This is my view. It’s New Jersey, about two miles south of the George Washington Bridge. I’m looking west from upper Manhattan. I have taken dozens of photos of this view, at different times of the year, different hours of the day and night, and different weather conditions. Sunsets can be magnificent. Sometimes there are barges, other times sailboats, once in a while kayaks, Circle Line tourist boats, and even the occasional cruise ship. One time, I saw an unusually large number of boats in the river. and there were hundreds of little arms and legs coming out of the water that I didn’t notice until my husband pointed them out. I could not imagine why people were swimming in what I always understood, true or not, to be polluted waters. It turned out it was something called the Little Red Lighthouse Swim, a five mile swim to the historic lighthouse near the GWB. It’s held annually in the fall. This was also the route Capt. Chesley Sullenberger took when he miraculously landed US Air Flight 1549 further down the river. Had I been home and looking out my window at that moment, I would have seen a low flying plane passing directly in front of me.
Early one morning, before sunrise, I couldn’t sleep, and went into the living room. I looked out the window and saw stars. Many, many stars. They blinked incessantly. After several seconds of staring, these stars appeared to be moving. I really thought my eyes were playing tricks, but kept staring. Very slowly, the sky began to lighten to a dark violet and the stars grew closer, and bigger. I could then see that they were not stars, but dozens, yes, dozens of helicopters patrolling the Hudson before dawn, to protect and defend us. Who knew?
