In fact the things I had always thought would deter me from pure love for this place (excessive summer heat, lack of natural beauty, CROWDS)I now find myself almost revelling in.. well, at least the last two of them!
As for the first, well, heat will be heat. There is not much I can do about that. But as for a lack of natural beauty, I have to say- au contraire! Ok, actually, I don't need to say that, because I just annoyed myself by saying it, so instead I will explain that two weeks ago I purchased a used but still super shiny (and super..red) bicycle, and have used this bike to take me to all sorts of gorgeous places. I should preface that statement by saying I can be made happy and sated by a two foot by two foot garden where the flower count is only .. two.. but here there is no need to be so undemanding! I have discovered gorgeous public gardens all along the riverside on the WAY upper east side of the city... while downtown holds the hi-line (all that beauty AND cupcakes? Sign me up!) Not to mention my now beloved 'Ramble' in Central Park (I think I will name my next dog, or first child, "Ramble" I just love the word!)
Anyway, as usual, I digress, wildly!
*New bike-now called 'Ramblin' Red'!
It's actually the other "reasons why Rachel could never love NYC" fallacy I want to address most explicitly. The crowds! I have recently decided, as is the case with so, so many things (Proust put it perfectly, and JEANINE PAYER perfectly put it on her BENNETT RING!)
"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." 
*Jeanine Payer's BENNET RING- And my bday present to myself this year!
Well, my eyes must indeed be brand new, because this voyage, here in this ultra crowded city, is just about sublime.
Again, my shiny red bike (oh, let's call her.. Ramblin' Red :)) really comes in handy for this. Now, instead of being overwhelmed by all the people in Central Park at say 9 am on a Sunday morning (the time of my bike ride today), now, with my new eyes, I look upon these people as just.. more to entertain me! I love watching the way people sit on their bicycles, the way they run.. do they trot, or gallop, or ramble/amble along? And then there is the way I must move (gracefully, I pray) around so many of them! What would be 'just another bike ride' in any other city, in NYC, in Central Park, in the summer, becomes this gorgeous, dance of sorts, me and ramble, paired with everybody else. Every morning before I depart, I program a new playlist to fit my mood, and the heat of the day, (still shamelessly taking recommendations,Kyle!) and I depart for the dance. Check out this super blurry picture I took in honor of one of our coolest, most fit and inspiring customers- Christine Crosby Taylor, an avid runner and racer. I felt like a salmon swimming upstream against this tide of thousands, all seeming to have smiles on their faces while they ran (maybe that was in my head, but it's how I 'saw' it, and that's what we have decided counts for the most!)
*A horrible picture, but I was moving, on my bicycle! Don't try it!
OBVIOUSLY, I could go on and on about my rambling in this city, but I will eventually try to get to the title point of this blog!
Another of my favorite things about being here on a more frequent basis, is that most of the people I visit with here also happen to be artists at the Giving Tree, and this makes me RIDICULOUSLY happy! We carry their jewelry not just because we love what they create, but because the pieces are created by some of the most alive, inspired, creative people on the planet! A large majority of them living and working here in NYC! Between studio visits with amazing designers like ALEX WOO, long lunches followed by diamond district visits with PABLO VALENCIA to work on custom wedding bands we are designing, and awesome 'collaboration meetings' with PAM FINK OF GOOD CHARMA (just WAIT to see what we have planned!) I couldn't ask for better company!
And about that title, my 'friends on the 6 train'. Well, when I am not on my bicycle, I seem to be.. on the 6 train, heading from one end of town to the other. I always pack a book or newspaper to read, but most of the time, I end up just looking around me, at all the people. I have to wonder if it is possible to feel like I am having a love affair with about 3 million people, because everyday, I see .. something.. that makes my heart feel just a little more full. Some small act of kindness or even just..awareness of other human beings.
And just so I don't completely fall off the cliff of 'sappiness' that I always seem to be dangling precariously on :) I will also say that I see some KICK ASS FASHION on these trains!
I have come to 'see' these subway rides as research. What are people wearing these days? What is hip and new and trend setting, right NOW?
There are many, many answers, but two I am seeing quite a lot of are a LOT of multi material LAYERING of bracelets on wrists- as in leather meets sterling meets gold, meets beads and wood and string.
PERFECT example, these ONYX PRAYER BEADS BY ME & RO, paired with the awesome sterling silver ORIENTAL BANGLES FROM GOOD CHARMA and maybe even a new leather cuff from CHRISTY LEA PAYNE! YEAH!
The other thing I see, although I've been calling it for QUITE some time now, are men wearing rings on leather necklaces. I swear! I have seen three this past weekend alone!
I told PABLO about this some months ago, and he set to work making this piece for me, which not only looks RIDICULOUSLY sexy on a guy (OR GIRL) but ALSO represents the single most beautiful, most precious thing I have experienced in this city of New York. HUMANITY.
THE ACT OF BEING A HUMAN BEING
THE ACTION OF CARING FOR OTHER HUMAN BEINGS.
HUMANUS.
I can't think of a better thought to end this once again 'too long' (sorry mom!) blog on.
HUMANUS. May we feel it, embrace it, and be it.
With so much love from NYC, on the FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!
Rachel
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3 comments:
Think I will go for a bike ride after work tonight!!
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