A New York Minute

It was one of those clear, cold, New York afternoons with which early November often ambushes us, reminding us there is no turning back now; for November will surely usher in winter just as June, all blossomy and gentle and soft, heralded the summer so long ago.  Our daughter Ashley and I boarded a train at the Ronkonkoma station bound for Grand Central Station. We caught the 2:55 headed for the city; a non-peak train that was barely “peopled”, which, if you have ever endured a trip during “peak” hours, I’m certain you will agree, was splendid. Also, of note, before we left home, I tucked a small bag of chocolates into each of our purses. One never knows when one may be stranded, or in reduced circumstances, so it is always advisable to have a little stash of chocolate somewhere.

En route to a book signing at Barnes and Noble, Union Square and East 17^th Street, we arrived at the magnificent Grand Central Station and made our way through the crowds to the street level via the longest and steepest escalator in the entire MTA system, okay? 182 feet straight up, to be exact! Like an anaconda, I seized the moving belt that is the handrail and prayed the guy with the backpack the size of Kentucky a few steps ahead of us would hang on and stop looking at his phone!  At the top, we wound our way through the revolving glass doors and stepped out among the teeming, roaring mob of masses that is always, day or night, the energy on the sidewalks of New York.

The air was cool and invigorating as we headed towards Park Avenue, where a charming British author, Charlie Mackesy, would be autographing his newest book and giving a little chat as well. You may not recognize the name, but I am pretty certain you have seen the illustrations and quotes from his book, as they are ubiquitous across most social media platforms. “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.

It is a book written for children, but as the author himself relayed, most adults will weep as they read it aloud to their children. When the book was first published, this gentle man, who lives alone in a small, modest, quintessential storybook-type home in the meadows of Suffolk, England, received over 1 million emails from readers and admirers. Talk about feedback! Significantly, Charlie is the author and the illustrator, and together his words and drawings are so evocative, striking a deep chord in the heart of anyone who has ever felt lost, alone, uncertain, or hurt. Nonetheless, it is also a story of profound truths, including:

Everyone is fighting their own battle…be kind.

Our words are powerful.  They have the ability to strengthen and encourage or injure beyond recovery.

Sometimes, just getting up and carrying on is brave and magnificent…

After the brisk twenty-minute walk, we arrived and made our way to the fourth floor of the bookstore via four ordinary, conventional, standard escalators (it’s the little things in life, you know?) Given the subject matter, I wondered about the size of the audience, imagining the average “stereotypical New Yorker” would never be interested in the virtuous, simple, unpretentious rules of life presented by this author. The funny thing is, later that evening he revealed his own thoughts concerning that. In his pleasant, British countryside accent, he confessed, “ Em…I didn’t know quite what to expect from New York-that wild place across the pond! I was thinkin’ and hopin’ there might be at least eleven or so that actually turned up tonight!” Chuckles all around. Will you believe me when I tell you the entire room was filled, every seat taken?  Older folks, middle-aged, young people, couples, professionals, those who looked as though they had come straight from work, and one child. Everyone was on the edge of their seats as Charlie walked onto the platform, while our refined applause-no hoots or whistles out of this New York crowd- welcomed him. Then, complete and utter silence. He is 62 years old, with an “Einstein-esque” head of silver hair. Dressed in what appeared to be a comfortable and familiar old sweater, one you might wear on a wintry night in England as you draw your chair closer to the fire. His soft-spoken, gentle manner of speech compelled each of us to lean in and sit perfectly still.

“Ah, em, ya know, my book…ummm, well… it’s been one of the greatest privileges of my life to encourage people…”

“Life is about relationships and integrity within those relationships…”

“To be known in life, for truly loving in the very best way I can…em…and who you really are is who God knows you to be…”

I was crying within the first two minutes. His words thundered inside me. Live for others. Pour yourself into others. As God’s children, we know this is the Christ-like life: selfless devotion to Christ, kindness and impartial love for others. And it never stops for the Christian. No matter what.

