The December Blizzard

In case you haven’t heard or weren’t here to experience it, the day after Christmas, New York City and the surrounding area had a blizzard. It was my first in the City as well as my first in the Northeast. It was mind-boggling how fast it came. The City got just over 20 inches with some surrounding areas buried under up to 32 inches. On top of that, the blizzard conditions caused drifts four or five feet deep in some places. There are people who still haven’t shoveled their home’s doorways free of snow to allow doors to open.

Nature and the power of the weather are mind-boggling. More powerful than anything we humans are able to construct, build, design or even dream of. Here in New York big snows are not rare. It is to be expected. You would think New Yorkers would be prepared. This was the 6^th greatest snow accumulation in New York history but there was one even larger last February. I watch cars slip, slide, get stuck and still have not seen chains, snow tires or many who know how to drive in this stuff. Cars were abandoned all over the area. These abandoned cars block streets and prevent snow plows from doing their job.

Now the local news is covering nothing but the ranting and raving of locals who are blaming Mayor Bloomberg for their inability to get around in the snow. Secondary and tertiary roads are not all plowed and clean as a whistle for their convenience. As powerful as he is, the mayor of this city or any other city is not powerful enough to control snowfall, wind, floods and other weather phenomena. They didn’t campaign based on that nor did we elect them based on their ability to control the weather or its results. It seems the new mantra of this country is the blame game. It seems we are constantly looking for someone to blame. This is mind-boggling. Yes, there are weather caused inconveniences and critical situations that happen in the Northeast and most other places. We do have to live with such challenges and they can’t always be fixed immediately as we desire. The blame game doesn’t help.

Another possible contributing factor in this situation, to take a political view, is that New York City has had to lay-off 400 City employees. The downturn in the economy and the influence of the Tea Party and the Republicans will continue to cause further essential services to disappear. This is what many voted for: A balanced budget and the reduction of the deficit. The cutting of essential services will continue. Pardon me for repeating myself but this is mind-boggling to me. Wanting all the services possible but not wanting to pay for them.  As they say, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”

Stan the Man 

Acceptance has Mind-Boggling Results

Christmas is a good time to return to the subject of values. This blog has touched on values at several junctures. Why do values have a place on a blog about mind-boggling phenomena? Well, my experience working with clients throughout my 40+ year career as a therapist has taught me that those individuals and families with clear values and who use their values as sign posts for their behavior do better over the long haul. The results may be mind-boggling. Even with clear values we will continue to get off track. Values provide our sign-posts for getting back on track. A lack of clear values will make our lives more of a struggle.

The first five values that appear critical to me (perhaps you have others) are peacefulness, attentiveness, contribution, resilience and acceptance. Currently, at Christmas it seems that acceptance is particularly important to think about. What does acceptance means?

Acceptance means embracing all cultures, religions and lifestyles and working to reduce the boundaries between such entities. After all, we do all have commonalities. We all are human and we all live on this Earth. Because a country or culture lives differently or a religion believes differently should not mean we have to set out to reject or change them.

Acceptance means we understand everyone is doing the best they are able to in their present conditions. Individuals and cultures have obstacles to overcome that are unique to them. We need to have an understanding attitude towards others and their struggles. Acceptance means we have positive regard for others. It also means we make an effort to see the strengths of others rather than just their weaknesses.

Finally, acceptance of others is much more difficult if we don’t accept ourselves. We need to accept our own strengths and weaknesses and know we are doing the best we can at any given time. Perhaps acceptance of our own mortality is part of this. It is, after all, our ultimate weakness.

Diametrically opposed to acceptance are rejection, close-mindedness and bigotry. If we are able to move away from those characteristics and behaviors and toward the value of acceptance the results can be mind-boggling. To make a few steps in that direction we gave our money to Habitat for Humanity http://www.habitat.org/ this year instead of spending it on un-needed and unwanted gifts. One small thing but hopefully it will make a difference.

