Sadly, the vendors in carts had no affinity for me (I am a faithful purchaser from a cart that stands on Broadway and 111th). But, walking Nona's walk, I smiled at each of them. I New York City is not a place for smiles. In fact, each time I see a person walking on the street like it were doomsday, I smile at them. Very few smile back, most are surprised. But you can never go wrong when you smile to a child. Anyways, that small rate of success keeps me going.

Just below the church steps, a man wheeled his immobile wife, and happily so. Whether or not this is the same couple that Nona speaks of, it gave the cathedral a new look of grandeur. It seemed more humble, more like a place that real people inhabit, rather than a majestic display of religion's glory (or wealth). Having attended chapel six days a week for more than ten years, I cannot help but reminisce about my childhood -- the walk up to the altar steps, the bow, the placement before the podium, the opening of the sacred book, the opening line: "Today's reading is taken from . . .", the closing phrase: "Thanks be to GOD." But when I stood gaping at the high ceilings inside the cathedral, those memories were so unfamiliar to me that is seemed as if they had never really transpired. The peace, the quiet, the beauty of this worship was lost to me, sans return, sans fondness. But pardon me, this is not my path that I walk.

The Grates, too, came to pass. And like Nona, I felt the compassion that arose within me. I knew that their loneliness is not much different than my own. I have a convenient cover whereas everything of theirs lays bare before the world. As for their suffering, it was urgent and more real than mine. But giving them sympathy would be like showing fire to a leper from afar. It is useless. And thus, I smiled and kept walking.

As I approached the law school at 116 and Amsterdam, the drizzle had turned to rain. I could not bring myself to enter the hallowed gates of our law school. The smell of warm rain hitting the soft earth filled my nostrils. It was a sweet, familiar smell that stayed with me over the past fifteen years while everything else around me was fading away. And so it happened that just as this assignment came to a close, my walk began. I followed the scent of raindrops to Riverside Drive, walked by another cathedral and then by a magnanimous tomb. But in those open spaces, I felt more alive than I ever have within the renowned legal and medical hallways of Amsterdam Avenue. And so I continued to walk for awhile. Only this time, the course was of my own choosing.