not a tourist

and yet, very hard not to look upwards in New York today, on my way to a meeting (having been told way back in the late 70s that the way to recognize a tourist in New York was that she or he was always looking upwards, I've spend decades familiarizing myself with manhole covers and steaming vents and occasional shop windows). It was snowing, and snowing - 21" by the time that I left the city for a snowy, but less extravagantly snowy, New Jersey. NY was curiously schizophrenic in the snow - large flakes coming down, tree branches heavy with the stuff, like a schmalzy movie - and then definitely a day to look upwards, because ankle deep grey slush is far from appealing.

And I was nearly the victim of many flash bulbs - but failed to get the timing quite right. The building that I was in also houses the NY office of the Governor of New York - and David Paterson suspended his election campaign today, so the news media, complete with arc lights and doubtless many other implements of glaring illumination were parked outside.