Stan the Man   

Creativity of Nature

Wind, scientifically, is caused by natural atmospheric conditions. Barometric pressure gradients cause the air we breathe to rush from high pressure areas to low pressure areas. Scientific understanding doesn’t come close to explaining what I really know about the wind. Wind behavior is another mind-boggling phenomenon, as is my own: Often unpredictable and unexplainable. The difference, the wind has no conscience.

A windy day has a mind of its own. It is a free agent looking for the perfect route. In the desert the wind can run un-impeded for miles like a jack rabbit. It becomes a force that drives sand, tumbleweeds and anything else not tied down in front of it. Then the wind hits a mountain range, rises quickly, finds a break in the barrier and creates a wind tunnel for itself. Compressed by the tunnel the wind gains strength and speed bearing down on those who dare to occupy the space that the wind believes it owns. My wife and I lived and had a business in one of those spaces. The wind won. We vacated. Leaving our Arizona ranch we find ourselves in New York City.

The wind followed us. Windy days are the norm it seems. The weather forecast says northwest wind to 30 miles per hour. Again, the wind follows its own rules. The skyscrapers create a maze for the wind.  It uses creative techniques to get through in amazing ways. I walk into the northwest on Broadway.  The flags on the rooftops are standing straight out signaling a wind out of the northwest as predicted. Down here the wind is demonstrating its versatility and reversing its field. It is a tail wind for me pushing me into the Northwest. In fact, it seems the wind blows in all directions, a different direction each corner I round. I turn right and am hit in the face by an icy blast from the east. Any direction is possible down here in the canyons of frigid Manhattan.

It is mind-boggling how easily nature adapts to man-made structures.

Stan the Man

Christmas Cookies....

It's mind-boggling how generations become the next...years slip by and suddenly you are at the age you believed "old".  You know that age your grandparents were, once upon a time, now long gone...and now you are in line for that too if you live long enough.

Holidays seems to mark that time in memories of past celebrations and rituals, reminiscing bygone days. Special times stand in my memory of moments during Christmas cookie baking with my grandmother, mother and children over the years, those special red cookie cutters that even as a child held me spellbound with cookies of wreaths, reindeer and sleighs.  I revisited that with my own grandchildren at our ranch in Arizona when I decided it was time to pass on those red cookie cutters to the next generation.  It's mind-boggling that I still love those wonderful iced sugar cookies in Christmas designs-still yummy after all these years!

This year,Stan the Man and I, enjoyed a very special holiday, taking Kim and Adam, two of my now middle aged offspring, to the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular!  Wow, over the top, better than Christmas cookies, it truly was spectacular!!  So now we may have a new Christmas ritual in the years to come, less calories than those Christmas cookies, but what fun to share some of the incredible NYC glitz and glamour!!

I am left thinking of my mother who passed on the red cookie cutters to me in a special moment that I hold dear.  Now she is in a nursing home, in a world other than the present, perhaps enjoying her childhood all over again and Christmas cookies baking in the oven.

Katherine the Great

Brrrrrr, its cold!

It’s mind-boggling how cold December in New York City can be. This year winter has come early and the temperature is running 12 to 15 degrees below normal in early December. That means a temperature of 32 to 35 degrees. Add to that a 35 mile per hour gusty wind out of the North and we have a wind chill factor in the teens. I refuse to allow the weather conditions to deter me from my 4 to 5 mile daily walk. I bundle up and wait until the heat of the day, 35 degrees and the wind-chill is up to 22.

So I’m walking down Church Avenue past ground zero as fast as I can, dodging the multitude of tourists, shoppers and financiers. The biting wind makes my eyes water like leaking faucets. The sun, low in the south blinds me. Wait, something’s wrong. I take my trifocal, transition glasses off to wipe tears out of my eyes and place them back on my nose. My vision becomes distorted. Everything is blurry and looks weird. I reach up with my gloved finger to touch the left lens of my glasses and jam my finger directly into my eye. There is no glass. The lens has disappeared. It must have fallen out. I turn and retrace my steps for a couple blocks. Nothing. It’s gone.

