New Yorkers

As news cameras honed in on the US Air plane floating in the Hudson this afternoon, fellow gym goers stared at the coverage 12 inches from their face on their treadmill TVs. I thought that was a telling image of hardy New Yorkers--potential tragedy just down the street not deterring them from their workout. Obviously, if people had been injured or killed it would be a different story. But as it turned out, it was an interesting spectacle to watch as we continued our daily lives.

I thought maybe people would turn the channel so they could focus on their workout or briefly withdraw from the outside world. But if there's one thing New Yorkers are comfortable with, it's heaping doses of reality right in front of their face. At some point during 700 subway rides and walks down 6th Avenue you become inured to other people's tribulations. Not insensitive to them or immune to them, but comfortable with frequently viewing the hardships that are part of reality for many people.

I'm guilty of not letting those hardships spur me to action. And I'm not trying to glamorize that particular bit of selfishness. But it did lift my spirits to see people almost comically bouncing along with the threat of mortality just inches away.