“March Forward to Carl Schlutz Park”
Beautiful sunny clear blue skies… moderate 50’s degree temperature. HEAVEN… after the bleak, freezing winter.
Manhattanites pour out of their confined apartments to relish the surprise weather break.
I phone Carol one of my Saturday Paragon dinner gals, to join me in a stroll on the Fenway Walkway River path, to Carl Schultz Park. It was with reluctance (believe me), she agrees to get dressed to go out. I’ve pulled her out of her cozy bed with the NY Times spread out, and a 2nd mug of coffee, in hand. Carol must lose her flannel cuddly PJs, to an itchy turtle-neck sweater, jeans and bubble-down ski jacket.
We two meet in the lobby and proceed to march with a crowd of strangers in the same direction…to “the park”.
The East River is calm not wavy for a change. It is a surprising rich green today & not a dirty slate grey.
Joggers, carriages, strollers, scooters, bikes, both manual electric ones, dog walkers holding multi breed packs of various breeds & sizes. Everyone is out this special retrieve of a March Day…it seems.
Pigeons in droves flew overhead to the park. The birds are the colors of New Yorkers today; white, brown, black, and mixtures of all of the above.
Groups of aged citizens, some in wheelchairs facing the river with their attendants chatting away in their native languages, on their cells to their families, out of this country.
Newspapers, books and Kindles are in the hands of their readers seated on the wooden benches scattered along the river path.
Wherever there was a patch of open grass, people were stretched out on blankets soaking up the warm sun. Fall flowers in gated small gardens are dutifully tended by volunteers…with tender loving respect surround the grass. The mayor’s residence sits high above this scene.
Soon we heard Jacob’s vintage music playing on his boom box. He is elderly neighbor who sits his miniature speakers next to his folding chair, adjacent to the small dog play area. Jacob is a local friendly legend, who aways greets me a broad smile & wave, "Hello”.
Directly behind him is the Pickle Ball arena of action. Then the basketball hoops, baby swings, sandbox and seasonally empty children’s wading pool.
There are boats, ferries and tugs pulling barges of oil, coal lumber and machinery busy at work on the important water channel.
Yellow water taxis loaded with passengers, sped along staring at us landlubbers on the walkway.
It was still too early in the season, (and chilly) for the sailboats, yachts and water speed vessels to navigate by.
The FDR Drive runs parallel to the East River with autos, trucks, fire engines, ambulances with sirens sounding to move traffic out of their way.
As we gals left the park, I was so full of joy that afternoon, that whomever I bumped into I said, “What a gorgeous day and we deserve it”! Everyone smiled back in agreement.
A Big Apple Day of perfection!
