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[gentle instrumental music]
2
00:00:17,756 --> 00:00:20,368
[singing]
3
00:00:20,411 --> 00:00:23,284
[car horn honking]
4
00:00:35,774 --> 00:00:37,776
[mumbling]
5
00:00:41,171 --> 00:00:44,479
[truck engine running]
6
00:01:34,790 --> 00:01:37,836
[birds squawking]
7
00:02:34,502 --> 00:02:38,114
[gentle instrumental music]
8
00:02:41,639 --> 00:02:45,165
[train engine running]
9
00:02:45,208 --> 00:02:45,948
[siren ringing]
10
00:02:45,991 --> 00:02:48,255
[mumbling]
11
00:02:53,085 --> 00:02:55,784
[horn honking]
12
00:03:29,644 --> 00:03:32,342
[birds chirping]
13
00:03:34,039 --> 00:03:35,519
- There are a lot
of parts of New York
14
00:03:35,563 --> 00:03:38,087
where you hear a lot of birds,
15
00:03:38,130 --> 00:03:41,917
which you might not
think would be the case,
16
00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:43,223
and a lot of times
you don't hear them
17
00:03:43,266 --> 00:03:46,617
just cause you're not
listening for them.
18
00:03:54,103 --> 00:03:56,105
[mumbling]
19
00:03:57,367 --> 00:03:59,064
- So she said she forgot.
20
00:03:59,108 --> 00:03:59,978
- How you doing?
21
00:04:00,022 --> 00:04:02,242
- Oh hi, what are you doing?
22
00:04:03,417 --> 00:04:05,070
- I'm doing this
big walking project.
23
00:04:05,114 --> 00:04:07,029
I'm walking every block
of the five boroughs.
24
00:04:07,072 --> 00:04:07,899
- Okay.
25
00:04:07,943 --> 00:04:09,597
- Over like a few years.
26
00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:11,381
That's kind of my progress map.
27
00:04:11,425 --> 00:04:13,078
- Okay, you walked a lot.
28
00:04:13,122 --> 00:04:14,558
- I got a lot of
Staten Island left.
29
00:04:14,602 --> 00:04:17,126
- Was you always slim, or
you was bigger than that?
30
00:04:17,169 --> 00:04:17,996
- [laughing] I was
always about the same.
31
00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:18,954
I was always about the same.
32
00:04:18,997 --> 00:04:19,737
- You were the same?
33
00:04:19,781 --> 00:04:20,956
'Cause you never know.
34
00:04:20,999 --> 00:04:21,522
People lose weight
after all that walking.
35
00:04:21,565 --> 00:04:22,305
- I know.
36
00:04:22,349 --> 00:04:23,219
I never lost any weight.
37
00:04:23,263 --> 00:04:25,090
Still just little gut here,
38
00:04:25,134 --> 00:04:26,527
never goes away.
39
00:04:26,570 --> 00:04:28,920
[mumbling]
40
00:04:39,191 --> 00:04:42,020
[camera shutter clicking]
41
00:04:42,064 --> 00:04:44,893
[siren ringing]
42
00:04:50,551 --> 00:04:54,206
[camera shutter clicking]
43
00:04:57,819 --> 00:04:58,994
- You got it?
44
00:04:59,037 --> 00:04:59,995
Need a hand?
45
00:05:00,038 --> 00:05:00,735
- Yeah, I got it.
46
00:05:00,778 --> 00:05:01,518
- [Matt] Okay.
47
00:05:01,562 --> 00:05:02,563
- Thank you.
48
00:05:07,785 --> 00:05:09,874
[horn honking]
49
00:05:09,918 --> 00:05:11,136
- Nice garden.
50
00:05:12,050 --> 00:05:13,922
How long has it been open?
51
00:05:13,965 --> 00:05:16,098
- Oh man, we've been
here for 22 years.
52
00:05:16,141 --> 00:05:16,925
- Oh yeah?
53
00:05:18,970 --> 00:05:20,407
I'm Matt.
54
00:05:20,450 --> 00:05:22,670
I see a lot of community
gardens, but this is a nice one.
55
00:05:22,713 --> 00:05:24,976
- We've been here 12 years.
56
00:05:25,020 --> 00:05:25,890
- [Matt] Oh yeah, there you are.
57
00:05:25,934 --> 00:05:27,544
- [Man] Back when I was young.
58
00:05:27,588 --> 00:05:28,893
- [laughing] Still
look young to me.
59
00:05:28,937 --> 00:05:30,199
- Okay, yeah.
60
00:05:30,242 --> 00:05:34,072
[gentle instrumental music]
61
00:05:36,248 --> 00:05:40,252
[singing in a foreign language]
62
00:06:39,442 --> 00:06:41,488
♪ And you know just
what I wanna do ♪
63
00:06:41,531 --> 00:06:42,663
[upbeat instrumental music]
64
00:06:42,706 --> 00:06:44,926
[singing]
65
00:06:54,152 --> 00:06:56,459
[mumbling]
66
00:07:03,510 --> 00:07:06,600
[electronic beeping]
67
00:07:08,863 --> 00:07:12,083
- [Man] But you guys
got the fuck out.
68
00:07:14,651 --> 00:07:17,132
[horn honking]
69
00:07:20,788 --> 00:07:23,399
[siren ringing]
70
00:07:30,362 --> 00:07:33,322
[birds chirping]
71
00:07:33,365 --> 00:07:35,716
- So I don't have an apartment,
72
00:07:35,759 --> 00:07:38,936
which is a big part of how
I can afford to do this walk
73
00:07:38,980 --> 00:07:40,242
by not having to pay rent.
74
00:07:40,285 --> 00:07:42,462
The place where
I'm staying today
75
00:07:42,505 --> 00:07:44,681
is a friend of mine's apartment.
76
00:07:44,725 --> 00:07:49,251
He has two kids, including
a 9 year old daughter
77
00:07:49,294 --> 00:07:50,731
whose room this is,
78
00:07:52,254 --> 00:07:54,212
although it's pretty
much my style too.
79
00:07:54,256 --> 00:07:56,345
I would probably decorate
a place just like this,
80
00:07:56,388 --> 00:07:57,259
so it feels like home.
81
00:07:57,302 --> 00:08:01,437
[gentle instrumental music]
82
00:08:01,481 --> 00:08:04,353
I have probably
stayed at somewhere
83
00:08:07,399 --> 00:08:09,706
around 50 different places.
84
00:08:12,317 --> 00:08:16,278
I've stayed in a very
wide variety of places.
85
00:08:17,322 --> 00:08:21,370
You know, from someone
who has roommates,
86
00:08:21,413 --> 00:08:24,373
like the couch in their
kind of common room,
87
00:08:24,416 --> 00:08:28,290
to my own bedroom in like
really nice apartments.
88
00:08:30,074 --> 00:08:33,861
Sometimes I'll just stay with
someone for a couple days.
89
00:08:33,904 --> 00:08:36,341
Sometimes I'll be at a place
90
00:08:36,385 --> 00:08:39,214
for two weeks or
more, house sitting,
91
00:08:39,257 --> 00:08:44,001
and sometimes I'll just be
at a place for a day or two.
92
00:08:49,659 --> 00:08:52,270
A lot of the places are
just friends of mine.
