Thursday, November 11, 2021

Little Island reverie


I did indeed visit Little Island with my cousin yesterday. I loved it's layout and design, loved the warm color of the wood used for its amphitheater, loved the sparkle of the river showing off its diamonds under a clear blue sky, loved that you can get everywhere, even to the highest lookout points, without climbing a single stair. Instead, you can meander along perfectly graded upward paths, which curve through beautiful plantings of trees and flowers and grasses, the entire setting wonderfully designed to accommodate the mobility challenged, people like me whose structural impairments make stairs difficult, painful, slow, sometimes just not doable.

Most times, when faced with flights of stairs (assuming they are optional, because sometimes they are not), I’ll say to my companions, you go on ahead, I'll catch you on the way back down. I don’t want to hamper or hold them back. Yesterday, I didn't have to worry about that. I got to explore every corner of the park built on top of weird tulip-shaped silver pylons standing in the Hudson River. The curving paths upward beckoned me on, with gratitude for the makers who understood that people like me would want to take in the view from the highest points, too.


That's me at the top of the southwest lookout with my cousin in blue. In my youth, I did ballet. Though chubby even back then, I was so flexible, my third and fifth position feet impeccably placed, my splits pure, my kicks higher than anyone else's when doing the Can-Can. I remember sprinting up stairs in my twenties, taking them two at a time, trusting my body to do my bidding without a thought. When did that change? It came on by degrees, my two legs different lengths since birth, the left hip slowly crumbling, both knees progressively shredded by falls through the years, so that now I walk as if broken, because that is the truth of it, parts of me are broken, but I can still climb to the top of Little Island along a beautifully engineered upward slope. It's crazy how happy it made me to be exploring that park with my cousin, navigating to every corner, included.


 
 

25 comments:

  1. I'm so glad you took that walk and photographed the beauty you saw thee. Thank you for sharing this wonderful day with us.

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    1. robin, it was a wonderful time, the feeling of being out in the world, and fully connected to its beauty, natural and human, I can't explain.

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  2. Would that the rest of the world followed accessible/universal design...Nice photo of you and your cousin.

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    1. e, i so agree. the accessible design of this park only adds to its beauty, and its ability to be enjoyed by all. I can't for the life of me imagine why this should be a universal desire among architects, engineers, planners.

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  3. Thank you so much for this opportunity to walk with you and your cousin on Little Island and to share your experience of the happiness that is so visible in all of these photos.

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    1. am, it took so little to make me happy there, just being able to go wherever I wanted was everything.

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  4. That park is gorgeous, as are you photos. I didn't realize how bad your disability was. That must be so painful. A gentle slope is a well thought out kindness for everyone.

    I get pissed a lot when places aren't made for wheelchairs with Katie, even stores where there's so much crap, you can't get a wheelchair around. I tend to just shove things out of the way. If they don't like it, too bad. Make it wheelchair accessible.

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    1. Pixie, i don't often talk about my mobility issues in much detail. To be honest, it embarrasses me, because I always think people secretly believe that it would all be better if i only lost some weight, and while weight doesn't help, my thin mother had these same issues starting in her 40s, and so I just press on as best I can, but it does incense me when people think of overweight as a moral issue rather than as a chronic health issue. Still, there is no explaining the reality of it to some people in our fat shaming world. Well, I had no idea I was about to climb onto a soapbox like that! I'm glad you're there to help Katie navigate our mostly clueless world.

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  5. Looks like a beautiful spot! I love the design. And what a poignant expression you've written of how important it is to have accessible public facilities.

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    1. Steve, you would enjoy this park I'm sure. Along with the High Line, it's now my newest fave outdoor destinations in NYC. I forgot to mention it has outdoor musical instruments throughout the park, including a silver 9-grid floor keyboard you can jump on and play a tune, right near the entrance. Fun!

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  6. Looks like a beautiful place and I'm glad you were able to climb to the top. Lovely photo of you and your cousin.

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  7. Gorgeous park, I am glad you were able to go. I would be keeping you company an a bench just before the rise of steps. Last year I could have charged up them, this year , not at all. Curious how quickly the old machine shows wear. Anyway, glad you made it, you must have had to get a massage after! I love the photos! Love you!

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    1. Linda Sue, as a matter of fact I had PT that same afternoon and did get a massage! What fun we would have on a bench together. We'd wave on our companions and not feel as if we were missing out on anything. Ha!

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  8. Beautiful pictures!
    And I, too, wonder- when did this happen? This inability to make my body do what it always could? To ask of it and be given?
    Ah-lah. You and I- we are the same person.

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    1. Mary, I think this so often, that we are the same. I see so much of my own thoughts and ways of processing experience in you, I get you on a molecular level sometimes, and oh, as much as life can wear, it is good to feel seen and understood. I love you.

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  9. What a cool park! And NYC is just lovely behind the park. You live in such a wonderful special place.

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    1. Allison, it is a very cool park, opened only a year or so ago. We've been inside so much for the past year and a half it was good to get out an explore!

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  10. What a beautiful place, and such a good idea. What happens in the amphitheatre? Plays? Music?

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    1. Frances, they do outdoor plays and musical performances in the amphitheater. They're listed on the park website. I think they're free but I'm not quite sure. It was also a lovely spacious place to just sit and catch the sun's rays while listening to the lapping sounds of the river. Always nice to see you.

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  11. This topic reminds me of the movie "Crip Camp" that I watched on Netflix. How hard disabled people fought for access to places. I am glad that the ADA has made many sites more accessible and that you got to enjoy that lovely park.

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    1. Ellen D., I need to watch that movie! To a person, everyone I know who has watched is has been blown away. Thank you for the reminder.

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  12. I am lucky my mobility hasn't been challenged yet. And so happy you were able to explore every bit of that amazing park.

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    1. Ellen, you'd like that park. Some elements were quite sculptural.

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  13. Now there's an example of an architectural feature that really works! I'm glad you were able to experience the whole of it.

    Calling people out about "just needing to lose weight" is a lazy argument. It's a lot more complex than that. Those who struggle understand.

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