MY SUMMER'S DAY WALK TO THE MANHATTAN NEW YORK TEMPLE

Last week our Relief Society had a night meeting focused on a service project to provide shoes and socks for  a homeless shelter in Greeley.  The theme was "Walk a Mile in My Shoes".  In addition to taking new or gently used items to donate, if we had a pair a shoes with an interesting story, we were encouraged to share it.  I was scheduled to begin a three-day trip that morning and couldn't attend, but I took my donation AND my walking shoes to the RS Secretary who lives in the next block--just in case they didn't get enough participation at least they had one story to share.  Turned out they DID read my story, and I even got a couple of comments today at Church that the sisters liked hearing it. This is what I shared with them. 

If these old walking shoes might talk, they could tell a lot about where they have been.  But of all the miles they have covered with me, the following story would be their most cherished memory.

Last June I was assigned to fly six all-night trips, first to Phoenix then through the night to New York where our crew had a 25 hour layover at a hotel directly across the street from the new 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan near the Financial District.

I had never been to the Manhattan Temple since it was built in 2004, though my daughter Brittany and I attended Sunday services there in 1998.  But I really wanted to do a session at this temple in New York City which is near famous landmarks like the Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.  Renting a car was out of the question.  The fare for a taxi was prohibitive.  The Subway was a viable choice, but after looking at the simple map at the hotel desk, I was certain I could walk there and drew a line from my hotel to the temple.   Google directions showed it to be a 5.1 mile walk.  It was easily a doable challenge, so I started to make plans.

We usually land at the airport after an all-nighter about 6 a.m. Then we are picked up by a limousine service which delivers us to our hotel by 8 a.m. At that point in my trip, all I want to do is go to bed for a few hours!  Unfortunately every time I did that, it was usually about three or four p.m. by the time I showered and was out on the street.  On the first trips it was so late in the afternoon after I did all that, I decided to give up the plan to walk to the temple that day.  One afternoon I even got as far as 14^th Street before I figured I had better turn around and get back to the hotel by dark. 

On the fifth trip I knew what I was going to do—not go to bed but walk straight to the temple for the 11 a.m. session.  I was pretty sure I could do that.  Once I got to the hotel that Tuesday, I changed my clothes, put a skirt, shoes and stockings into my backpack along with my temple recommend and a bottle of water, and I started my journey.  I began walking north on West Street bordering the Hudson River until 14^th Street which I followed to 7^th Avenue.  I walked through neighborhoods you would recognize because you have heard about them or seen them in the movies or on TV—Chinatown, Little Italy, Soho, Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Tribeca, The Garment District, up to Midtown then I followed Broadway to the corner of West 65^th Street and Columbus Avenue where the temple is located.

 It was 10:15 by the time I got there, and I was hot and sweaty though it was still June and only in the low 70’s. I had just enough time to use the restroom in the Visitor’s Annex to freshen up, put on my skirt, stockings and shoes then present myself at the recommend desk.  It was quite a walk—even for me—but it was sooo worth it. 

The temple is unique in that it is built inside an existing building, completely sound-proofed from all the noise of New York City.  And something else unique is that the door handles are shaped like the Statue of Liberty torch!  The temple is small, but in my session it looked like there were people from every continent but maybe Australia. Many of them were using headphones to hear the instructions in another language.  It was truly a “gathering of Israel”.  I deemed it a privilege to be there!  After I left the temple, I felt like I was walking on air—but I rode the Subway back to my hotel where I had a long tall cool drink of water and laid down to rest.

On my sixth and final trip later that same week, our hotel was changed and we went to Morristown, New Jersey, for our 25 hour stay.  I was really glad I had made the effort to walk to the temple when I did.  The opportunity would have been gone if I had waited any longer.  It was an experience I will always remember as special!

Georgia Nichols