Little Winter Oasis

I can't imagine anything colder than New York City in the middle of winter. People often don't consider that Manhattan is an island, but when the wind blazes by in mid-December hijacking the moisture off of the Hudson River, it becomes even more frigged! The natural earth being suffocated by concrete and brick, as well as being hollowed out for fast trains and slow sewage, provides no allegiance to thwart Jack Frost. A novice may think that the huge buildings and block spanning monopolies would shield the city's inhabitants from whipping, high speed gusts. On the contrary, the wide open streets manufacture a grid of interwoven wind tunnels which focus Mother Earths wrath the way a magnifying glass teams up light to a laser's intensity. The unique factor that may make an artificial metropolis slightly warmer than a forest more dense of trees than humans is how the heart repels the cold during the holiday season.

In the weeks preceding the new year I just can't help but to allude to the cliche of comparing the city to a nest but instead of yellow the fashion obsessed locals don jackets mostly of black. The seemingly frantic activity is in no way an angry vibe, in fact I find the energy to be uncharacteristically positive. I'm sure that it's mostly turned up due to the intentions of the tourists visiting to spend money on themselves and those that make it to their list of gifting. Somehow this energy over powers the stark contrast of that of the less fortunate or maybe one becomes so numb that the status quo ceases too register? Not everyone in Manhattan is shopping, not everyone is ordering food from a five star restaurant, lives in a luxury high rise or even lives between four walls and a roof.

This season I was unemployed and financially struggling along with my girlfriend Sachiko, in a quaint studio apartment. We lived in the Lower East Side which is a neighborhood in Manhattan far removed from the luxury department stores of other more well known areas. Relative to the rest of the metropolis it's historically an area whose inhabitants tend to have lower incomes in many cases taking advantage of rent control and public housing. When Sachi and I left our apartment building in the middle of 30th Street between 2nd and 3rd avenue we were confronted with what seemed like an avalanche of snow. Luckily the wind was at our backs and our legs rejoiced as its' force made sails of our jackets and skis of our shoes scurrying us to the end of the block. The descending stairs of the subway that would take my sweetheart to work were visible through the thick precipitation. The proposition of a homeless man fell upon frozen ears as I shook my head indicating that I had no money to spare the gentleman. I quickly kissed Sachi and had already taken a step back home by the time I wished her a wonderful day at work.

The same man I passed earlier held out a cup with a content that was much more white than it was green. He said that he was trying to get something to eat and before I knew it I did something that I've never done before. I told him and also made eye contact with his male companion who was sitting on the cold ground wrapped in a blanket stiff from the icy weather, that I didn't have much but I did have a hot pot of Japanese rice that was ready to serve if they were willing to follow me a couple of blocks. I think that I saw him smile right before he helped the other man to his feet. Once we were inside crowding our one room studio, I told the men that they were welcome to relax and keep warm. I explained that they had eight hours until my girlfriend would be home from work. I let them take turns showering while I prepared a second serving of rice and soy sauce. We ate again, watched a few movies on cable, then I walked them out on my way to pick up my girl from work. I don't think I've helped many people be as happy as those two were that day... that is, except for myself and how it made me feel to be able to give when I had thought I had nothing.