Right now, the New York City streets and landscape are defined by the aftermath of the recent snowstorm. Invariably, talk of snowstorms here will include the dreaded melting and slush, analogous to the Mud Season of northern New England. So, it is befitting to end this week of snow-related postings with the last phase of a snow accumulation now underway, with the “blessing” of warmer temperatures.

At intersections across the city, pedestrians confront slush puddles, often large and deep enough to approach lake size and be quite daunting – it is common to see people standing in contemplation, paralyzed with indecision. There is jumping, pond skipping, circumnavigation while trying to locate firmer ground, or even abandoning a particular intersection and trying another. For those attired in tall rubber boots, there is just walking through without concern.

However, extensive walking is the norm here, and sidewalks are largely navigable without waterproof shoes, so for many, lugging a pair of shoes to change into or the prospect of wearing boots all day at the office are all unappealing. So, many tread the streets with footwear that really is inadequate for a world of slush.

As the slush to snow ratio becomes larger towards the end of a big melt, there is also the danger of heavy splashing as vehicles careen through slush. An unpleasant surprise, now you can enjoy the day looking like a mutant dalmatian. The seasoned native practices scanning and defensive walking and has learned long ago that there is no such thing as walking too far from the curb.

For someone living in New York City, there is a building and adopting of many defensive strategies, whether it is where to keep your wallet, chaining bicycles, protecting against auto vandalism (as I wrote about in No Radio), window glass etching (see here), or how to navigate on slush days. To the native, these become second nature, automatic reflexes. To the visitor or outsider, this panoply of life strategies is unfathomable, and to many new residents, the aggregate number of inconveniences can be too much to endure, as I wrote in Dwanna.

Even for the seasoned New Yorker, there is certainly a level of internalized stress that is often not recognized until one leaves, temporarily or permanently. A close friend who moved from the city described this period of readjustment as decompression.

For those committed to being here, Happy New Year and join the Slush Fun 🙂

In a city of extremes and superlatives and one that is a bit of a drama queen with a tremendous ego, a blizzard is one of many events that lets the world know – hey, we got that too. It’s a media bonanza with tales of the stranded and acts of stoicism in a city that is virtually shut down.

We can however, only take credit for surviving it because, like it or not, this is mother nature’s call and we don’t control the weather yet. So the event does not go as planned. Today’s blizzard is a record breaker, the sixth largest in New York City history. We experienced high winds, 17 continuous hours of snow, heavy accumulations, 3-5 feet of drifts, and even thundersnow. Central Park reported 20 inches.

For the first time in memory, none of my coworkers have been able to get to the office. Service on some subway and bus lines have been suspended. People have been stranded in trains and in cars on highways. Some cannot exit their homes because of snow drifts. Streets are not plowed. Sidewalks are not cleared. Some have spent hours getting to their workplace in Manhattan only to find them closed, then returning home.

And, of course, there is the day off for many, an unexpected perk after a Christmas holiday and extending the weekend. For those not inconvenienced, and there are many who have been trapped in airports, trains, and cars, it is an opportunity to hole up at home.

Once behind us and all is well again, it will be another feather in the cap of the New Yorker. That even here, we can survive a blizzard…

I am disheartened to read “How the city hurts your brain” from the Boston Globe, January 2, 2009 (see it here). Many nature lovers both in and out of the city have, of course, long maintained that the city was injurious to mental health while nature was restorative. And city lovers have extolled the benefits of a stimulatory environment rich in culture and the deadening of suburban and rural life.

However, there are now scientific studies which demonstrate that just being in an urban environment impairs our mental functions. The Boston Globe article cites these studies, including that of Marc Berman, a psychologist at the University of Michigan. “Just being in an urban environment, they have found, impairs our basic mental processes.” “This new research suggests that cities actually dull our thinking, sometimes dramatically so.” This is of increasing concern, since the number of people in cities now exceeds that in the country.

And, although stimulation can be a good thing, there can always be too much of a good thing, and apparently New York City provides just that:

“The mind is a limited machine,”says Marc Berman, a psychologist at the University of Michigan and lead author of a new study that measured the cognitive deficits caused by a short urban walk. “And we’re beginning to understand the different ways that a city can exceed those limitations.”
Perhaps this was the reason that a friend and regular reader of this blog (Mary P) chose to feast her newly functioning eye¹ on this lone white birch tree² last night at dinner. As she described her fascination with the gentle motions of the branches in the wind, my mind traveled. The window was not just a clichéd metaphor, but it also provided a literal view of a tree which was for me, in turn, a vehicle to other times and places – my upbringing and frequent travel in New England and the birch forests there.

I reflected on my love of white birch trees, their distinctive bark and the wood, influenced no doubt by my father’s occupation as a wood cutter in Maine with his love of fly fishing and birch bark canoes. We had discussed many times the beauty of the white bark. Its gracefulness with delicate branches and slender trunk were never spoken of, but I could see that now, contrasted with the concrete urbanity around it.

I pledge to get out of the city more often – the Boston Globe article jogged what my subconscious mind must already know and desire. But until then, I’m going to take a ride in a birch bark canoe 🙂

1) Mary P has has recently undergone laser eye surgery (one eye at a time) for her deteriorating eyesight. She is finding the new and vastly improved vision in one eye a new lease on life. Enjoy, Mary.

2) The white birch is relatively rare in New York City. The 10 most common trees are: 1. London plane tree (15.3%) 2. Norway maple (14.1%), 3. Callery pear (10.9%), 4. Honey locust (8.9%), 5. Pin oak (7.5%), 6. Little leaf linden (4.7%), 7. Green ash (3.5%), 8. Red maple (3.5%), 9. Silver maple (3.2%), 10. Ginkgo (2.8%)