93
00:08:52,314 --> 00:08:53,445
Some of them, I'll just say,
94
00:08:53,489 --> 00:08:55,360
hey, can I come over
for a couple days?
95
00:08:55,404 --> 00:08:57,319
And there are a
few people I've met
96
00:08:57,362 --> 00:08:59,277
who just found my
blog and emailed me
97
00:08:59,321 --> 00:09:01,845
and invited me to come over.
98
00:09:01,889 --> 00:09:02,629
[cat hissing]
99
00:09:02,672 --> 00:09:04,326
Ow.
100
00:09:04,369 --> 00:09:07,068
Cat sitting is one way that I
find a lot of places to stay.
101
00:09:07,111 --> 00:09:12,116
I've probably taken care of
maybe two dozen different cats,
102
00:09:12,943 --> 00:09:15,076
so this one here is Mufasa,
103
00:09:16,425 --> 00:09:17,600
and let's see.
104
00:09:20,081 --> 00:09:21,996
I've also watched Remy,
105
00:09:25,347 --> 00:09:26,348
Ed and Huck,
106
00:09:28,785 --> 00:09:30,700
Misha and Nico,
107
00:09:30,744 --> 00:09:32,180
Mishi and Shimi,
108
00:09:33,703 --> 00:09:34,835
Greta, Nanya,
109
00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:39,100
Miss Kitty and Ralph,
110
00:09:39,143 --> 00:09:41,145
Frosty, Dizzy and Miles,
111
00:09:43,452 --> 00:09:44,496
Quippy,
112
00:09:45,672 --> 00:09:46,498
Henry,
113
00:09:49,763 --> 00:09:51,329
and then a few dogs.
114
00:09:51,373 --> 00:09:54,202
Milo, Sugar, another little guy,
115
00:09:55,420 --> 00:09:57,945
I can't even remember
his name right now.
116
00:09:57,988 --> 00:09:59,903
I think if I were really
kind of organized about it,
117
00:09:59,947 --> 00:10:02,950
I could just cat sit
for the rest of my life
118
00:10:02,993 --> 00:10:05,648
and like never
have an apartment.
119
00:10:10,305 --> 00:10:13,656
I mean, I kind of estimate that
I spend on average probably
120
00:10:13,700 --> 00:10:16,267
about $15 a day on basically,
121
00:10:18,748 --> 00:10:21,795
pretty much transportation and
food are the only real costs.
122
00:10:21,838 --> 00:10:23,535
[razor humming]
123
00:10:23,579 --> 00:10:26,974
Some people, I think, are so
used to a life of spending
124
00:10:27,017 --> 00:10:32,022
that my lifestyle seems
miserable to live or something,
125
00:10:33,545 --> 00:10:35,025
that I'm like depriving
myself of the basics of life.
126
00:10:35,069 --> 00:10:36,287
I mean, every once
in a while I'm like,
127
00:10:36,331 --> 00:10:38,594
oh, I'd like to get a sandwich,
128
00:10:38,638 --> 00:10:40,291
but that'll cost 6 bucks,
129
00:10:40,335 --> 00:10:45,557
and I can go home and eat
rice and beans for 75 cents.
130
00:10:46,863 --> 00:10:49,910
So it's just kind of helped
me find more satisfaction
131
00:10:51,172 --> 00:10:53,000
in the basic stuff
of life that's free
132
00:10:53,043 --> 00:10:54,915
or that's really cheap,
133
00:10:54,958 --> 00:10:57,657
but yeah, pretty
much everything else,
134
00:10:57,700 --> 00:10:59,136
I don't really miss it.
135
00:10:59,180 --> 00:11:02,487
[subway engine running]
136
00:11:06,970 --> 00:11:09,320
- [Woman] This is Bowling Green.
137
00:11:09,364 --> 00:11:12,889
- [Man] Transfer is available
to the Staten Island Ferry.
138
00:11:12,933 --> 00:11:14,717
[boat engine running]
139
00:11:14,761 --> 00:11:17,372
[water flowing]
140
00:11:44,616 --> 00:11:47,010
[wind blowing]
141
00:11:55,497 --> 00:11:58,239
[birds squawking]
142
00:12:03,070 --> 00:12:05,725
[snow crunching]
143
00:12:18,433 --> 00:12:21,001
- Something people have
said a lot in regards
144
00:12:21,044 --> 00:12:22,611
to what I'm doing,
145
00:12:22,654 --> 00:12:25,483
that I could be doing
something much more useful
146
00:12:25,527 --> 00:12:27,050
for the world,
147
00:12:27,094 --> 00:12:31,620
so that's definitely criticism
that I've heard a lot of.
148
00:12:33,187 --> 00:12:35,450
I mean, they just kind of
consider me to be some kid
149
00:12:35,493 --> 00:12:37,582
who graduated from college
150
00:12:37,626 --> 00:12:40,498
and never did anything
with his life.
151
00:12:42,718 --> 00:12:44,111
When I tell them
I'm doing this walk,
152
00:12:44,154 --> 00:12:46,330
they assume there's
some plan to turn this
153
00:12:46,374 --> 00:12:49,551
into some kind of revenue
stream when I'm done,
154
00:12:49,594 --> 00:12:53,120
whether that's writing a
book or becoming a tour guide
155
00:12:53,163 --> 00:12:57,211
or whatever it is you could do
with this kind of knowledge,
156
00:12:57,254 --> 00:12:58,168
and I don't think
there's a whole lot
157
00:12:58,212 --> 00:13:00,170
of commercial use for it.
158
00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:04,827
The people in the world
who captivate me the most
159
00:13:04,871 --> 00:13:09,484
are people who do something
just because they want to do it.
160
00:13:09,527 --> 00:13:11,616
They're not making
any money off of,
161
00:13:11,660 --> 00:13:14,184
maybe that other
people think is stupid.
162
00:13:14,228 --> 00:13:16,447
[yelling]
163
00:13:18,145 --> 00:13:19,407
So I'm of two minds about it.
164
00:13:19,450 --> 00:13:20,756
I have no problem
with people thinking
165
00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:24,586
that I'm just being
a worthless bum,
166
00:13:24,629 --> 00:13:26,936
but I'm also fully
engaged in this thing
167
00:13:26,980 --> 00:13:28,242
that I really care about
168
00:13:28,285 --> 00:13:29,547
and that I think is
important in some kind
169
00:13:29,591 --> 00:13:33,464
of intangible way that
I can't really describe,
170
00:13:33,508 --> 00:13:34,596
well, anyway.
171
00:13:35,945 --> 00:13:37,512
The point of it all,
172
00:13:37,555 --> 00:13:39,644
I mean, I don't entirely
know what the point is.
173
00:13:39,688 --> 00:13:42,909
I'm kind of learning
that as I go along too.
174
00:13:42,952 --> 00:13:45,694
[wind blowing]
175
00:14:02,276 --> 00:14:05,061
[metal squeaking]
176
00:14:06,758 --> 00:14:09,849
[train engine running]
177
00:14:11,938 --> 00:14:13,504
- Matt and I have been friends
178
00:14:13,548 --> 00:14:17,769
since I joined him for his
walk across every bridge
179
00:14:19,597 --> 00:14:21,382
that touches Manhattan.
