stop & Rob”
Celebrating on New Year’s Eve
12 grapes at midnight
Dancing the chicken dance
The story of one of the first times he stayed on Main Street
He hadn’t been welcomed to the house
So the ghosts played tricks
No hot water
He couldn’t shave and
Met Tinka at the boat “looking like a wreck”
(Probably one day of stubble)
I was in awe of the work he did translating at the hospital
Heading off to work with his notebook
In his breast pocket
He was meticulous and funny
And sometimes got cranky
But always called Tinka “love”
He was warm and gentle
And utterly wonderful
His impish sense of humor
His love of Spain
His love of Nantucket 
​His love of football
His jaunty cap
His cheeky smile
His twinkling eyes
I’ll miss you, Tito.

A long travel day 
From NYC to Boston
To Hyannis
Journeying north 
To say a last goodbye to Tito Fernando 
Reminiscing with Rachel 
And feeling so thankful
I am able to be here

You choose a different path today
Run north along the Hudson
Toward the GW 
It is awe-inspiring up close 
Immense and grand 
And then the hill begins 
And you are in the Heights
And you get to run back down the hill
All the way home to 
Harlem 

At the end of a long day
You're out of spoons 
But you meet up with a dear friend
For dinner and a walk
And you stumble upon the Wicked garden
And eat the most phenomenal noodles 
(The Hand Pulled Noodle in Harlem
You have my heart forever) 
And watch the sunset over the Hudson 
And feel oh-so-thankful 
You get to be here