Vicki’s Voice
My inspiration…my words
Bright Lights, Dark Nights
They say New York is the “city that never sleeps”, but from March until July, my city was in a deep slumber, not afraid of the dark but in mourning for the number of lives lost. We missed the sounds of children laughing, dogs barking, music playing and horns honking… Offices were closed, skyscrapers were dark, and so were museums, schools, restaurants, gyms, sports arenas and Broadway theaters – but the neon lights in Times Square stayed on, reminding us of the good times and beckoning us to return to life as we knew it. Yet there were no people in the streets, the nights were dark. – The life we took for granted was on pause and so were the freedoms we have always enjoyed.
We have traveled the world and have loved every city, town and village that we have visited, but what makes New York City such a great city is our diversity. We are teachers, doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, EMTs, firefighters, police officers, mail carriers, office workers, and we are so many ethnicities, languages, cultures and religions, but we are all one colorful rainbow. We are strong for each other, we respect each other, we are tolerant, we are compliant and even all wear our masks to keep each other safe. We love our differences; we cherish what makes us one. We will be patient and wait for our city to fully come alive so that we can celebrate life with friends. The only enemy we share is this relentless, insidious virus. Hopefully soon we can look forward to chasing rainbows, to even brighter lights to lessen our dark nights and bright sunnier days ahead.