180
00:14:21,425 --> 00:14:23,210
It was a 35 mile walk.
181
00:14:24,689 --> 00:14:26,387
We started in New Jersey,
182
00:14:26,430 --> 00:14:28,476
walked over the George
Washington Bridge,
183
00:14:28,519 --> 00:14:30,043
and then made our way
down the East River,
184
00:14:30,086 --> 00:14:32,523
finishing at the
Brooklyn Bridge.
185
00:14:32,567 --> 00:14:34,743
So when Matt was
starting to prepare
186
00:14:34,786 --> 00:14:35,962
for his New York walk,
187
00:14:36,005 --> 00:14:37,659
I volunteered to make
a website for him.
188
00:14:37,702 --> 00:14:40,967
The original idea was that he
would post one photo a day,
189
00:14:41,010 --> 00:14:42,229
and then as he got on his walk,
190
00:14:42,272 --> 00:14:44,361
he started posting
more and more photos.
191
00:14:44,405 --> 00:14:46,711
Also, Matt sort of ended
up using the website
192
00:14:46,755 --> 00:14:47,843
a lot differently.
193
00:14:47,887 --> 00:14:49,584
Matt started doing
a ton of research.
194
00:14:49,627 --> 00:14:50,759
He found a thing.
195
00:14:50,802 --> 00:14:52,326
He got curious about it.
196
00:14:52,369 --> 00:14:54,894
He'd stay up all night reading
newspapers from the 1800s,
197
00:14:54,937 --> 00:14:57,418
and write a really
perfect description
198
00:14:57,461 --> 00:14:59,072
of what this bridge was
199
00:14:59,115 --> 00:15:02,379
and why it's interesting
and important.
200
00:15:04,686 --> 00:15:06,079
I haven't looked at
stats in a long time.
201
00:15:06,122 --> 00:15:07,689
I don't think Matt
looks at stats.
202
00:15:07,732 --> 00:15:10,257
It's not like a ton of people
are coming to his website.
203
00:15:10,300 --> 00:15:12,781
I would guess he probably
has a dozen or so people
204
00:15:12,824 --> 00:15:15,131
looking a day, coming
to visit a day.
205
00:15:15,175 --> 00:15:18,047
I suspect it's
pretty low, frankly.
206
00:15:25,620 --> 00:15:29,493
- This is Mount
Olivet Baptist Church.
207
00:15:29,537 --> 00:15:32,844
It's one of New York's
many churgagogues,
208
00:15:34,150 --> 00:15:36,370
former synagogues
in neighborhoods
209
00:15:36,413 --> 00:15:38,807
where most of the Jewish
population moved out,
210
00:15:38,850 --> 00:15:40,765
and they've since
become churches.
211
00:15:40,809 --> 00:15:42,506
In areas that used to
212
00:15:42,550 --> 00:15:44,900
have big Jewish
populations that don't,
213
00:15:44,944 --> 00:15:46,902
there's not but
so much you can do
214
00:15:46,946 --> 00:15:49,165
with a big old kind
of sanctuary building,
215
00:15:49,209 --> 00:15:51,994
so often times they
become churches.
216
00:15:52,038 --> 00:15:55,650
Sometimes you can kind of get
a sense from the architecture
217
00:15:55,693 --> 00:15:57,173
that it used to be a
synagogue or something,
218
00:15:57,217 --> 00:15:59,001
but sometimes there's
more explicit symbols,
219
00:15:59,045 --> 00:16:01,264
like here you can
see below the windows
220
00:16:01,308 --> 00:16:03,571
there are little Stars of David.
221
00:16:03,614 --> 00:16:05,007
So they kind of run the gamut.
222
00:16:05,051 --> 00:16:07,183
Some of them are very
obviously former synagogues,
223
00:16:07,227 --> 00:16:09,707
and others, just after
you've seen enough of them,
224
00:16:09,751 --> 00:16:13,189
you kind of can recognize
the architecture.
225
00:16:14,712 --> 00:16:18,194
Parts of Harlem had
big Jewish communities.
226
00:16:18,238 --> 00:16:22,677
Harlem, South Bronx, East
New York, and Brownsville,
227
00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:25,549
those are places that used
to have a lot of Jews,
228
00:16:25,593 --> 00:16:29,466
so a lot of synagogues that
aren't synagogues anymore.
229
00:16:29,510 --> 00:16:33,818
You can see the Ten
Commandment tablets in Hebrew
230
00:16:33,862 --> 00:16:36,560
up above the name
of the church there.
231
00:16:36,604 --> 00:16:39,999
[camera shutter clicking]
232
00:16:47,745 --> 00:16:50,139
[mumbling]
233
00:16:59,670 --> 00:17:00,889
- [Man] Mikey.
234
00:17:09,071 --> 00:17:11,856
- [Matt] I'm doing a big
project where I'm walking
235
00:17:11,900 --> 00:17:14,685
every block in the whole
city, in the five boroughs.
236
00:17:14,729 --> 00:17:15,817
- That sucks.
237
00:17:15,860 --> 00:17:16,774
- Yo, can I shake
your hand, please?
238
00:17:16,818 --> 00:17:17,688
- [Matt] It sucks?
239
00:17:17,732 --> 00:17:18,820
- I need to shake your hand.
240
00:17:18,863 --> 00:17:20,517
- [Matt] You want
to shake my hand?
241
00:17:20,561 --> 00:17:22,693
- Oh, I want to shake
your hand please.
242
00:17:22,737 --> 00:17:24,913
- Are you really
walking all of them?
243
00:17:24,956 --> 00:17:25,696
- Hey, can you shake
my hand please?
244
00:17:25,740 --> 00:17:26,871
- [Matt] I am.
245
00:17:26,915 --> 00:17:27,524
- Can I do that with you?
246
00:17:27,568 --> 00:17:28,308
I have a bike.
247
00:17:28,351 --> 00:17:29,526
[laughing]
248
00:17:29,570 --> 00:17:31,398
[upbeat instrumental music]
249
00:17:31,441 --> 00:17:32,703
- Alright.
250
00:17:32,747 --> 00:17:34,227
Oh, I'm doing this
big walking project.
251
00:17:34,270 --> 00:17:36,925
I'm trying to walk every
block in all five boroughs.
252
00:17:36,968 --> 00:17:37,926
- That's cool.
253
00:17:37,969 --> 00:17:38,840
- Thanks man.
254
00:17:38,883 --> 00:17:39,884
- Cool.
255
00:17:39,928 --> 00:17:41,103
- Yeah.
256
00:17:41,147 --> 00:17:41,886
- When do you assume
it's gonna be finished?
257
00:17:41,930 --> 00:17:43,453
- At least another year,
258
00:17:43,497 --> 00:17:46,804
but I also take a lot of photos
and kind of research stuff.
259
00:17:46,848 --> 00:17:48,676
- So how long have
you been doing this?
260
00:17:48,719 --> 00:17:49,851
- Over three years now.
261
00:17:49,894 --> 00:17:51,113
- Three years?
262
00:17:51,157 --> 00:17:53,637
- I thought it was
gonna take maybe two
263
00:17:53,681 --> 00:17:54,943
to two and a half years,
264
00:17:54,986 --> 00:17:57,511
but that was almost
five years ago now.
