WHY THIS SITE?

WHY THIS SITE? 

 

It started during the second year of the Covid pandemic. Where could I go to breathe, while social distancing, when my Greenwich Village apartment became claustrophobic? 

 Ah. The Park. I’ll wear a mask (at least until I trust vaccinations). And I’ll try a little writing exercise that I learned years ago. Just write down whatever comes my way. Quickly, with no judgments. Sometimes what I see, sometimes what I hear, sometimes what my imagination conjures. 

Would anyone want to read that? I didn’t care. It was fun. Then it became a Facebook page. And now it’s this site. My early quick scribbles evolved over time. They got longer, and I hope more interesting. 

Thousands of people pass through Washington Square Park every day. What goes on in the daily life of the park? Tourists don’t stay long enough to find out, once they shoot their selfies with the Fountain and the Arch. Even most New Yorkers don’t stay long enough to get a full picture. So, I decided to sit quietly. Watch what happens. Listen intently. Ask questions. Poke a bit into the history of the park and find the connections to today. And when something or someone tickles my imagination, I create a fanciful interpretation of Washington Square during the latter days (I hope) of the Covid pandemic. 

As the subtitle says, I make 100 visits, so there are 100 posts in this blog, spread over some months. Oh, and the subtitle should really read “The Free and Independent Republic of Washington Square.” If you’re a New Yorker, you may know why. If not, the answer is within these pages. 

 Happy reading or listening, any pages, in any order.