February 11, 2023 - I cross the street and find the sunlight . . .

Outside of Alfie’s I stand along Ninth Avenue. There’s sunlight everywhere. I’m left in the shadows, wanting a table outside ––– a space to eat and breathe in peace and away from the brunch crowd huddled inside beneath the speakers and around the bar.

“It’ll be a few moments, we’re not seating outside yet,” says the maitre’d. I wait. I wait, I wait, I wait. The buildings cast a long shadow across this side of the sidewalk and Manhattan keeps swirling all around me. I stand still in the way that I imagine time does during a good meditation ––– everything held within a split second, again and again.

I walk back inside –––– “No, no,” he says, “outside is for reservations only. We’re not seating outside.” “Okay,” I think but do not say. A little agitated, I head west, cross the street and find the sunlight, grateful that it was waiting for me there the whole time.