Love from New York

From: Sherrie  (Original Message)

Sent: 17/06/2005 7:10 a.m.

I  New York   Dear Family,   I have been in New York now for several days, and finding it un-be-lie-vable! This place rocks!! The rail system is a marvel, and I am doing extra transit research (unplanned) while waiting on the wrong platforms, and taking the subway cars in the wrong directions. Brooklyn is a wonderful historic area, combining walk-up brownstones with high rise buildings. After several days of canvassing the neighborhood (while lost, looking for my apartment!) I have located several key places where I will be spending some time. the Brooklyn library is just around the corner, the gym as well, and a Barnes & Noble bookstore and Regal Theater are about 8 blocks away. Between the corner stores and mass transit systems, everywhere here is 'walkable.' Most people over here don't even own a car, due to the expense of insurance and parking, and the fact that it isn't essential to have one. People in New York are diverse, a rich cultural blend in Queens that includes the Spanish Harlem area. I have seen so many beautiful  people of all ages, of every Spanish and Caribbean descent. They celebrated Puerto Rican Day the day I arrived, and it was apparantly really crazy with people in the streets of Manhattan having a riotous time. Brooklyn has a lot of people of Jewish heritage, and they are a colorful lot. I love to listen to the little old ladies with their Brooklyn accents haggling with the shop keepers, etc. The subway is crowded from the early hours, and I am glad I am as tall as I am, for during rush hour the crush of the crowd makes you feel like a human sandwich. I had to put my hat on to keep it from getting destroyed in the crush! I am leaving for work at 5:00 am in order to try to beat the rush and the heat in the subways.  Luckily, our heat wave (over 100 degrees index with humidity) has cooled down to a wonderful 80 degrees. Each day, there is another talented group of musicians performing in Grand Central subway terminal, where I make one connection. Muscular young men were pounding out an african beat on 5-gallon paint buckets yesterday, and the sound resonated through the terminal. Even men in their Wall Street suits couldn't stand still. Everyone I have met here has been really nice. New Yorkers are great people, down to earth, and real.   Roger will be sending Rangi to spend a week with me later this month. I can't wait to take him around and show him some sights. I am working 10-hour days at the New York City Transportation Management Center in Queens, and have Thursdays off (which is today!) so am planning to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge into lower Manhattan and visit the World Trade center memorial, within a couple of miles from here. There is a free ferry to Statton Island from the bottom of South Manhattan, which is just a subway stop from here. The Liberty Island ferry goes to the Statue of Liberty, which you can climb up into. I'm getting a lot of excercise over here, with all of the stairs to climb at the subway stations. Even the gym has four floors of equipment, more stairs! My work at the NYC TMC will include researching, assessing and making recommendations on their traffic light systems, video systems and variable message signs. Roger and Rangi are keeping busy at home, and will be at the racetrack in Willow Springs, CA next weekend. They are planning to have a big backyard barbecue for family and friends on July 4th, so everyone can enjoy the city's fireworks display from our backyard, as we have done the past several years. And Rog is planning to make his way over here and take a 'bite of the Big Apple' after Rangi's trip. I can't wait to see them!   Everyone keep sending messages to the website, I enjoy staying connected by reading up on all the goings on. Jack and Mari's pictures with that new grandbaby are so awesome. I have limited access to computers, so usually can't take time to write, but I can take a quick peek at the news when the terminal is free at work. Everyone take care. And Richard, believe it or not, just up the street from my job assignment is a Vespa shop, sleek and modern amid the tiny, run-down shops surrounding it in a poorer section of Queens.   Love to all,   Sherrie