Neill and I had a wonderful few days in New York City last week to celebrate his 50th Birthday.  The main reason for our trip was to attend the Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden and to cheer on UConn (Neill’s alma mater).  We attended every game of all five tournament sessions!  Watching UConn win the Big East championship (and Neill not having to cover the games for work!) was just awesome.

Some of you may be New York City travel experts, but I am most certainly not.  Though city life in general is fascinating to me.  The pace of life and all there is to do and see can feel almost overwhelming.  At the same time, one can experience world-famous museums, delicious food, and exciting events (Broadway shows, sporting events, and more).  Not to mention people watching and finding hidden gems along the way as you navigate visiting big cities. 

We had an interesting experience even leaving on Sunday to return to Colchester.  We checked out of the hotel and were walking to Grand Central Terminal to catch the train to New Haven.  As we walked and got closer to W 42nd Street, we realized that there was a slight problem.  The road was blocked because there was a race going on—the NYC Half Marathon.  Runners were running, crowds were cheering, barricades were up, and there were police and other public safety workers around.  We needed to cross the street to catch a train home, and that appeared to not be possible for a moment.

Neill spoke to a police officer who advised us to find the stairwell near Vanderbilt Ave., taking those stairs down would eventually get us to Grand Central.  Sure enough, there was a stairwell and a small sign on a building that pointed the way.  This alternate route took us underneath 42nd Street to wind up in the main concourse after a few twists and turns. 

We might have walked right by without noticing this other way to our destination. 
This non-descript stairwell is for native New Yorkers and visitors alike to get to wherever we are going, but there’s no neon sign to point the way.
It reminded me that you can’t judge a book by its cover. 
There is often more than meets the eye in our lives, if we would just take the time to look beneath the surface.  Whether that surface is quite literally a city street or the surface level understanding we often have of one another. 
There is more to cities/people/life than often meets the eye.
 
Just a thought to share this week after our adventure in the Big Apple.
Glad to be back, and looking forward to seeing you in-person or online as Holy Week is about to begin.

Love,
Pastor Lauren

Photo by Rev. Lauren Ostrout.

Thursday Thoughts 3/21/24