And Then, There Was NYC...

Upper West Side love...

Looking North from the 19th floor in Chelsea...

Sunrise, big skies, good morning NYC...Chelsea!

My Cousin's beautiful balcony garden...

On the High Line, a moment...

My Goddaughter, Jennie, in rehearsal for 'Pearl', the musical...(please go see her @ the Davenport Theatre, Saturday, 25th and last performance, Sunday, August 2nd)!!!

Grace Church, The Village...old stomping grounds..

And finally, the landmark, Grand Central...

So, sandwiched in between going to the Berkshires, and going to Maryland, I spent 4 1/2 very full days in The City. Born and raised in NYC, you know the saying, 'You can take the girl out of the City..'. It is the first time that I have visited NY since Mom passed away, and it was really, really different, in a good way. The last couple of years visiting the City when Mom was still alive, most of my time was spent running back and forth to NYU Medical Center or taking care of her after she got out of the hospital, way downtown in Battery Park. Now I had to make other arrangements for where to place my bags and rest my head. 2 couches and a futon later, from the Upper West Side to Chelsea, (West 24th and West 15th), I immediately knew that the phrase, 'wandering Jew', was appropriate. The City has changed, it felt different. I have changed, I felt different. 

The most important part of the trip from beginning to end, was seeing Family and Friends. I do not have pics of many of those moments, as many of the visits were short and sweet, and I have tucked them safely away in my heart. From a spill-over visit from the Berkshires to the Upper West Side, to my 87 year old Cousin, (who is 87 going on 65...she lives the life in NY!), to my extended Family whom I love dearly and wished I had more time to savor our time together. You know who you are. To some very special time with my friend, who was the Activity Director/in charge of fun, @ The Hallmark where Mom lived for 8 wonderful years, and lunch with yet another Cousin! And then the phone calls. For the people I spoke with just to hear your voice, knowing that you were not 2/3 of a country away, may I remind each of you, that just because I live in Colorado, does not mean we can only speak on the phone only when I am in the City. My last stop was Grand Central, lugging my big suitcase. If I had a quarter for every time someone said, 'Hey, Lady, that suitcase it bigger than you!', all the while, looking at the security which was in place for July 4th, thinking, "It's not me folks.' I kissed New York good-bye and I was on to my next destination. 

I have purposed in my heart that I will go back to The City which I love, sooner than later. As my Cousin said, her hotel is open!!! 

#gratefulgratefulgrateful

'The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never ceases, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, Therefore I have hope in Him...'

                                                                Lamentations 3:22-25

Visit to The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, DC...

The propaganda begins in 1933

Hitler youth played a major role in the rise of Nazi power in Germany..

What remained from one synagogue on the horrifying Kristallnacht, or 'The Night of Broken Glass'

In the Museum, made to look like tracks which carried Jews to the concentration camps...

A real cattle car used to transport Jewish people to concentration camps...that little window was the only one...

Photos, 3 stories high of one town, just one town of people, all of whom were killed, and the town leveled, as if wiped from the face of the earth...

An old milk container, used as a time capsule, found in the Warsaw Ghetto. There were 3 of these, only 2 have been found!!

What was a pretty dress with the mandatory yellow Jewish star, saying 'Jude'.

Earl Simons, docent extraordinaire..

My reflection on the wall in the sanctuary...
Deuteronomy 4:9 as the inscription..

Planning my East Coast sojourn, included seeing my 94 year old Aunt in Maryland and staying with my cousin. Aunt Sue is like the energizer bunny and she was delightful. She especially enjoyed my cooking dinner for all of them, saying, 'Wasn't it fun watching Amy cook!!' After all the many, many Thanksgiving dinners at her house, it was the very least I could do! And a good time was had by All. My cousin asked if there was anything special, besides seeing Aunt Sue, that I wanted to do while in the D.C. area. The first thing that flew out of my mouth was to see the Holocaust Museum. My cousin, seemingly thinking out loud said, 'I know one of the docents, maybe I will get in touch with him.' #wehavepeople!!! Well, it seems that Earl Simons and my cousin belong to the same synagogue in Maryland, and that she 'won' his offer to docent at a silent auction at the synagogue, 2 years ago!!! He has been nudging her all this time to take him up on his docent-ing skills. Let me start by saying, we were in the museum for about 3 1/2 hours. Earl met us at the front of the museum, and right off the bat, it was clear, that we were in for quite the ride. He has the unbridled energy of a young man, yet, Earl, (bless his heart) is close to 80!!! Like the tour guides in Israel, who are so brilliantly trained, the same rules apply here. Meaning, there is a special kind of person who can speak, and give life, with a breadth and depth of knowledge to what we know as the darkest, most unfathomable genocide.  It is the same thing in Israel, you cannot be a tour guide without heart and passion for the love of the land and it's history. It is impossible. We were immediately struck by his passion. The museum tour begins on the top floor, from the beginning of the Nazi propaganda in 1933, to the first floor and below to the liberation of the concentration camps in 1945.  Having just read 'All The Light We Cannot See', by Anthony Doerr, he paints a very clear picture of the Nazi machine and the brutal academies, which were mandatory for Hitler youth. These academies played a huge part in the rise of Nazi Germany.

As we walked through the hallowed halls, there were a couple of moments, where I had a visceral reaction. One was a collection of women's hair. All the women, men and children alike, had their heads shaved, as hair was a valuable commodity to the Nazi's. I really could not enter in to that space in the exhibit. The other was a real 'cattle car', in which the Jews were hauled off to the camps. The horrifying trek would take days and they were squished into literal cattle cars with very little air, mostly in darkness, no food or water, nothing. But, you had to walk through the cattle car to see the rest of the exhibit. The photo of the cattle car, which is not clear, I have posted anyhow, as it still speaks volumes.  

In our discussion, and part of the exhibit included choices. Posing the question, what would you do?What were the neighbors thinking as they saw their Jewish friends, co-workers, schoolmates, doctors, lawyers and Rabbi's being publicly humiliated, seeing them rounded up, millions shot dead in front of them as villages and towns were literally wiped off the face of the earth. What would your choice be? Again, what would you do? One visit, one very intimate visit was a gift. One visit, 3 1/2 hours, barely, just barely skimmed the horrifying surface...

Inscribed on the wall in the beautiful, most solemn sanctuary:

'Only guard yourself, and 

guard your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children...'

                      Deuteronomy 4:9