My incredibly frustrating battle to end my lease with this terrible
management company brought me to a beautiful place today, the grand Hudson
County Courts. I was in awe of the architecture
and columns on the outside of the buildings, but the murals and detail inside
the buildings blew me away. I felt like
I was some place very important, and I guess in a sense I was. But I am also easily impressed by old
buildings due to the fact I grew up in a fairly young state. It had the air of a place that required
hushed tones and a calm demeanor.
I received no solutions today but it did lead me to a new
part of Jersey to explore and I set out for an adventure. I decided to walk from Journal Square to
Liberty Park which offered a beautiful view of Ellis Island, the Statue of
Liberty and lower Manhattan. It was an
incredibly gorgeous day today, breezy and 72 degrees, partly cloudy and
completely reviving.
On my way to the park I happened to walk by an old cemetery,
Jersey City Cemetery. I could not resist
a walk through the worn cobble stone paths along the overgrown grass and
toppling headstones. I love graveyards,
I always have, and I can’t quite explain it…although, I don’t think I am alone
in this fascination. It is incredible to
think of all the people here before us, to see the dates on the headstones and
imagine their world, to see the grave of a young girl and imagine the heartache
and circumstances surrounding her death.
I ponder the bones beneath the dirt, the souls that must still be
lingering there. Cemeteries bring out a
peaceful reminiscence in me. I spent a
while walking along the paths, spooked by a little badger that kept running
away from me, the only other movement besides the wind in the tall trees that extended
over the headstones. I donated to the
fund for the upkeep of the cemetery, which indeed appeared to need some
TLC. Although the overgrown grass and
the leaning headstones gave it a very real, very sad feel that seemed
appropriate. On my way out I was stopped
by a police officer who had been directing traffic through the construction
zone at the entrance. He asked me if I
knew the history of the cemetery and I told him I did not. He said another officer wondered aloud if I
knew someone buried there and he said I probably just wanted to look at the
headstones. I told him he was right and
he pointed in the direction of a large mausoleum at the back of the property
that was the resting place of thirty people who were infected with a plague, I
do not recall if he told me dates but I imagine it was at least 100 years ago
judging from the dates on the other graves.
He said no one knows who the people were, the grave is unmarked, and
they put them there for fear of the disease spreading. He also informed me that the high school
across the street used to house slaves and that there was an underground tunnel
from the high school that ran under the cemetery through to the railroad tracks
on the other side. I was so glad that
this man had stopped me to tell me these stories, I think he was excited to
share the history and glad that someone was interested and he thanked me for my
donation. My walk took me through the
Historic District which seemed to be undergoing a lot of construction, but it
was a lovely part of town with streets intersecting at odd angles and little
cafes on the corner.
Liberty Park is along the water and a marina, it is huge and
open and gorgeous. Along the water there
is a September 11 Memorial that I did not know about, but was very appropriate
for me to run into considering tomorrow is the 11th Anniversary of
that day. There is something about water
that renews my spirit; maybe because I am a Pisces, or because my mother has a
love affair with the beach, or because I grew up in a desert, but it always
feels incredible to hear waves hitting a shore and to look out and see the
rolling blue blanket, a wet version of the sky.
I made my way back to Manhattan where the train dropped me
by the World Trade Center; it was swarming with very bored looking people in
suits and skirts headed for their commute home and a few tourists taking
pictures of the Freedom Tower. I joined
the tourists and snapped a picture of the building whose progress I have
watched since last year. Right now at
night it is lit up in horizontal sections of red, white, and blue and the twin
lights shoot into the sky next to it.
I sat down in Battery
Park for the first time since the beginning of my adventure that day and had a
snack while reading my book and watching the sunset. I realized that it had been a long time since
I had watched the sunset and it made me think of Maui. When I spent two weeks in Maui a few years
ago, sunset was my favorite time of day. I would go out with my boogie board every
evening just before and get in some time with the waves then sit on the beach
or lounge on our lanai and watch the sun slowly melt into the water. In Maui the beaches are filled with people at
sunset just watching, paying their respect to the end of another day, taking a
minute to stop, to contemplate, to breathe, to enjoy, to live.
It was a wonderful day and it left me feeling renewed. I realized that nothing makes me feel more
free than when I am in a new and unfamiliar place, alone and happy.
Jersey City Cemetery
Jersey from a new perspective
I think of my dad every time I see Canadian Geese
Ellis Island
A Tale of Two Cities
Jersey on the left, New York on the right
9/11 Memorial, Liberty Park