An hour later I find myself at an optical office in the Financial District that my wife has guided me to. “I need a new lens for my glasses.” I say. He calls the optometrist in Washington State to secure the prescription. The voice mail says he’s gone hunting for the next ten days. I make an appointment to see the doctor here. He’ll be in on Friday, four days away. My old pair of prescription glasses will have to do until then but they’re already making me sick to my stomach and nauseas. Oh well, nothing I can do except wait until Friday and then 3-5 days more days for the prescription lens to arrive.

Standing at the counter chatting with the clerk we talk of the cold weather. He relates “this is a new kind of weather for New York City. The climate has changed. Nobody wears sweaters anymore. There’s no sweater weather but only hot and then cold.” Mind-boggling I think. I’m standing in front of him sweating inside my turtle neck sweater, vest sweater, my bulky ski sweater and an Eddie Bauer Fleece sweater- jacket on top of that. I’ll be glad I have all these layers of sweaters on when I venture back outside. On the street everyone is dressed like my wife in Bulky, long, heavy, black coats. Perhaps I need to change my style of dress or maybe I’ll just go to Miami for the winter as soon as I take delivery on my new left tri-focal, transition lens.      

Time Traveling to Christmas.

It is a truly mind-boggling phenomena. Seems like we just got done with a sweltering summer in New York City and time rushes forward. We're done with Fall, Thanksgiving, my birthday and suddenly Christmas is upon us. It seems to happen faster each year. It is mind-boggling. Each year everything seems to flash by more rapidly. Are the years getting shorter? Of course, each year I move a little slower.

In order to acknowledge the on-rushing arrival of Christmas, Katherine the Great and I enjoyed the Christmas Tree lighting the other night. It was cold, it felt like winter but was a heartwarming event. Great music, marching bands, Santa Claus and much more. New Yorkers love crowds and it was evident the crowd loved this event. Their expressions and body language said everything. This was not the well-known Christmas Tree lighting at Rockefeller Center which is broadcast on TV. This was a Lower Manhattan event at Seaport. It didn't matter. New York knows how to put on exciting events and New Yorkers know how to enjoy them!
Stan the Man  

I'm a Winner!

Yes, through the last 30 days I have been involved in a contest. A participant's goal is to write a novel of a minimum of 50,000 words in those 30 days. I find it mind-boggling that I actually made that goal last night and am a winner. I do truly find that mind-boggling. So far however, I don't know the end of the novel. I'm still writing toward that goal. The title of my novel is The Last Client. It draws on my years in the mental health system and is a novelized exposure of some of the not-so-pretty underbelly of that system. Watch for its publishing some day.

This writing has taken fortitude and resilience. It takes a lot of hunt and peck to get a 52,000 word masterpiece completed, which was my total. Thanks to everyone who supported and tolerated this effort, particularly my wonderful wife. It has dominated not only my life but her's for 30 days.
Stan the Man

Without Question, a Tropical Getaway

It is remarkable how few of the "essentials" of city life we actually need. In fact, it is truly mind-boggling. This was our experience during a recent visit to Belize. We chose not to stay at a fancy, expensive resort. There are a few such resorts we understand, even in out-of-the-way Belize. Instead we chose Barnacle Bill's Bungalows.

Barnacle Bill's is on Maya Beach, a relatively undeveloped area and consists of two basic bungalows and a beautiful private beach. Barnacle Bill and Adriane will assist you with just about anything you need. They will stock your refrigerator before your arrival, pick you up at the local airport after making flight reservations for you and just about anything else. There is no luxury here. The basic stuff you need is available. Simplify your life for a week or two! You drink twice filtered rain water that's delicious. If you choose to cook your meals, there are pots and pans and an ancient two burner stove that works great. Or if you choose, there are comfortable beachfront restaurants right down the road as well as many more in the Village of Placencia, a short taxi ride away.

