Saw you last night, dance by the light of the moon.

Drank lots of wine while packing last night, and then went out and bought a pack of cigarettes. Not one of my finest moments so far, but smoking them did inspire me to go for a very long walk in the park, once again wandering through The Gates, which became even more beautiful as slowly, one by one, delicate little snowflakes began to flutter down to the ground. It was one of those purely New York moments, and it was not lost on me. They happen every so often, and it’s like when they do, they just reaffirm my connection to this place and make me ask myself, “How the hell could you even entertain the notion of living anywhere else?”

It was really kind of magical. The light filtering down through the naked tree branches and the flaps of orange (sorry, saffron) fabric fluttering in the breeze above me. Little by little the snow began to fall faster and harder, and the sky took on that strange illuminated night-snow quality, like it wants so desperately to be daytime but the sun is off on the other side of the world doing its thing.

One thing that surprised me was the extreme police presence in the park. I guess it should have occurred to me that the city wouldn’t just leave the installation unattended all night, but man, there were cops everywhere. And on an array of modes of transport: cars, horses, little electric buggies, on foot... And in a way, it made me feel safer than I usually feel on my semi-frequent late night walks/runs through the park. But at the same time I felt so much more conspicuous than usual. The constant presence of flashing red and white lights reverberating off of the fabric panels as I walked was not necessarily the most welcome of additions, but not necessarily unwelcome either. Just another element of the somewhat surreal experience. It occurred to me that nowhere else would I be able to just stumble drunkenly out of my apartment and have this kind of experience, steps outside my door.

As I approached the southern end of the park I was really starting to get cold, and the snow had become increasingly icy and violent. So I exited at Columbus Circle and contemplated warming myself up in that Time Warner mall, but somehow it seemed even less appropriate than usual. So with a sigh, I started my stroll up Broadway, gritting my teeth against the cold, tightening my collar around my neck, and at the same time entirely thankful for the experience.