RIP Nora Ephron

I gasped when I read that Nora Ephron died. It’s a cliche I guess, but she always wrote in a way that made you feel as if you knew her, so it was like an acquaintance had died. (She wouldn’t have liked me though. She didn’t approve of whining, and let’s face it, I’m a bit of a whiner.)

I’m always comforted when really smart people give their take on the mundane things of life, and I’m going to really miss Nora Ephron weighing in. Even if the news was bad, because she was always realistic, but she was realistic with compassion, and with humor that didn’t feel like denial. It had an edge.

Oh well. Fuck. Another one gone.

I walked up the east river yesterday. It was a problematic walk. On my side of town you can walk up and down the river non-stop. On the east side there are patches where there is no place to walk, it’s either blocked off or there’s only highway. I stopped at 57th Street, so I have to go back and pick up where I left off.

All of that said, there were many more pockets of beauty than we have on the west side. The tiny parks scattered along the river are greener and more lush and have a feeling of quiet and peace, and in some places apartments buildings come right up to the water and there are raised parks alongside overlooking the water. The west side is lovely too, but it’s the beauty of a nice lawn, vs the east side’s beauty of a secret garden. I’d say the west side is better for walking, the east side is better for sitting in a beautiful spot with a book.

Also, the rich have a far better deal on the east side. I saw some places that blew my mind.

I’ll post a couple of shots today, and more tomorrow. This was leading up to a park and a dog run.

This is the dog run taken from the other side of the highway. There is nothing like this on the west side (until you get to Inwood and above, I should say). Inside there you feel like you’re in another world.