71 SQUARE MILES

The changing weather and travels north for the next week have left me in a reflective mood about this project. When I return, it will be the end of September and 36 days until my one year anniversary in New York.

One more year’s worth of trash; hundreds of miles of sidewalk; days of being lost; hours of landscape recognition and the delight that follows; countless situations I could never have imagined; days of anxiety during the times I could not work; a year of rebuilding after the hurricane; dozens of initial conversations explaining my purpose; minutes of sleeping limbs after sitting and gluing the map for too long; a handful of run-ins with moving vehicles; thousands of smiles at strangers, dogs, babies, moments, light, breezes, central air, heat; one pair of Oakleys; one pair of New Balances; two legs and two arms; a damn gigantic borough; another year of certainty.

Items on my list upon returning:

Write more on this blog (always), buy new sneakers, buy new sunglasses, find a permanent workspace to call home, invite more walking partners, hear more stories, learn, continue.