265
00:17:57,554 --> 00:17:58,729
[laughing]
266
00:17:58,773 --> 00:18:00,383
- So how much did you do so far?
267
00:18:00,427 --> 00:18:02,124
- [Matt] Like 6,800 miles.
268
00:18:02,168 --> 00:18:02,951
- What?
269
00:18:02,994 --> 00:18:04,039
- Dang.
270
00:18:04,083 --> 00:18:05,736
- I've got like 1,500 left.
271
00:18:05,780 --> 00:18:06,781
- Are you serious?
272
00:18:06,824 --> 00:18:07,695
- Yeah.
273
00:18:07,738 --> 00:18:08,348
- Must be in good shape too.
274
00:18:08,391 --> 00:18:09,131
- Right?
275
00:18:09,175 --> 00:18:10,698
- Hell yeah.
276
00:18:10,741 --> 00:18:13,831
- I hope I'd be in better
shape than I am but.
277
00:18:13,875 --> 00:18:14,876
I used to be an engineer.
278
00:18:14,919 --> 00:18:16,443
- Yeah.
279
00:18:16,486 --> 00:18:20,969
- And I had a kind of desk job,
and I quit that job in 2009.
280
00:18:21,926 --> 00:18:23,580
- So how do you
support yourself?
281
00:18:23,624 --> 00:18:24,842
- I don't have an apartment.
282
00:18:24,886 --> 00:18:26,105
- Good.
283
00:18:26,148 --> 00:18:27,758
- I stay with people
and watch people's cats,
284
00:18:27,802 --> 00:18:29,108
stuff like that.
285
00:18:29,151 --> 00:18:30,848
- So you just walking
along, huh? [laughing]
286
00:18:30,892 --> 00:18:32,372
- Yeah, walking
along, taking photos,
287
00:18:32,415 --> 00:18:34,156
just seeing what I see, yeah.
288
00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:35,157
- Sorry, I'm so sorry.
289
00:18:35,201 --> 00:18:36,724
- Yeah, yeah.
290
00:18:36,767 --> 00:18:39,161
- You just wander through
New York City streets?
291
00:18:39,205 --> 00:18:43,296
[upbeat instrumental music]
292
00:18:43,339 --> 00:18:44,210
- Morning.
293
00:18:44,253 --> 00:18:45,428
- You guys shooting a movie?
294
00:18:45,472 --> 00:18:46,734
- Yeah, yeah, I'm
doing this big project,
295
00:18:46,777 --> 00:18:48,953
walking every block
of the five boroughs.
296
00:18:48,997 --> 00:18:50,912
- Oh, you walking every
block in the five boroughs?
297
00:18:50,955 --> 00:18:52,000
- Every block of the
five boroughs, yeah.
298
00:18:52,043 --> 00:18:52,914
[mumbling]
299
00:18:52,957 --> 00:18:53,958
- Hey yo, come over here though.
300
00:18:54,002 --> 00:18:55,612
- Aren't you tired?
301
00:18:55,656 --> 00:18:57,179
- I'm a little tired.
302
00:18:57,223 --> 00:18:58,528
Everything's tough
though, right?
303
00:18:58,572 --> 00:18:59,964
- Yeah, you know, that's
what life is about.
304
00:19:00,008 --> 00:19:01,009
- That's true.
305
00:19:01,052 --> 00:19:01,792
It's about suffering.
306
00:19:01,836 --> 00:19:03,316
- Yeah. [laughing]
307
00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:04,404
- It's the only thing keeping
us going, the suffering.
308
00:19:04,447 --> 00:19:06,797
So this is my progress map.
309
00:19:06,841 --> 00:19:09,235
All the red stuff is
things I've walked.
310
00:19:09,278 --> 00:19:10,061
- I wanna see.
311
00:19:10,105 --> 00:19:11,889
I wanna see.
312
00:19:11,933 --> 00:19:13,413
- Okay.
313
00:19:13,456 --> 00:19:14,675
- So you can see that part
Brooklyn is basically done.
314
00:19:14,718 --> 00:19:15,893
- Done, wow.
315
00:19:15,937 --> 00:19:16,851
- I've been all over New York,
316
00:19:16,894 --> 00:19:18,461
but there's not even,
317
00:19:18,505 --> 00:19:21,029
there's no way you could
even cover a portion
318
00:19:21,072 --> 00:19:23,814
[mumbling] 'cause I'm always
in the same neighborhoods.
319
00:19:23,858 --> 00:19:24,902
- It's funny too.
320
00:19:24,946 --> 00:19:26,513
Even the neighborhoods
you're in,
321
00:19:26,556 --> 00:19:27,949
there's like streets a block
over you've never been on
322
00:19:27,992 --> 00:19:30,125
'cause you just never have
any reason to go there.
323
00:19:30,169 --> 00:19:31,387
You're always going
this way or that way.
324
00:19:31,431 --> 00:19:32,693
- When I'm on those
streets, I'm like,
325
00:19:32,736 --> 00:19:33,998
oh, I'm on this street
for the first time.
326
00:19:34,042 --> 00:19:34,738
- Yeah, isn't that
a cool feeling?
327
00:19:34,782 --> 00:19:35,478
You fix the trains?
328
00:19:35,522 --> 00:19:36,218
- Nah, the buses.
329
00:19:36,262 --> 00:19:37,567
- Oh, the buses, nice.
330
00:19:37,611 --> 00:19:39,439
What garage you work out of?
331
00:19:39,482 --> 00:19:41,005
- QV, Queens Village.
332
00:19:41,049 --> 00:19:41,919
- Oh yeah, I walked by there.
333
00:19:41,963 --> 00:19:43,225
I already walked by that one.
334
00:19:43,269 --> 00:19:44,357
I remember that.
335
00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:45,271
You live around here?
336
00:19:45,314 --> 00:19:46,576
- Yeah, I live right here.
337
00:19:46,620 --> 00:19:48,012
- Nice, you live
here a long time?
338
00:19:48,056 --> 00:19:49,840
- Yeah, I'm watching the
football games right now.
339
00:19:49,884 --> 00:19:50,711
- Who's on?
340
00:19:50,754 --> 00:19:51,973
- Carolina.
341
00:19:52,016 --> 00:19:53,148
- What's the score?
342
00:19:53,192 --> 00:19:53,931
- 14, seven.
343
00:19:53,975 --> 00:19:54,976
- Alright.
344
00:19:55,019 --> 00:19:55,890
Is this tucked back?
345
00:19:55,933 --> 00:19:57,152
- Yes.
346
00:19:57,196 --> 00:19:58,327
- So it would be really
long if you pulled it.
347
00:19:58,371 --> 00:19:59,981
I mean this part,
would this be longer
348
00:20:00,024 --> 00:20:00,982
if you pulled it down?
349
00:20:01,025 --> 00:20:01,896
- It's all here, yeah?
350
00:20:01,939 --> 00:20:02,940
- Oh, it's pulled back.
351
00:20:02,984 --> 00:20:03,854
This is beard hair?
352
00:20:03,898 --> 00:20:06,422
- Yeah, in the ponytail.
