On arteries
Normally, on days when I don't have to be at Rikers for 9am Calendar Call, I wake up at 5.30am and if I push myself, I can make the 6.27 Metro-North train and get to the office about a quarter to 9. I make sure I sit as though I'm moving backwards on the train, on the east-facing side so as to catch the sunrise. On Rikers days, I get up an hour earlier. Today, due to an impending examination and preparations therefor, I forced myself into Rikers hours for an office day, having beaten the sun into Grand Central. This is best for me; it certainly feels it. The sensation of having gotten up before most of Northeast is intoxicating. And arriving in New York when I do, I find the city's blood thinned to a healthy extent, the arteries--its subway cars and sidewalks--no longer thick with overabundant humanity. There is space to breathe, to walk quickly, to be industrious without feeling as though I'm showing it off. I can quietly get to work and quietly get to work.