Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Crisp and cold - and a new resolution.

A couple weekends ago, during the early January cold snap that enveloped the Eastern states, I took a sunny and very chilly walk across Central Park. I started off near my friends Miya and Jordan's place, at 64th and Central Park West, and left the park at 72nd and 5th. Along the way, I saw the icy towers of Midtown rising above the park's trees (one of my favorite New York sights).

I also passed this statue of Mother Goose. She's pictured astride a goose, and her plinth is covered with carvings depicting scenes from her various tales, including Humpty Dumpty and Little Bo Peep. I love the look of wise glee on Mother Goose's face and the sense of movement she creates, with her cape flying out behind her as she rides the wind.

Behind Mother Goose, two (slightly creepy) children keep watch over the entrance to the Rumsey Playfield. To me, they looked like something out of a horror novel, the sort of imp that comes to life after we've all gone to sleep.

I don't walk through the park nearly as often as I should, and this walk reminded me of that. I've resolved, therefore, to make a weekly pilgrimage from one side to the other. I'll try to document these walks here; I think it'll be really fun to watch the park ebb and flow with the seasons, and I can't think of anything that makes me feel more connected to the city than drinking it in as it was intended: on foot.

3 comments:

Nicholas said...

I so love Central Park and look forward to these!

Ana Herda said...

Yes, I couldn't agree more! They should go ahead and ban cars on the island it is such a walking city.

My favorite statue in the park is the alice in wonderland one but it's always lousy with children and hard to get a good shot of it.

Meg Blocker said...

@Nicholas: Yay! Me, too! ;-)

@Ana: I know, it's crazy. I wish we had more pedestrian areas. SoHo, for instance, should just ban cars altogether. Broadway between Houston and Canal is a total sh*tshow.

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