Complimentary kayaks are provided. Explore Mayan ruins, scuba dive or do what we did. Yes, we sat on the beach, sat on the porch, laid in the hammock, slept long peaceful nights in the comfy bed, drank the tasty national beer called Belikin, played Scrabble, read and wrote. Barnacle Bill's provides a true getaway. Peace and quiet with no phones, no BlackBerries, no television. And it was clear, sunny and 84 degrees in mid November. Late in our week we had a "cold front" move through that dumped tropical portions of rain and the temperature dropped to the mid 70s. That rain was an interesting experience and led to our re-discovery of Scrabble.

We appreciated Bill and Adriane and their personal styles. If you need something, they will provide it for you. If not, they leave you alone. Perfect! Unfortunately, Bill's father died and he had to leave for the funeral in Denver....our condolences. We strongly recommend this tropical paradise if you desire a real change from a complex cold city environment. We also recommend Maya Regional Airlines they will fly you from Belize City to your destination at Barnacle Bill's. They proved convenient, safe and efficient. You will find such a get-away, mind-boggling, without a doubt.
Stan the Man   

November 16th in Belize, Central America: Sunny and 84 degrees

The contrasts one can experience in a short period of time through air travel are mind-boggling. I would also have to say these contrasts are body-boggling. Luckily both my mind and my body adjust quickly and easily.
The simplicity of life here in Belize compared to New York City is remarkable and mind-boggling. What we need here to survive and thrive is so much less than NYC. It is a dynamic change.
My body thrives on the constant warmth. Since arriving here three days ago cold has not once assaulted this old body. Instead my body is caressed by sun and warm sea breezes. Stress, aches and pains all melt away. We pass the days, evenings and nights doing what ever occurs to us. Wandering the streets of Placencia Village where the main street is a sidewalk just wide enough for two people and then walk Maya Beach. We stop for morning coffee in an open-air cafe. we sit just feet from the un-occupied white sand beach and the Caribbean Sea. The pictures to your left are two small representations of this place.
Everyone we meet as we stroll greets us warmly. We wonder into a bar built on a dock sticking out into the Sea. Sampling the Belize National beer called Belikin we find it delicious and refreshing. The owner tells us  people from New York usually only stay a couple of days because they are in such a hurry. We tell him we have seven days. There is a sign over the bar that is mind-boggling. The message:
                                                Great people talk about ideas
                                             Average people talk about things
                                          Small people talk about other people
That gives us something to think about in this small, unusual out-of-the-mainstream nation in Latin America. 
Stan the Man

Back to New York: Peaceful and Attentive.

Flying back home to New York was surprisingly enjoyable. As I have written previously a set of values that are clear in one's mind can assist us in staying on course and help us get back on course when we have strayed. I had forgotten to focus on my value number 1 on the first leg of my journey. On the return flight I concentrated on peacefulness....staying peaceful no matter what is happening around me. I also concentrated on value number 2, attentiveness. In my book, attentiveness means being observant, aware, being open and interested in other's and their stories. It means connection through conversation and thus learning about fellow passengers jetting across the country at 35,000 feet above the earth. Unlike the previous flight when I simply sat and felt sorry for myself and got angry, this time I stayed relatively peaceful and attentive. My attentiveness led to a connection with the guy sitting next to me. Through a conversation, I heard his story and he heard mine. I know everyone has a story to tell. I've heard many as a therapist and as a participant in life. Stories teach me about life and they help establish meaningful connections with all kinds of people. They lead me away from being un-interested, close-minded and isolated. In this case it made the flight seem much shorter and certainly more enjoyable. My thanks to that fellow traveler.
I note that I started this post by referring to New York as "home". It does feel like home after living here only 3 months. NYC has the ability to capture one's affection quickly.
Stan the Man

Return Trip

Waiting for my flight back to New York City. I can only hope it turns out better than the flight to Seattle. My account of that flight was written about in the previous post. More about this up-coming flight when its over and I'm over it.
In the meantime I will attempt to embrace my first important value of which I have written, peacefulness. A 6 hour flight will challenge my peacefulness.
My second value is attentiveness supported by being observant, introspective, connection to others and story. I will be practicing each of these in the next 24 hours and then will write more about this value soon.
Stan th Man

Traveling Miseries Without Relief but Staying Peaceful.

