A Return to New York
When I left New York the evening of December 24, 2019, I had just said goodbye to my young friend, former tutee Celeste, and was thinking about what would be my last Christmas with my cat, Wally . I had no idea it would be the last trip to New York in a pre-pandemic life, one that I, you, everyone reading this, no longer has. In 2020, I fantasized about trips into the City, but then I saw the horrific news, the mock morgues in huge refrigerators. It was terrifying. Then, God bless science, I was lucky enough to survive and .. get vaccinated. I thought after my second jab in April of this year that I should go to New York. I had planned it, and canceled, and planned a couple of times. Finally, after my booster (taken because of my age, being overweight, and on public transportation), I felt safe enough to realize what had become a 22-month-long dream. My biggest fear? The MTA ride in. But even that was fine. I had already inched my way closer to New York , first to Milford, then Stra