Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“It's already been such an experience,” I tried to convince her. “Maybe all I really
needed to do was cross America.”
“Don't tell me you made us go through all that just to go to New York?” I could hear
her holding back her annoyance, trying to disguise it as a joke.
“But maybe that's all I needed.”
Once again, I felt like I was back in that infamous therapist's office, except this time it
was Lina sitting beside me.
“I don't think so, Leon. I wish it was, but . . .” I could hear her breathe in before she
replied, “I don't know, do you really want to give up before you've even started?”
I hung up the phone with that question echoing in my ears.
Do you really want to give up
before you've even started?
And those were the words that pushed me through that beauti-
ful sunny morning in New York. The trees of Central Park were in full bloom. Even the air
smelled clean, despite the teeming traffic around me.
I doubt it will surprise anyone at this point, but finding a free room in New York City is
harder than it looks. Looking back on it, Times Square might have made sense for dramat-
ic purposes, but not necessarily for logistical ones. I kept meeting tourists staying in tiny,
overpriced hotels, who might have felt for my journey but weren't necessarily willing to let
me sleep next to them.
My closest chance came with a family from Torino, Italy. It was a mother and her
two sons. They were visiting the Big Apple for a few days, but unfortunately, didn't have
enough room in their hotel room for another family member. They did, however, give me
their number and offer me a place to stay should I make it to Torino.
“Are you sure?” I asked. “Because I'll come to Torino then and take you up on your
offer!”
“We will be happy to have you,” the mother replied.
I began to walk down Park Avenue, far away from the mayhem of Times Square. And
that's when I saw him. Now, I know most people probably wouldn't have zoned in on Taso
as a likely prospect. He was a young lawyer in his mid-thirties, wearing a button-down shirt
and a formal tie. But there was something about him that said, “I am more than the cubicle
I work in.”
After I explained my situation, Taso paused, clearly weighing his options before finally
replying, “Well, the kindness-of-strangers part really speaks to me.”
Taso thought about it for a moment, and said the one word I had been waiting to hear all
day, “Sure.”