Charlie was there to promote his second book, “Always Remember”. Within its pages, we are treated to the same lovely characters who learn that storms will come in life, but they will also pass.  The book promotes a sense of calm in the storm and repeats the theme that kindness is a profound and priceless quality. And equally significant, you can never put a price on those who truly love you and will quietly walk beside you in the storm.

All too soon, a Q&A began.  I am not a fan of Q&A’s for one reason in particular. And I’ve been to more than a few. Typically, you have a speaker who has really achieved something notable in their life. Yet now-someone please help me-an audience member is going to hold us hostage with their ruminations and reflections, while the clock is tick-tick-ticking away, and most of us just want to listen to the speaker!

So this is how it went.

To begin with, people spoke of silly things, like their favorite cake. And they wanted to know about Charlie’s favorite cake. There is a character in the book, a little mole, actually, who thinks all of life’s troubles can be resolved if one can find a good cake. This went on for several minutes, people going on and on about cake. I’m sitting there thinking, “Lady, I really don’t want to hear all about your grandmother’s favorite cake, when this author just might have a few more interesting things to say…” But thankfully, my nobler nature stirred within me, reminding me of all the good things I just heard and how we must be paaaaaatient with people. And, some self-talk here, “ Have a care, Liz…What if in the grand scheme of things, cake is all she has to talk about?”

“Ah…em…I hope I’m not rambling about, but you know, life is wonderful and beautiful and difficult-and it’s important to understand that…

“One day, far away from this day, I want to look back with no regrets-that I really lived and lived for others…”

“Nothing beats kindness. It sits quietly beyond all things,”  

These are not foreign principles to those of us who know Christ. Essentially, these are the same biblically based truths by which we live as God’s children. But often, at least for me, it is good to be reminded of them.

At the close of the evening, we were asked to come up row by row and have the author sign our books. Ashley and I had 30 minutes to catch our train. All at once, I was overtaken by the New York mindset. “Okay-if we walk quickly, we can probably be at Grand Central in 20 minutes-then, navigating that huge terminal, making our way down to the LIRR tracks…” Back to reality once more. Oh, the tyranny of it all… Soon, our row was called up to meet Charlie. A woman ahead of me abruptly turned and threw her phone at me. I barely caught it. “Here! Take a picture of me and Charlie!”  Little could she have known: I am-hands down- the world’s worst iPhone picture taker ever-but I took a picture of something...I can only pray I never see her again.  I tossed her phone back to her, and a moment later, I stood before Charlie. I congratulated him on his new book and thanked him for the privilege of hearing what he had to say. I also thanked him for being “magnificently brave” in coming to New York. I stepped away, and Ashley took my place. I watched her chat away with him, then he reached out his hand to shake hers. The audience sat quietly, waiting for their row to be called. I could not imagine that Charlie would be done autographing for at least two hours! But no one was budging. One and all, content to wait patiently…not exactly characteristic of a New Yorker. But this author hit a nerve, and I think everyone felt that deeply. It was good to be in this moment, surrounded by strangers, and yet, it seemed to me, we all understood the value of the message:  The heartbeat of the book, the whisper beneath every page- be that person who, by your love and kindness, adds quality to the lives of others. 

Rushing out the doors of Barnes and Noble, we ran, hailed a cab, and made our train with a few minutes to spare. As the train began to move, I reached into my purse and took out a small Hershey bar. I unwrapped it, took a bite, and watched the blur of lights and buildings out my window as we sped along the tracks, farther and farther away from the aura and impact of the evening.  Sitting behind us was a young man on speakerphone with his wife, a habit that typically vexes me… but not tonight.  And though they were speaking Spanish, I picked up that they were talking about their baby.  Then, together, sweetly and in hushed tones, they began to sing a little lullaby-like tune, as the train rocked us back and forth all the way home.

Thank you so much for reading!

In Christ, Who is our life,

Liz