OK, so where was I? That’s right, happy New Year. Someone asked me, “When do you stop saying happy New Year?” Is it the last day of January? I am not sure, but if so, then I guess it is also appropriate to continue making New Year’s resolutions, as I’ve added one more to the list.
I know the first one was to drink more water, I forgot the second, but the third is to read, read, read. There is so much to catch up on, review or seek out something new that it is worth setting time aside each day to do what? Read.
Having said that, I recently read an article written by Christina Cuomo, editor-in-chief of the magazine Manhattan titled “Time For Change.” The article was actually a letter to her son, who had questioned what the convergence of world leaders in Paris this past November 2015 to meet for the COP21 United Nations Climate Change Conference was all about. Meeting were leaders representing 196 countries from around the world who were taking steps to create a cleaner earth.
Rather than paraphrase, I will just quote her in saying, “What happens today will affect you tomorrow. You might have questions about the important meeting that took place to discuss our planet. Our president and all the global leaders got together to talk about your future and to figure out a way to make sure the planet doesn’t keep getting warmer. They talked about how to make this planet safe again from something we won’t be able to control one day—an angry Mother Nature.
“This new year, I wish, along with our leaders, something special for you: that when you are grown up, you, too, will live a free and happy life. That you will swim wherever, whenever you desire. That you will climb mountains of majesty. That you will fish in the rivers and seas. That your biggest concern is that the birds you are watching fly south are migrating on time for the winter. That you will pull the fruit off trees and eat it without worry. That when you close your eyes at night, you dream about things you might very well one day see—a seal bobbing up in the sea, a plover nesting in the dunes, a grizzly bear and her cub, an elephant roaming the wild.
“So much has to go into the survival of this Earth and the creatures living on it now that if we don’t care enough as grown-ups, we’re going to make life much harder for you. So when you’re tasting the strawberries you finished at breakfast and writing on the paper in your notebook at school, or sledding down hills or running in Central Park, close your eyes and remember it and appreciate it. Live as if this is all there is and all there should be.”
Cuomo ended the article with a New Year’s resolution of her own, saying, “I want to instill purpose in my kids … a wish that, in a world filled with insecurity, may the opportunity to love be present in every human encounter.” I can now add that as a fourth resolution to my own list.
Currently on view is one of the city’s latest sculptures symbolizing diversity and the merging of New York cultures. “Oy/Yo,” is an eight-foot high, 17 and a half-feet wide aluminum, yellow, oversized 3-D replica of a painting by Brooklyn-based artist Deborah Kass. If you’re standing in Brooklyn looking toward Manhattan, the structure reads, “Oy,” a popular Yiddish expression. If you’re standing in Manhattan looking toward Brooklyn, the structure reads, “Yo,” possibly referring to the word for “I” in Spanish or the colloquial version of the word, as in “Yo man, what’s up?” The installation, located on the Main Street lawn in Brooklyn Bridge Park in the Dumbo section of Brooklyn, will be on view through August, so either way, you will get a chance to see it for yourself
Did you know singer-actress-glamour girl Diana Ross has a sister, Dr. Roxx-Lee, who was the first African-American woman to serve as dean of a U.S. medical school? She’s also a nationally recognized expert on health policy issues and serves as an advisor for state and federal governments on primary care, medical education and health care issues affecting minorities, women and rural population. And you thought it was all about the bling.
While I get the majority of my exercise running from here to there, bending over to pick up after my hubby and child, stretching to reach some much-needed item in the kitchen cabinet as I cook dinner and you would do better to find me in a spa rather than a gym, I know there are many of you who have resolved to follow an organized exercise routine this year. As I totally support you in this endeavor, you might want to check out this year’s “it” exercise facilities. Crunch has a new routine called “Disq,” which uses an adjustable pulley system that adds resistance to workout movements using straps on your ankles and waist. Disq will be available in classes such as “Inflow,” “Reformer,” “Power Yoga” and Pilates classes. Guess you have to be there.
Next, there is the subscription-based, online heath and fitness site called Daily Burn. For $13 a month, you can work it, work it with a 30-minute live-streaming class that’s equipment-free and accessible to all fitness levels. Check it out at dailyburn.com.
The Mile High Run Club and Equinox will both have you working those calves as you run your little heart out either on the treadmill or in “Precision Running” class. Bring your running shoes. Boxing is in, karate is out at Shadowbox NYC. Drills, punch bags and core body weight classes will help you with the right hook and teach you to look out for the sucker punch. SLT is so tough that you have to look it up on their website sltnyc.com, as I understand it’s not for the faint of heart.
I can’t let the month end without paying respects to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as we celebrated what would have been his 87th birthday. The U.S. Library of Congress, located in Washington, D.C., has loads of photos documenting King, the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. As I scrolled through a few of them (I admit, online), I am in awe of King’s courage, as it never ceases to amaze me how he had the guts to stand up before so many, for the rights of so many. King has been dead for over 30 years yet his wisdom, courage and compassion live on. If only we remember to think of him as we vote, enjoy our freedoms and strive for love, peace and happiness.
Until next week … kisses.