353
00:20:06,466 --> 00:20:08,946
- Only in New York,
man. [laughing]
354
00:20:08,990 --> 00:20:10,296
- Alright man, good
to talk to you.
355
00:20:10,339 --> 00:20:11,253
Thanks for all the info.
356
00:20:11,297 --> 00:20:13,560
Well, it's good to talk to you.
357
00:20:13,603 --> 00:20:14,343
- Nice to meet you.
358
00:20:14,387 --> 00:20:15,170
- Yeah.
359
00:20:15,214 --> 00:20:15,953
Thank you.
360
00:20:15,997 --> 00:20:16,998
Thank you.
361
00:20:17,041 --> 00:20:17,781
Good to meet you, man.
362
00:20:17,825 --> 00:20:18,565
Matt.
363
00:20:18,608 --> 00:20:19,348
- Papo.
364
00:20:19,392 --> 00:20:20,175
- Papo, Freddy.
365
00:20:20,219 --> 00:20:20,958
- I'm Naomi.
366
00:20:21,002 --> 00:20:22,003
- Naomi, Matt.
367
00:20:22,046 --> 00:20:23,265
Nice to meet you too.
368
00:20:23,309 --> 00:20:24,266
Hey, I'm Matt.
369
00:20:24,310 --> 00:20:25,093
Good to meet you all.
370
00:20:25,136 --> 00:20:25,876
- I'm Shaquana.
371
00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:26,921
- Matt, Matt.
372
00:20:26,964 --> 00:20:27,704
Matt.
373
00:20:27,748 --> 00:20:28,488
Good, Matt.
374
00:20:28,531 --> 00:20:29,271
Matt, Matt, Matt.
375
00:20:29,315 --> 00:20:30,229
- Matt?
376
00:20:30,272 --> 00:20:30,881
- Yeah, what's your name?
377
00:20:30,925 --> 00:20:31,926
- Matt.
378
00:20:31,969 --> 00:20:32,796
- Matt, really?
379
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:33,754
- Okay, Matt.
380
00:20:33,797 --> 00:20:34,711
- Alright, good to meet you.
381
00:20:34,755 --> 00:20:35,669
- One day come in, come in.
382
00:20:35,712 --> 00:20:37,018
One day come, I like you.
383
00:20:37,061 --> 00:20:38,759
- Am I about to
embarrass myself?
384
00:20:38,802 --> 00:20:40,021
- And there's no brakes,
I'm just letting you know.
385
00:20:40,064 --> 00:20:41,457
- Alright, so use your foot?
386
00:20:41,501 --> 00:20:43,981
- Yeah, just wiggle
back and forth.
387
00:20:44,025 --> 00:20:44,982
- Like this?
388
00:20:45,026 --> 00:20:46,506
- The hips, it's in the hips.
389
00:20:46,549 --> 00:20:47,289
- [Matt] Aw, yeah, okay.
390
00:20:47,333 --> 00:20:48,638
- [Man] Wiggle, yeah.
391
00:20:48,682 --> 00:20:50,249
[upbeat instrumental music]
392
00:20:50,292 --> 00:20:52,207
♪ It's wrong how every day
another nigga getting shot ♪
393
00:20:52,251 --> 00:20:54,862
♪ In the hood by another
minority or a cop ♪
394
00:20:54,905 --> 00:20:57,168
♪ It's wrong so many
dudes that ain't seen 25 ♪
395
00:20:57,212 --> 00:20:58,518
♪ All because
their friend died ♪
396
00:20:58,561 --> 00:20:59,910
♪ And they felt
they had to ride ♪
397
00:20:59,954 --> 00:21:01,085
♪ It's wrong cause you living
398
00:21:01,129 --> 00:21:02,304
♪ Don't mean you
living your life ♪
399
00:21:02,348 --> 00:21:03,305
♪ 'Cause it could
be taken from you ♪
400
00:21:03,349 --> 00:21:04,959
♪ If you ain't living it right
401
00:21:05,002 --> 00:21:05,742
- That's it, man.
402
00:21:05,786 --> 00:21:06,830
That's it.
403
00:21:06,874 --> 00:21:07,744
That's it.
404
00:21:07,788 --> 00:21:09,355
- [Matt] What's your name, man?
405
00:21:09,398 --> 00:21:10,181
What's your name?
406
00:21:10,225 --> 00:21:11,226
- My name's Cyrus.
407
00:21:11,270 --> 00:21:12,140
- Cyrus.
408
00:21:12,183 --> 00:21:13,968
- Cyrus, the one and only.
409
00:21:14,011 --> 00:21:15,970
- [Matt] I take pictures
of interesting things,
410
00:21:16,013 --> 00:21:18,886
so I saw the car with
the Pen license plate,
411
00:21:18,929 --> 00:21:21,062
that one over there,
that one over there.
412
00:21:21,105 --> 00:21:22,890
- Oh, okay, 'cause you
are taking pictures
413
00:21:22,933 --> 00:21:24,195
of my license plate,
414
00:21:24,239 --> 00:21:27,416
so, you know, what is this for?
415
00:21:27,460 --> 00:21:29,288
- Just a personal project.
416
00:21:29,331 --> 00:21:31,028
It's just a personal
project that I'm doing,
417
00:21:31,072 --> 00:21:33,335
walking every block
in the whole city.
418
00:21:33,379 --> 00:21:34,162
- [Officer] Walking every block?
419
00:21:34,205 --> 00:21:35,598
- Uh huh.
420
00:21:35,642 --> 00:21:37,034
- [Woman] And you
don't work for anybody?
421
00:21:37,078 --> 00:21:38,253
- [Matt] I don't
work for anybody.
422
00:21:38,297 --> 00:21:40,342
I'm walking every
block in New York City.
423
00:21:40,386 --> 00:21:41,735
- [Woman] Oh, okay.
424
00:21:41,778 --> 00:21:43,084
- Hey, turn that off.
425
00:21:43,127 --> 00:21:45,086
Don't take pictures of me.
426
00:21:45,129 --> 00:21:46,305
What you doing?
427
00:21:46,348 --> 00:21:48,176
You can't take pictures
of the property.
428
00:21:48,219 --> 00:21:49,482
- Yeah, you can take
pictures of property.
429
00:21:49,525 --> 00:21:51,962
Yeah, as long as you're
standing in a public,
430
00:21:52,006 --> 00:21:53,573
like in a public sidewalk.
431
00:21:53,616 --> 00:21:54,530
- Says who?
432
00:21:54,574 --> 00:21:56,184
- That's the law.
433
00:21:56,227 --> 00:21:57,533
- No, you can't just take
pictures of people's property.
434
00:21:57,577 --> 00:21:58,360
- Yeah, you can, yeah.
435
00:21:58,404 --> 00:21:59,056
- No, you can't.
436
00:21:59,100 --> 00:22:00,623
- Yeah.
437
00:22:00,667 --> 00:22:01,885
- You don't just come to
people's neighborhood and--
438
00:22:01,929 --> 00:22:03,452
- You can't walk onto
people's property.
439
00:22:03,496 --> 00:22:05,149
- But still, that's not cool.
440
00:22:05,193 --> 00:22:06,760
What you taking pictures for?
441
00:22:06,803 --> 00:22:08,370
- I'm taking a picture of
this sign, Canal Avenue.
