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This photograph was sent to Lolly, a visitor from
England to New York.
We have pleasure in printing the letter received from her in reply:
Loved the clown outfit! What beautiful colours!
I just got home from visiting Manhattan for the day. We popped out mainly into
China town for Dim Sum, but since it's so close to where the towers once were,
many roads/areas remain cordoned off, and will be for months & months to
come. Still, we managed to get quite close on foot, and as we neared I felt my
nose go all peppery as I thought of the people who live with the aftermath on a
daily basis. It was almost too much - I felt weak compared to those who call
this city home; their resilience shines through like a golden ray of light;
everyone smiles, acknowledging one another with eyes welling up. it sounds very
melodramatic, but it's true. There are such very intense feelings all around
from many different communities and I could only stay looking for moments,
before closing my eyes for a short moment in prayer and then having to turn
away.
There's an open square/park where the Chinese OAPs gather for daily exchange of
news and gossip, all huddled together chatting animatedly about this & that.
Mike may remember seeing it - some go to tell their stories and others are just
happy to sit, listen and reflect. We were strolling past and my Gran, with her
arm wrapped around mine, led me over to some benches surrounding a small round
park table. Some smiling faces looked up [all in their seventies and eighties]
and invited her warmly to sit down with them and poured her a cuppa from a
flask. Smiling, she introduced herself as a newcomer from London [the oohs and
ahs were heart warming]. She seemed safe & in good company so I left her
there whilst my Mother and I went off to do a spot of shopping. As we returned,
there was a large crowd surrounding the table where we had left her. They had
just made her an honorary member of their "80+" Club after she had
announced that she had just turned 92 this year! How fantastic this 1/2 hour had
been - in such a short time, a gathering of 20 or so, with accumulative lifespan
and experience in excess of 1600 years, had found and mapped a new star into
their own little cosmos. Turns out, Gran has wanted to step into the park for a
long time, but we're always rushing in & out of Chinatown and she's never
mentioned it before for fear of sounding silly for wanting to join a bunch of
other biddies in a nattering session.
It's been one of those strange days, that started out quite normally and turned
into something quite unexpected - really delightfully beautiful - a bit of
sunshine, some falling leaves, some sentiment, a meeting of great wisdom, a few
tears and some fantastic smiles...
Isn't that nice? I just wanted to share that with you in return for your sharing
of Mr. Clown in dazzling Lurex. Hope you had a nice day too at lunch, and enjoy
your Sunday.
I'll be home Monday morning which I am really looking forward to.
Lots of Love, and hugs
Lolly xx x
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