A bad thing about moving from Seattle to New York City is that I have loved one's in the Seattle area. I need periodic trips back to Seattle. I made one Wednesday night from Newark International. I'm still recovering.
Forty minutes to board and find space for every one's so called "carry-ons." Why don't they check those monstrous bags? Oh yeah, the airlines in their thoughtful ways started charging $25 per bag. By the time I finally got to row 27 seat B there was no room left in the overhead bins. No problem for me. My 30 pound back pack fits snugly under the seat in front of me.
Sandwiched between two large men who have taken ownership of the armrests I can't wiggle around and get anything out of my backpack. My elbows become intimate. No writing tonight.
It's mind boggling that this transcontinental flight has no music programming to plug into, no TV or movies to present to passengers. Instead the airline wants you to rent a a small screen machine for your lap. That's only $12. And they don't take cash. Only credit cards.
Kids behind me scream and yell as they play some kind of card game with their daddy. At every scream there are kicks directly into the back of my seat probably doing permanent kidney damage.
Somebody I couldn't identify across the aisle and behind me coughed incessantly throughout the flight. They were uncovered coughs which sounded like TB or pneumonia to me. I'm waiting to see what I will come down with.
Intermittent turbulence and admonishments from the flight deck prevented my necessary bathroom breaks.
"Stay in your seat and keep those seat belts fastened".
Finally after 6 hours that seemed like 6 days as a cramped sardine we landed in Seattle.
Then the announcement. We can't get out of our seats and de-plane. "One of our fellow passengers isn't feeling too chipper". I'm not either. We must wait until the handsome EMTs get aboard and take care of her.
Then another 40 minute process of getting everyone and their carry-ons off and I finally escape hell.
This was a mind boggling experience and enough to get me to swear off flying forever but I need to get back to my wonderful, beautiful wife in New York. Then next week we fly to Miami and on to Belize for a week in a tropical paradise. Will I never learn.? Stay tuned for updates on that adventure.
Stan the Man

Peacefulness as Number One Value.

In a previous post I wrote of the importance of having clear values. Clear values help us to stay on course and to get back on course when we have strayed. I have seen this in my own life and watched people use values as a strong part of their recovery from many difficulties. Of course, it is helpful if your spouse, partner, family, community, country and the worldwide community share your values. Shared values help us a lot but we won't always have that luxury and at times we may have to stand alone.
I want to share just a little of what seems to be a critical value at this time: Peacefulness.
Today the worldwide community and our country isn't particularly focused on peaceful ways. It would be good if we could move more in that direction.
Some of the concepts that support peacefulness include the following:
Open communication, negotiation, understanding multiple points of view, forgiveness, politeness, caring about others and ourselves, mindfulness, simplifying and being honest.
On the other hand, peacefulness is undermined by anger, war, reprisal, arguing, being aggressive or passive-aggressive.
Let's see what each of us can do this week to move towards more peacefulness. The results could be mind boggling.

