The City: blue light last year
By glencadia2
Last night apparently a transformer blew in Queens or Brooklyn and lit up the New York City sky with blue — although at the time I would have said green — light. When I first noticed it as I did the dog route, I looked to see if anyone else on the street was paying attention to this strange phenomenon. For a few moments, no one seemed to be looking. When I saw a group of people on the corner pointing, I found it reassuring: yes, this was a massive and unusual event.
I lived in the city for 15 years. It’s starting to be that I have lived up here in the country for almost as long as the city. When I used to drive around my old haunts– upper west side, Union Square or Park Slope– I found it emotionally taxing, to consider my younger self in any way. Increasingly, I just drive. Moments like this transformer blowing up I was “a part” of the city with other people, and I can remember when I thought that meant something. But now, naw, it’s all an illusion, just a flash in the sky and gone.