When you mention the Lower East Side, visions of pushcarts, Yiddish theater, delicatessens, bargain shopping and turn of the century architecture come to mind. It seems to have a life of its own. However, the Lower East Side of NYC has always been a neighborhood in transition and today only remnants are left of the previous rich and colorful era of the early 20th century that had the bustle of Irish, Jewish, German, Italian, Chinese, and immigrants from all over the world. I was affected by this as I walked the streets with my camera hoping to honor a past that should not be forgot while trying to honor the possible meaning of what the future holds.

As I walked down Orchard Street I was struck by the silhouetted figure of a workman as he was clearing out an older establishment to make way for something new. There was certainly a lot of "tumult" and motion as the work progressed. However I was in awe as this figure that was very much three-dimensional also seemed to be a two-dimensional shadow cast on a glowing warm wall of an older building with the signage of the S. Beckenstein, Inc., on a taller building next to it, proudly glowing against a blue sky. "We may be old," it seemed to say, "but we are not going away."

Established in 1918, Beckenstein's is still going strong, and I heard two women talking on the street about how they travel here from far away to buy their fabric. There also was a reverent quality as the workman seemed to be paying homage to an older era as he assumed a kneeling posture toward a street lamp from the past that appeared to acknowledge him with its own beautiful curves.

And then there are the wonderful delicate trees that unite both past and present as one leans toward the workman joining street lamp, sky, and wall, and the other from behind the man leaning towards the other tree lending its support. Yes, as Eli Siegel wrote:

There were the "surprises" of the moment within the "absolute" of time that were embedded in this scene and I was so grateful to be within it.