Stan the Man

Car-less in New York City

For the first time in 50 years I don't own a car. I gave my white 1997 Jeep Cherokee to my son, sold my elderly mother's Honda, sold my beloved Miata convertible and moved from Seattle to New York City. Everyone said I wouldn't need a car in in New York. "Nobody has cars there", they said. This hasn't proven to be at all true. It is mind boggling how many cars there really are. Cars are everywhere along with trucks, buses and 13,000 yellow cabs. They will run you down if given half a chance. They honk their horns incessantly. I wonder how they all keep running. I've only seen one gas station in all of Manhattan. Of course, I haven't been searching since I don't need fuel.
Recently I was reminded of how long old habits can persist. I walked out of my apartment building, saw a white 1997 Jeep Cherokee across the street. Without thinking, I automatically started walking towards it as I began fishing in my pockets to find the ignition key. Just in time, a man hops in the Jeep and drives away. Oh yeah, I am car-less in NYC.
Living car-less does have advantages. I have no car payments, no insurance payments, no gas credit card bills. It's no longer necessary to remember the last time I had the oil changed or when the 60,000 mile servicing is due. I'm also lucky I don't have to pay big bucks to park. Then there are the deductibles to pay after each fender-bender. They have disappeared. It's mind boggling how being car-less in New York City simplifies one's life.
There are complications though. I've had to learn the ways of the mysterious underground world of New York that they call the subway. Where I come from a subway is a sandwich. It's downright scary to be lost in that underground labyrinth of routes. schedules and mobs of people who seem to know where they are going. Then there are the buses, ferries, and the trains. I've also had to learn the intricacies of hailing and tipping cabs. Being car-less makes you more dependent on other forms of transportation and you wear out your shoe leather a lot quicker. By the way, I'm not alone. Judging by the others doing the same things I'm doing, there are millions of people here without cars.
No longer sleep-less in Seattle.

War or Peace?

The Associated Press and the Metro newspaper in NYC reported last week that the U.S. would be selling $60 billion worth of advanced military weaponry to Saudi Arabia. This was reported to Congress by State Department and Pentagon officials.The sale includes fighter jets, attack helicopters and a wide array of missiles, bombs and delivery systems. The deal is being described as necessary to keep the peace in that region. It is mind boggling that we never learn that military build-ups usually lead to more conflict and eventually war rather than peace. This does not look like a peaceful move to me. Congress apparently has 30 days to stop the sale but no opposition is expected. My questions would be:
1. How does introducing more weapons lead to peaceful resolutions?
2. How many additional military personell will we send with the weapons to "train" the Saudis?
3. Is this really all about protecting our access to oil in the Middle East?
4. What do Israel and others in the region really feel about this?
5. When will we stop thinking of weapons to resolve issues rather than peaceful, humane approaches?

Again, it is mind boggling to me. What do you think?

Obesity: Whats the Problem?

We see these mind-boggling reports often. A current publication from CME Resource indicates that "nearly 65% of adults are overweight or obese and 16% of children." They call this an epidemic in the United States.
It is, without question, mind boggling but the definition of an epidemic according to my dictionary is a disease that spreads from one person to another in a locale where the disease is not prevalent. Does obesity really spread from person to person? You can catch it? Well maybe. I have seen evidence to support that. How many times do we see families that all have pretty much the same body type. Yes, genetics are involved to some degree but it could be that some families are more physically active and eat right and are thin while others lead more sedentary lives, survive on fast food and are obese. By the way, couldn't we just call it fat...maybe it would be more impactful.
It really shouldn't be mind boggling why fat people (or obese if you prefer) should lose weight and get in shape. It is downright dangerous to be fat. Being fat has become the second most common underlying cause of death behind tobacco use. It is strongly associated with cardiovascular disease (that means heart attacks), type 2 Diabetes, hypertension, cancer and stroke.
Now in addition, a recent feature on NBC's Today Show, indicates there is a new "epidemic". Arthritis and joint pain is becoming an increasingly major problem for younger people. They are predominately overweight people. The mind boggling thing is that when they lose weight the pain often goes away. What a surprise.
Now, I have struggled with extra fat from time to time but I feel like I have found the answer for me. It boils down to eating better and regular exercise along with stress reduction. Its mind boggling how easy it can be with a little discipline! More about my struggles and successes with fat in future posts.
Resources: http://www.realage.com/
                  http://www.obesity.org/
                  http://www.netce.com/