442
00:22:08,414 --> 00:22:10,198
You know why it's called that?
443
00:22:10,241 --> 00:22:11,112
- You tell me.
444
00:22:11,155 --> 00:22:12,548
- Because there used to be,
445
00:22:12,592 --> 00:22:13,244
well, you know there's
Coney Island Creek up there.
446
00:22:13,288 --> 00:22:14,071
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
447
00:22:14,115 --> 00:22:15,246
- They made it into a canal--
448
00:22:15,290 --> 00:22:16,509
- So you doing a
journalism or something?
449
00:22:16,552 --> 00:22:17,336
- Yeah, kind of.
450
00:22:17,379 --> 00:22:18,249
I'm doing this walk.
451
00:22:18,293 --> 00:22:19,163
I'm walking every block--
452
00:22:19,207 --> 00:22:20,208
- Good, man.
453
00:22:20,251 --> 00:22:20,991
Good, man.
454
00:22:21,035 --> 00:22:21,775
What's your name?
455
00:22:21,818 --> 00:22:23,080
- Matt.
456
00:22:23,124 --> 00:22:23,820
- Okay, now you
can take pictures.
457
00:22:23,864 --> 00:22:25,126
- Alright, alright, man.
458
00:22:25,169 --> 00:22:26,301
- [Child] So it's
like a mission?
459
00:22:26,345 --> 00:22:28,085
- Yeah, it's a mission,
a personal quest.
460
00:22:28,129 --> 00:22:29,391
- Mission impossible.
461
00:22:29,435 --> 00:22:32,568
- Mission possible,
just difficult.
462
00:22:32,612 --> 00:22:33,830
- That's cool.
463
00:22:34,831 --> 00:22:38,400
[upbeat instrumental music]
464
00:22:46,277 --> 00:22:48,758
[wind blowing]
465
00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:53,459
- Just here this morning,
466
00:22:53,502 --> 00:22:55,286
kind of a usual morning for me,
467
00:22:55,330 --> 00:22:57,854
reading my copy of 29 Post,
468
00:22:57,898 --> 00:23:01,118
the official newspaper of
P.S. 29 in Cobble Hill,
469
00:23:01,162 --> 00:23:03,164
the John M. Harrigan School.
470
00:23:03,207 --> 00:23:05,384
"Meet Matt Green,
The Walking Man.
471
00:23:05,427 --> 00:23:08,474
"Matt Green is walking every
street in New York City.
472
00:23:08,517 --> 00:23:10,171
"If you add it up
block by block,
473
00:23:10,214 --> 00:23:13,130
"it would be 8,500
miles in total.
474
00:23:13,174 --> 00:23:15,481
"Before he started walking
every street in New York City,
475
00:23:15,524 --> 00:23:17,265
"he used to work as
a civil engineer,
476
00:23:17,308 --> 00:23:19,920
"and did not like being
at a desk all the time.
477
00:23:19,963 --> 00:23:21,878
"Green quit his job and
came up with an idea
478
00:23:21,922 --> 00:23:24,228
"to walk across the
United States of America,
479
00:23:24,272 --> 00:23:27,362
"which is approximately
3,100 miles.
480
00:23:27,406 --> 00:23:32,411
"After walking the U.S., Green
wanted to walk even more."
481
00:23:33,150 --> 00:23:35,544
[mumbling]
482
00:23:35,588 --> 00:23:38,678
Okay, I think we're ready maybe.
483
00:23:38,721 --> 00:23:40,419
Ah, okay, here we go.
484
00:23:40,462 --> 00:23:43,160
So I actually, the first
big walk that I did,
485
00:23:43,204 --> 00:23:45,424
before I started this
walk in New York,
486
00:23:45,467 --> 00:23:47,817
I did a walk across
the United States.
487
00:23:47,861 --> 00:23:49,253
- [Kids] Wow.
488
00:23:49,297 --> 00:23:52,169
- Have you guys been to
Rockaway Beach, in Queens?
489
00:23:52,213 --> 00:23:52,953
- [Kids] Yes.
490
00:23:52,996 --> 00:23:54,171
- I started there,
491
00:23:54,215 --> 00:23:55,912
and I found out there's
a town in Oregon
492
00:23:55,956 --> 00:23:57,610
called Rockaway Beach,
493
00:23:57,653 --> 00:24:00,221
so I walked from one side
of the country to the other,
494
00:24:00,264 --> 00:24:02,441
from Rockaway Beach
to Rockaway Beach.
495
00:24:02,484 --> 00:24:04,921
So I did that back in 2010,
496
00:24:04,965 --> 00:24:06,967
and it took about
five months to do.
497
00:24:07,010 --> 00:24:10,318
- Imagine what it would be
like to walk across America.
498
00:24:10,361 --> 00:24:12,146
Well, that's what one
New York man is doing.
499
00:24:12,189 --> 00:24:15,192
29 year old Matt Green left
Rockaway Beach, New York,
500
00:24:15,236 --> 00:24:17,151
on March 27th.
501
00:24:17,194 --> 00:24:18,805
- [Man] He has a cart
full of essentials,
502
00:24:18,848 --> 00:24:20,894
and he sets up camp along
the roads that he travels.
503
00:24:20,937 --> 00:24:23,070
He says he has no cause,
504
00:24:23,113 --> 00:24:25,507
just got tired of cubicle
life as a civil engineer
505
00:24:25,551 --> 00:24:27,335
and wanted to live simply.
506
00:24:27,378 --> 00:24:29,685
- Instead of using a backpack
to carry all my stuff
507
00:24:29,729 --> 00:24:31,513
'cause it was so much weight,
508
00:24:31,557 --> 00:24:35,299
I pushed everything
in this baby stroller.
509
00:24:35,343 --> 00:24:37,998
This is kind of what I looked
like when I was walking,
510
00:24:38,041 --> 00:24:41,523
except actually usually looked
a little crazier than that
511
00:24:41,567 --> 00:24:44,787
because I had this big hat
to keep the sun off my face,
512
00:24:44,831 --> 00:24:46,223
and when the wind would blow,
513
00:24:46,267 --> 00:24:47,703
it would just lift
up off my head,
514
00:24:47,747 --> 00:24:49,662
just like a weird
mushroom head person.
515
00:24:49,705 --> 00:24:51,315
[laughing]
516
00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:52,491
My name's Matt Green.
517
00:24:52,534 --> 00:24:54,754
I walked from Rockaway
Beach, New York,
518
00:24:54,797 --> 00:24:56,233
to Rockaway Beach, Oregon,
519
00:24:56,277 --> 00:24:59,236
and that was a trip
of about 3,100 miles.
520
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:00,760
- So how did you
choose your route,
521
00:25:00,803 --> 00:25:02,718
and talk a little bit about
the logistics and rules--
522
00:25:02,762 --> 00:25:04,328
- Sure, okay, sure.
523
00:25:04,372 --> 00:25:07,549
I chose my route just using
Google walking directions,
524
00:25:07,593 --> 00:25:10,813
just kind of asking for
basically the shortest distance
525
00:25:10,857 --> 00:25:13,207
between New York and Chicago,
526
00:25:13,250 --> 00:25:15,252
where my brother
lived, to visit him,
527
00:25:15,296 --> 00:25:16,819
and then Rockaway Beach, Oregon.
