My wife, Barbara, and I traveled to New York City on October 22, and we left a few days before Sandy hit. We were on a “retirement vacation,” which is a vacation from retirement, and we visited a friend who lives in New York.

Some images of New Yorkers follow. The photos show people doing ordinary things, and they offer a contrast to the images now on television. Ordinary things offer a goal toward which New Yorkers now work.

An age-old group

Cellphone and tired feet marks New York

Too much New York—a rest in the sun

A biker and others soak up sun

Looking through a salon window, women tend to pretty hands

A boy seeking adventure on a rock in Central Park

Testing a fire hydrant

Marking time and religion

Something interesting is going on over there

See it?

Traditional music fills the air

Boys and a ball

A special hat

A man and a belly

A young man and a ghost

A young woman and a device

After school, a pose for a stranger

Some of us are always waiting for a train