It’s been a hard day. Commuting into Manhattan this morning made me jittery. Thankfully I had decided to let the day unfold organically. No concrete plans.

This afternoon I went to Chelsea Market, where singer/song writers played all day, among them a dear friend who I love to watch perform. I ate some good food and mingled. It was also strange to be in the very place where I was five years ago today, as I had worked at Oxygen Media in Chelsea Market. Comforting yet a bit eerie, I’d say.

I came back to Hoboken in the early evening, only to find as I walked along the waterfront that the town’s interfaith memorial service was about to begin. Standing across the Hudson River from Ground Zero, singing God Bless America with helicopters flying by gave me moments of connection that punctuated the day.

As I left there and walked home along the river, I loved the sight of the Empire State Building against the blue sky and a cloud that was so long it almost seemed like a stripe extending along the island of Manhattan. The cloud was gray, tinged with orange around the edges. Just a gorgeous picture.

Hope and beauty.