Friends in front of the 9/11 Memorial
As I fly home from my fourth (yes, that’s right, fourth!) PRSA Leadership Rally in New York City, I am reminded of a lesson my recent Kindergarten-graduate learned this past year. He learned about the five human senses. We all know what they are – taste, smell, sight, sound and touch. But what I found amazing during this trip to New York was how powerful each sense is assaulted (both good and bad) by this amazing city.
Sight – I think that sight has to be the most powerful sense we have, and in New York City, there is something to see in every direction you look. This morning, as I ran along the Hudson River, I thought about how New Yorkers probably take these sights for granted. But to me, the beauty surrounding me was almost overwhelming. From Lady Liberty looking on to my left to the hundreds of adorable dogs I passed along my route, there was something to see every step of the way.
New York is truly a visual masterpiece and each time I visit I open my eyes to a few more nuances of its beauty.
Smell – Smell is probably the sense that has the most good and bad examples in New York City! Your nostrils are assaulted with the stench of garbage while at the same time pleasantly surprised as you pass a fruit and vegetable cart on the edge of the street. However, one of the most memorable smells from this trip was one I was not expecting.
I was honored to have an opportunity to visit the 9/11 Memorial after my conference ended. It truly was a powerful experience for me. The two pools representing where the two towers stood are absolutely gorgeous and the sight of the waterfalls cascading into the void in the middle of each pool is a tremendously strong visual. But something that really surprised me that day was the smell of the Memorial – namely, the smell of chlorine.
I’m sure what I was smelling was some type of chemicals that are used in each of the pools to keep the water clean as it travels down the waterfalls. Probably something similar to what we use in our own pool at home. However, what that smell represented to me was a sense of cleanliness and newness and the smell just felt right for the environment. It was actually a soothing smell. Just one more example of how something so simple as a smell can represent something so powerful.
Sound –The 9/11 Memorial affected another sense in a way that I wasn’t expecting – that being the sense of sound. As the water rushed down the waterfalls into the void in the middle of each of the pools, the sound of gushing water was simply glorious. My husband has always loved the sound of rushing water, and I know that when I bring him to this Memorial one day soon the sound will be one of his favorite parts.
One of the reasons New York is the city that never sleeps is frankly because there is just too much noise to sleep! All hours of the day and night you hear the sounds of the city – horns beeping, sirens blaring, whistles blowing, yada, yada, yada. I now know exactly what it sounds like when someone uses an emergency exit in the Subway when they should not. I am also beginning to learn the secret language of car horns that cab drivers use to communicate with each other. But you know what? It isn’t that bad after a while. It almost becomes soothing – well, except the Subway emergency exit alarm. That is just downright loud.
Touch – If you don’t like to be touched or don’t like to be in crowds, this is not your town. Specifically, don’t go down to the Times Square area! After being jostled and shoved, pushed and stepped on, my sense of touch was in sensory overload. This is probably the hardest part of being in New York for me because I am not a crowd person and I definitely like my “personal space.” However, I tried to just go with the flow (both literally and figuratively in the sea of people) and had a fun time in spite of the many touches I was experiencing.
Taste – Saving the best for last are the many tastes of New York City. I thoroughly enjoyed my New York hotdog from the street vendor on Wall Street (although it tasted very similar to the hot dog I get outside the Home Depot back home!) I was in heaven as I ate dinner at the Museum of Modern Art’s restaurant Modern, where I ate pan-seared grouper and fingerling potatoes, along with a chocolate mousse cake that I would have happily eaten a few more slices of if that wouldn’t have been so “un-New York like.” My dinner in Little Italy was magnifico, especially the homemade focaccia bread and very large glass of sangria. Molto delizioso!
So, as I fly home to Tampa, I say thank you to New York City for welcoming all five of my senses in such a powerful way to your city. And I look forward to returning soon!
