9.29.09: Hoofs and shoes | New York Social Diary

Hoofs and shoes

Horse and carriages in front of the gilded bronze statue General William Tecumseh Sherman by Augustus Saint-Gaudens at the main entrance to Central Park (taken with Blackberry). 2:30 PM. Photo: JH.

September 29, 2009. Monday was sunny and mild and a tad quieter in New York because it was Yom Kippur and a lot of people stayed home, went to synagogue and then celebrated the holiday at home. Then the grey clouds gathered after six and a light rain fell intermittently for a few hours, washing the streets and leaving cooler air behind. It is now autumn in New York.

Yom Kippur is one of the few days of the year, where you see young, even pre-teen boys, no matter the religion, dressed in a suit and tie, and the girls dressed and wearing pretty but conservative shoes. You also see families (and families with friends) dressed for the occasion and walking together on the sidewalks in the residential parts of town. I’ve written this before but I’ll say it again: I find this sight comforting in the context of today’s angst-ridden world.

Meanwhile, Suzy’s shoesies and other tales of the woesome: a friend of mine, a writer and a perspicacious social critic (a simpler synonym would not be appropriately accurate) sent me an email yesterday: “I think it is time for you to comment in an official capacity on the fact (some might call it perception) that we are passing through an era notable for perfectly hideous women’s shoes! ...”

Louis XIV, age 25, receiving Swiss Ambassadors in 1663.

I laughed when I read it because I knew what he meant. I do notice shoes. Most men’s shoes don’t stand out except for their ill-kempt appearance, often scruffy and dull from wear and tear. Tough guy in a wuss world. Comma, who cares? With men it’s a matter of grooming and this is also an era of anti-grooming for some and even hyper to fidgety grooming for others.


	The heel named after the Sun King who liked his heels five inches high.

Still, a well-shined pair of shoes adds luster and even the possibility of wit and intelligence (a wild guess of course) to the wearer’s appearance. It can even spiff up an otherwise baggy, even slopping appearance. Nevertheless a shine on the shoe is rare in today’s world.

With the women it’s different. Shoes are not accessories; they are necessities. They punctuate the story. The shoes that my friend was talking about, I am almost certain, are those with a high heel, recently in fashion, that cover the bridge and/or a lot of the foot and ankle partly or entirely.

Some look like ankle boots with a high heel. Others looks like glitzed up Roman sandals with a high heel. There’s a hint of S&M, a kind of edgy toughness in the look. Whips don’t punctuate. It sends a couple of messages. Naughty but nice. Maybe even not so nice.

French, 1730. The heel Louis liked for himself.

I’m sure many would disagree or have an opinion about my idea of NBN. Or either N. However, aside from the fact that women are said to dress for each other, rather than men, their shoes sum up not only the clothes but the appearance. A slender ankle and a smooth well shaped bridge with a heel high or mid can be very alluring, or just plain beautiful on the eye.

But these shoes today that my friend was referring to -- some of which are quite cleverly and beautifully designed -- deprive the viewer of most of that. There are probably some Wall Street tycoons who like that sort of thing. I’ve often heard those stories. However, they can leave me wondering about the winter that’s coming.

Then there are other messages that crop up here and there around town. Like these cars. This guy does his creating with his car, and on his car. This other guy has turned his car into a library. Or at last a book storage. I don't know how he manages alternate side of the street parking though.

Two life-enhancing passions of many New Yorkers are public parklands and public television.

Last week these important institutions joined forces to celebrate the upcoming airing “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” a 12-hour, six-part documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns, and the launch of National Parks Week NYC.


	Ken Burns with his daughter

Sponsored by PBS and the National Parks Conservation Association, the celebration was held in our city’s greatest resource, Central Park.

Naturalist John Muir, in part responsible for the creation of the 84 million acres of National Parks, said that being alone in a park -- a small figure within the vastness of glorious nature -- connects with one’s spiritual self, and brings forth an inner peace.

On this night, Native American Park Ranger, Gerard A. Baker of Mount Rushmore National Memorial spoke of the importance of the Native American philosophy that the landscape belongs to no one man, but to all creatures, and that we have been entrusted with the sacred duty of being excellent stewards of the land and all its beautiful beings – 2 and 4-legged.

African American Park Ranger Shelton Johnson of Yosemite (who appears in the docu) commented on how he, as a troubled youth in Detroit, was transformed by the wintery landscape of 2000 pound bisons in snow.

The Wright Brothers on Governors Island preparing for a test flight.

There were speeches by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Ken Burns (Jazz, The Civil War ...), Writer, “The National Parks” Dayton Duncan, President PBS Lee Stetson, CEO of PBS Paula Kerger, NYC Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Assistant Secretary of the Interior Tom Strickland, NPCA President Tom Kiernan, and Actor Adam Arkin.

Counting Crows treated guests to wonderful performances. Jose Feliciano composed a special rendition of the National Anthem for the occasion, Peter Yarrow with Noel Paul Stookey paid tribute to the recent loss of Mary Travers.

— Jill Lynne