New York, New York

I’ve been running for the past three weeks and today I remembered why I stopped running in the first place… because I HATE IT!

So, I decided to SKIP instead! What a refreshing and wonderful exercise! I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner! It immediately made me smile and lifted my spirits!!

Mel in New York City

Skipping in Central Park

Here’s a recap of a skip through New York’s Central Park that happened in September 0f 2001..

Lauren, Jay, Elaine, Gary, Heidi, and Bob [Heidi's fun-loving dog] had a wonderful skip Saturday September 8th, 2001 in Central Park! We met at Columbus Circle and did some hula-hooping and jump-hooping. Then, skipping on, we took an awesome ride on the Carousel, which Jay had been dying to do, and saw lots of little kiddies with balloons running and skipping about in their playful fashion.

We continued skipping to the top of the mall (with Gary singing a lot of the way), where we saw the International Harvest Festival. There was Celtic music, meditation-type chanting, and Gospel too! (Lauren did a Harmonious Skip through the audience looking for other skippers, but ours remained a small – albeit dedicated – crowd.) So we did a pretty difficult Down-the-Stairs Skip [which Bob liked] toward the lake, where we encountered a huge chess tournament, and a gigantic chessboard with a group of kids hopping and jumping around on it. It was a great sight.

We shouted out to lots of people as we skipped through, of course, including a bewildered-looking guy who was watching us as he tried to read “Crime and Punishment”. (I assume it was hard to do both at once!) Before we called it a day, Jay, Gary, and Lauren did a Sprinkler Skip — right through the yard — and were NOT at all harassed by authorities for doing so. Yay! Then Heidi, Elaine, and Gary headed south-west to find a bookstore [maybe they skipped all the way there!] and Jay and Lauren went back to the Harvest Festival. The sun shone, the music played, the people smiled, and the skippers skipped. A truly fun-filled day!

New Yorkers Skip Across the Brooklyn Bridge

On October 7th, 2000, the New York City skippers leapt across the Brooklyn Bridge…Here are a couple of recaps from what ended up being two groups of skippers!!!!!! The great images were taken by Andrzej Bialuski. (Notice the twin towers that were still standing at that time.)

“MANY RIVERS TO SKIP” By NYC skipper Gavin Heck

So we gathered 15 strong in the early afternoon after a late night of making placards with slogans from Walt Whitman’s “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” and Elizabeth Bishop’s “Invitation to Miss Marianne Moore”. Some new faces, some vintage skippers, all eager… put on their signs and began the grueling but joyful skip across the bridge.

“What are you protesting?” a passerby chimed “Gravity” I said without thinking much, and smiled.

A few passersby joined in for moments, a few smiled and took pictures.

We stopped to sweat and pant and enjoy the beautiful mid-day sky. We skipped on stone and wood and felt the old bridge yield a little with each buoyant step.

People tried to read our signs

“how curious you are to me!”
“from Brooklyn, over the Brooklyn Bridge, on this fine morning, please come flying”
“we love you – there is perfection in you also”
“please come flying”

They were bobbing their heads with our motion.

Before we knew it we were at the base of the Brooklyn side  of the bridge, where one of the later stanzas is in the metalwork…

” Flow on, river! flow with the flood-tide, and ebb with the ebb-tide! Frolic on, created and scallop-edg’d waves! Gorgeous clouds of the sunset! Drench with your splendor me, or the men and women generations after me! Cross from shore to shore, countless crowds of passengers! Stand up, tall masts of Manhattan! stand up, beautiful hills of Brooklyn! Throb, baffled and curious brain! throw out questions and answers!”

It was time for catching our breath, pictures and goodbye for some, off to lunch and drinks (and more skipping) for others. Sincere thanks to all who participated, especially Andrezj for the wonderful pictures

Skipping the Brooklyn Bridge by Laurie Sheppard

Thanks for the Brooklyn Bridge Skip. I have never gone across it and I am a native New Yorker. My daughter Lala fell asleep right at 2pm, and at that time there were 6 1/2 of us. I was on a pretty tight time schedule, so asked if anyone wanted to skip with me even though the head skipper hadn’t arrived yet.

This great couple, from San Francisco, now New Yorkers were also psyched to go, so we took off spreading the word. The other 3 decided to wait. So Bob, Aya and I were off and skipping excited about crossing the Bridge. This couple were like Honeymooners laughing and skipping the whole way making people go under like the London Bridge game.  We met photographers along the way who read about the Skip in Time Out and thought there would be more of us, but we assured them more would come.

We met two skippers coming the other way who must have started earlier. People got a kick out it, and two kids imitated the happy couple while the
mom remarked that it’s contagious and I convinced the mom and her friend to try it and they did and started laughing.

On my way back, the couple skipped ahead onto their next adventure and I met up with Gavin and about 15 others with signs and happy faces.

Thanks for getting me out of my neighborhood and the exercise of a mile each way. I didn’t know it only took 15 minutes to cross.

The Spirit of Skipping

I love the spirit skipping represents: inner joy, community, and gentle rebellion. May the skipping movement continue!!” –E. Gerber, Ph.D., New York, NY