7/13/2021: New York City

The Pigeons of Dante Park

I am sitting at a table in Dante park, a little triangle shaped park, across from the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts. I am waiting for JoAnn who is in  Banana Republic  down the street where they had big signs advertising 25% off. The park is shaded and I sip my cortado in a paper cup and pull out my journal. I look around and there are about 25-30 pigeons bobbing around looking for crumbs. They all look different. Not one of them is the same. Different colors and shapes and sizes. Grey ones with white bellies, and white ones with grey bellies, speckled ones, brown ones.  There is this really big pigeon the size of a chicken. It kinda looks like a chicken!? I have this crazy thought that maybe it is a chicken just raised by pigeons. I shake my head and decide to look at the people instead of the pigeons.

I look around at the people sitting at the other little tables. There is a woman in business attire wearing running shoes reading a novel. There is a smiling lady sharing some of the bread from her sandwich with the pigeons. A couple sitting at a table each of them eating a pretzel from a street vender, they kinda have that tourist vibe. Maybe I do too? Then I look at the people outside the triangle. These people are moving. All going in different directions. Each person is different. There are old people, young people, black people, brown people, white people and people in every shade in between. There are short people, tall people, fat people, skinny people. People dressed in all kinds of clothes, business, casual, stylish, hip, and really hip. And hair, every shade of color you could possibly imagine, long hair, short hair, no hair, hat hair. 

I look down at the pigeons and think this is what I like about New York City, especially Manhattan. DIVERSITY !  I like the diversity! The diversity of its people and of its pigeons.(even the one who looks like a chicken.)

b.d. burton