The power of values

Over many years of working with people and observing their successes and failures, as well as my own, I have seen the mind-boggling power of having clear values and living by those. This doesn't mean that its possible to always live consistent with your values. It does mean that when you get off track and things aren't going well, your values can provide a positive goal to move towards. Without clear values it becomes much more difficult to know who you are or where you want to be in your life. Clearly stated values make it easier to live your life instead of finding yourself living someone else's life. What are your values? It is helpful to think about and identify them. I like to have them in writing for myself. Five values I have identified to be particularly important for myself and those I've worked with are:

1.Peacefullness

2.Attentiveness

3.Contribution

4.Resilience

5 Acceptance

More about each of these values as well as additional identified values in future posts.

Physical objects gone wild.

Today I find the physical world mind-boggling. Because of the actions of objects that I thought I had control over, I am in mourning and experiencing a real sense of loss.
I have been a life-long fly-fishing enthusiast. Several years ago I found a beautiful rug which reflected that passion and I became attached. This rug has a white background with designs of colorful trout, assorted flies and fly rods. It has been my pride and joy, always taking its position in strategic locations wherever we  lived. In our current apartment the ideal spot was in the small kitchen.
Last week I innocently opened the refrigerator door to grab a bottle of barbecue sauce to aid in the preparation of a steak for dinner. Now these bottles always have instructions that say "shake well before use". I did that. The bottle had already unscrewed  its top so I was screwed. One good shake, the top came off and that messy brown stuff was all over my beautiful fly-fishing rug. How and why that bottle unscrewed its top is a mind-boggling question.
My rug maintained its position in the kitchen in-spite of the new dark brown spill obliterating one of the trout and part of the white background. Today I thought a nice glass of milk would taste good. Upon opening the refrigerator door, a nearly full bottle of raspberry vinaigrette salad dressing leaped out of the door, smashed its lid off on the tile floor and sprayed its entire bright red cargo all over my already soiled rug.
I lost the battle with two physical objects that I thought had no life or power of their own.Has anybody else ever experienced this type of phenomenon?

My rug is now rolled up, sitting in the hall waiting for garbage pick-up and transportation to its final resting place.I am grieving this mind-boggling loss.

I will be getting more serious soon but a humorous view of things around us can never hurt.

New York Pedestrian Radar

This is my very first post. It is a trial and not earth shaking and a little silly. Stick in there with me for improvement. The blog design will improve as I keep moving ahead as well.

I arrived in New York City as a refugee from the West Coast recently. On the West Coast everybody drives. To see someone walking is an oddity. Not so in New York City. It is a mind-boggling experience to navigate successfully as a pedestrian in NYC and to see how smoothly the masses of people move along the sidewalks. It is culture shock.
I am reminded of seeing the flocks of swallows return to Capistrano. They fly around in what appears to be chaos that will surely result in catastrophic collisions. Collisions do not happen. Swallows have some kind built in radar or sonar which keeps them flying in formation without colliding.
The sidewalks in NYC, Manhattan to be specific can be the same way. New Yorkers must have the same kind of radar. Is it genetic or can you acquire it through the learning process? I felt clumsy and awkward. I was constantly dodging and weaving to avoid oncoming pedestrians. I surprised others with my quick movements and was disturbing the system. I was overwhelmed by the experience of walking anywhere.
It took some study of the crowd dynamics but one day I had a "ah ha" experience. One needs to plan ahead.
It's similar to driving 75 miles per hour on a freeway in Los Angeles or Seattle. You can't just watch the car directly in front of you but instead must be watching those a half mile ahead since things happen so fast.
Applying this theory to sidewalk travel in Manhattan has made such a difference and maybe I'm learning the radar system. I watch 15 to 30 feet in front of me to identify the creases in the crowd and enter those as they present themselves.
What remains mindboggling to me are those pedestrians who walk the sidewalks while texting, never bothering to look up from their BlackBerry. I haven't yet seen one involved in a collision. It is truly a mind-boggling, techno-cultural phenomenon.