Ninth Avenue
©2006 Craig Ashby
Digital Photograph

Ninth Avenue is a wintry view of New York City. Beautiful and gross simultaneously. The quiet is worth the black snow.

It’s rare that the city gets so quiet. When it happens I have never before experienced anything so magical. Like millions of people holding their breaths.

Christmas is one of these moments. New Year’s Day is quiet. Then the random snow day. Some are predictable but all are rare.

Most of the snow days we eventually head out to forage for food. It’s also a great opportunity to see the neighborhood under different circumstances. Get out in it and feel the magic directly.

This has involved getting a cart full of groceries in snow up to my crotch. A gorgeous memory. Other times it was just to get some Chinese takeout.

The best is after the adventuring. Settling in to a warm house. Curling up in bed and listening to the quiet of the sleeping city.