528
00:25:16,863 --> 00:25:18,560
So just Googled directions,
529
00:25:18,604 --> 00:25:20,214
with the idea of taking away
530
00:25:20,257 --> 00:25:22,825
the decision making
aspect from me,
531
00:25:22,869 --> 00:25:24,479
but it turned out to
be an important part
532
00:25:24,523 --> 00:25:27,482
of my walk because
it basically changed
533
00:25:27,526 --> 00:25:29,005
the way I was
traveling from the way
534
00:25:29,049 --> 00:25:30,529
I had always
traveled before that,
535
00:25:30,572 --> 00:25:33,357
which was to try to come up
with a list of cool things
536
00:25:33,401 --> 00:25:35,664
to see and go from
one to the other,
537
00:25:35,708 --> 00:25:39,015
and so, by just taking
these directions blindly,
538
00:25:39,059 --> 00:25:40,582
whatever was around
me at any moment
539
00:25:40,626 --> 00:25:43,454
was all that I had to
enjoy in the world.
540
00:25:43,498 --> 00:25:45,195
- [Man] Green says
so far his walk
541
00:25:45,239 --> 00:25:47,241
has gone better than expected.
542
00:25:47,284 --> 00:25:49,069
- Just so many great
people I've met,
543
00:25:49,112 --> 00:25:52,333
and I mean nothing bad
has happened to me.
544
00:25:52,376 --> 00:25:55,292
I've just had so many people
take me into their houses
545
00:25:55,336 --> 00:25:57,817
and feed me and
let me stay there
546
00:25:57,860 --> 00:25:59,558
or take a shower or do laundry.
547
00:25:59,601 --> 00:26:03,910
Just all kinds of generosity
pouring out of people.
548
00:26:11,831 --> 00:26:13,528
- Why do you like to walk?
549
00:26:13,572 --> 00:26:15,443
- [laughing] That's a
hard question to answer.
550
00:26:15,486 --> 00:26:17,053
I don't know.
551
00:26:17,097 --> 00:26:20,317
I mean, it's a cool way to
kind of really be in a place
552
00:26:20,361 --> 00:26:22,755
but also be moving,
553
00:26:22,798 --> 00:26:24,452
and you're moving at
a slow enough speed
554
00:26:24,495 --> 00:26:26,323
that you can still kind of
take in what's around you,
555
00:26:26,367 --> 00:26:27,629
so I feel like it's
just the perfect way
556
00:26:27,673 --> 00:26:30,066
to explore the world.
557
00:26:30,110 --> 00:26:33,766
Most of what I saw was just
kind of stuff like this,
558
00:26:33,809 --> 00:26:37,291
just kind of simple things
in the middle of the country,
559
00:26:37,334 --> 00:26:38,988
and I was really able
to appreciate them
560
00:26:39,032 --> 00:26:41,382
'cause I was just kind
of moving very slowly.
561
00:26:41,425 --> 00:26:42,949
You know, when you're
going in a car,
562
00:26:42,992 --> 00:26:44,298
this just looks like one field,
563
00:26:44,341 --> 00:26:45,908
and it's just flat and boring,
564
00:26:45,952 --> 00:26:48,041
and when you're walking
you see individual plants,
565
00:26:48,084 --> 00:26:49,608
and you can hear birds chirping,
566
00:26:49,651 --> 00:26:52,741
and you can kind of look at
things in a lot more detail.
567
00:26:52,785 --> 00:26:54,961
So again, especially in
the middle of the country,
568
00:26:55,004 --> 00:26:57,093
this was just kind of a
lot of what I was seeing.
569
00:26:57,137 --> 00:26:58,791
This is just a swamp somewhere,
570
00:26:58,834 --> 00:27:00,140
but when you stop
and look at it,
571
00:27:00,183 --> 00:27:01,402
and just take the
time to look at it,
572
00:27:01,445 --> 00:27:02,664
it becomes really pretty.
573
00:27:02,708 --> 00:27:03,447
- [Kids] Whoa.
574
00:27:03,491 --> 00:27:04,666
- Same thing here.
575
00:27:04,710 --> 00:27:07,060
This is just kind of
out in eastern Montana,
576
00:27:07,103 --> 00:27:10,454
just kind of a little
deserty kind of area,
577
00:27:10,498 --> 00:27:12,587
but it's really pretty
in its own way too.
578
00:27:12,631 --> 00:27:13,806
- [Kids] Whoa.
579
00:27:13,849 --> 00:27:15,503
- And this is maybe
the best example
580
00:27:15,546 --> 00:27:18,288
because you can probably
kind of try to imagine
581
00:27:18,332 --> 00:27:19,855
what it would be like to
just stand in the middle
582
00:27:19,899 --> 00:27:22,292
of this field with bright
yellow flowers around
583
00:27:22,336 --> 00:27:23,990
as far as you can see.
584
00:27:24,033 --> 00:27:25,295
So it's the kind of thing that,
585
00:27:25,339 --> 00:27:27,341
as beautiful and
as powerful it is
586
00:27:27,384 --> 00:27:28,647
to stand there and look at it,
587
00:27:28,690 --> 00:27:31,127
it's also kind of
invisible in a lot of ways
588
00:27:31,171 --> 00:27:32,563
to people who aren't walking
589
00:27:32,607 --> 00:27:34,522
because you wouldn't take
the time to go out here
590
00:27:34,565 --> 00:27:35,436
just to see it,
591
00:27:35,479 --> 00:27:36,698
but the thing about walking
592
00:27:36,742 --> 00:27:38,004
is you can stop
anywhere you are.
593
00:27:38,047 --> 00:27:39,440
You can just stop
and look around,
594
00:27:39,483 --> 00:27:41,050
and you can take in
what's around you.
595
00:27:41,094 --> 00:27:43,618
Every step was just kind of
something new to look at,
596
00:27:43,662 --> 00:27:45,533
and all the way
across the country
597
00:27:45,576 --> 00:27:47,535
it was just one more step and
one more thing to look at,
598
00:27:47,578 --> 00:27:49,798
and it really opened up
my eyes to all the things
599
00:27:49,842 --> 00:27:52,975
around me that I wouldn't
normally pay attention to.
600
00:27:53,019 --> 00:27:56,675
[gentle instrumental music]
601
00:28:00,113 --> 00:28:02,158
So this is Staten Island.
602
00:28:02,202 --> 00:28:06,119
It's kind of northwest
corner of Staten Island.
603
00:28:07,381 --> 00:28:08,991
That's the toll plaza
for the Goethals Bridge.
604
00:28:09,035 --> 00:28:11,690
That's the Staten
Island Expressway,
605
00:28:11,733 --> 00:28:15,476
and all of this area
used to be tank farms,
606
00:28:17,130 --> 00:28:19,349
natural gas, and oil,
607
00:28:19,393 --> 00:28:24,311
and now it's just this
huge tract of vacant land,
608
00:28:24,354 --> 00:28:26,052
just kind of otherworldly.
609
00:28:26,095 --> 00:28:28,054
[birds chirping]
610
00:28:28,097 --> 00:28:30,534
There was this famous
disaster that happened back
611
00:28:30,578 --> 00:28:34,538
in here at one of the
liquified natural gas tanks.
612
00:28:36,889 --> 00:28:39,979
Something like it was
supposed to be empty,
613
00:28:40,022 --> 00:28:43,417
and there were workers in
there cleaning the tank,
614
00:28:43,460 --> 00:28:46,420
and there was some
kind of explosion,
615
00:28:46,463 --> 00:28:49,466
and this giant roof just
collapsed and killed,
616
00:28:49,510 --> 00:28:52,469
I think, essentially
all of them.
617
00:28:56,778 --> 00:29:00,739
I think that's where the
NASCAR stadium was gonna be.
618
00:29:00,782 --> 00:29:04,917
There was a proposal for
that five, 10 years ago
619
00:29:04,960 --> 00:29:06,657
that didn't work out.
620
00:29:07,658 --> 00:29:10,139
[camera shutter clicking]
621
00:29:10,183 --> 00:29:13,490
Oh, we got a little
tree house up here.
622
00:29:26,286 --> 00:29:28,505
Whoa, this is pretty cool.
623
00:29:31,421 --> 00:29:34,076
This is like the penthouse view.
624
00:29:40,735 --> 00:29:43,999
[plane engine running]
625
00:29:51,702 --> 00:29:54,618
Oh, so there's
something going on here.
626
00:29:54,662 --> 00:29:56,795
Looks like there's some
kind of work going on.
627
00:29:56,838 --> 00:30:00,276
Maybe this is the early stages
of some development plan.
628
00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:04,019
[car engine running]
629
00:30:04,063 --> 00:30:05,629
- [Man] What you
got going on here?
630
00:30:05,673 --> 00:30:07,457
- I'm walking every block
in the five boroughs,
631
00:30:07,501 --> 00:30:08,807
every block of every street,
632
00:30:08,850 --> 00:30:11,244
plus like parks and
beaches and stuff.
633
00:30:11,287 --> 00:30:12,636
- [Man] You got a job or--
634
00:30:12,680 --> 00:30:14,464
- No, that's all I do.
635
00:30:15,857 --> 00:30:17,598
- [Man] Are you
like independently
wealthy or something?
636
00:30:17,641 --> 00:30:20,601
- No, I'm
independently homeless.
637
00:30:21,863 --> 00:30:24,474
I stay with people, watch
their cats and stuff.
638
00:30:24,518 --> 00:30:27,738
I do this walk, take
photos, write about it.
639
00:30:27,782 --> 00:30:30,698
- [Man] How many hours
in a day do you do?
640
00:30:30,741 --> 00:30:31,612
- Depends.
641
00:30:31,655 --> 00:30:32,831
- [Man] Are you a writer?
642
00:30:32,874 --> 00:30:33,657
You going to write
book on all this stuff?
643
00:30:33,701 --> 00:30:34,267
- I don't know.
644
00:30:34,310 --> 00:30:35,224
I don't know.
645
00:30:35,268 --> 00:30:36,878
There's no particular goal other
646
00:30:36,922 --> 00:30:38,793
than just to see the whole city,
647
00:30:38,837 --> 00:30:41,230
and then we'll see what happens.
648
00:30:41,274 --> 00:30:42,362
- [Man] You get mugged and shit?
649
00:30:42,405 --> 00:30:43,319
- No, never.
650
00:30:43,363 --> 00:30:44,668
- [Man] Ever get beat up?
651
00:30:44,712 --> 00:30:45,626
- Never got beat up,
never got mugged.
652
00:30:45,669 --> 00:30:46,540
Unless you're about to mug me,
653
00:30:46,583 --> 00:30:47,933
that would be the first time.
654
00:30:47,976 --> 00:30:49,586
We're actually
going back that way
655
00:30:49,630 --> 00:30:50,674
and then coming back through
here a little bit later.
656
00:30:50,718 --> 00:30:52,328
I just wanted to get a picture
657
00:30:52,372 --> 00:30:53,460
while there's still some
good light of this puddle.
658
00:30:53,503 --> 00:30:54,635
It's a cool reflection.
659
00:30:54,678 --> 00:30:56,376
- That puddle's like that--
660
00:30:56,419 --> 00:30:57,159
- All year?
661
00:30:57,203 --> 00:30:58,769
- All year. [laughing]
662
00:30:58,813 --> 00:30:59,683
- That's cool.
663
00:30:59,727 --> 00:31:00,597
- [Man] You gotta mark that,
664
00:31:00,641 --> 00:31:02,295
The Puddle That Never Goes Away.
665
00:31:02,338 --> 00:31:04,471
- Ah, looks good.
666
00:31:04,514 --> 00:31:07,866
[camera shutter clicking]
667
00:31:10,390 --> 00:31:13,959
[gentle instrumental music]
668
00:31:22,532 --> 00:31:25,013
This is just somebody's bike.
669
00:31:25,057 --> 00:31:26,362
Tires are full.
670
00:31:27,233 --> 00:31:30,192
I think this is a ridable bike.
671
00:31:30,236 --> 00:31:34,588
Don't ever show anyone this
footage of me not walking.
672
00:31:34,631 --> 00:31:35,763
[metal squeaking]
673
00:31:35,806 --> 00:31:37,199
See you, losers.
674
00:31:41,682 --> 00:31:43,945
I mean, it works perfectly.
675
00:31:43,989 --> 00:31:47,775
I gotta go drop it off
where I picked it up.
676
00:31:58,046 --> 00:32:00,744
[birds squawking]
677
00:33:01,196 --> 00:33:01,980
Somewhere,
678
00:33:04,286 --> 00:33:07,637
somewhere out near
the edge of Queens
679
00:33:07,681 --> 00:33:08,769
on Linden Boulevard,
680
00:33:08,812 --> 00:33:11,467
there was a really good one.
681
00:33:11,511 --> 00:33:12,555
Ah, here we go.
682
00:33:12,599 --> 00:33:14,035
[upbeat instrumental music]
683
00:33:14,079 --> 00:33:15,863
Penny's Handz of Godz.
684
00:33:17,691 --> 00:33:20,650
Yeah, we were just kind of
walking under the awning here,
685
00:33:20,694 --> 00:33:22,435
and the barbershop
caught my eye,
686
00:33:22,478 --> 00:33:24,828
and just realized I
needed to step back
687
00:33:24,872 --> 00:33:26,047
and check the awning,
688
00:33:26,091 --> 00:33:28,745
and in fact it did
have a Z in the title,
689
00:33:28,789 --> 00:33:31,270
so I will take a photo of it.
690
00:33:34,186 --> 00:33:36,231
[camera shutter clicking]
691
00:33:36,275 --> 00:33:37,711
If anything kind of
started me on this,
692
00:33:37,754 --> 00:33:40,627
it was back in, I think, 2009.
693
00:33:40,670 --> 00:33:42,150
I was in Coney Island,
694
00:33:42,194 --> 00:33:44,761
and I passed by a barbershop,
695
00:33:44,805 --> 00:33:48,417
and it was called
Faderz, Kutz Wit Skillz,
696
00:33:52,726 --> 00:33:54,902
and it had three Zs in it,
697
00:33:54,945 --> 00:33:56,817
and that was kind of the
one that got me thinking
698
00:33:56,860 --> 00:33:59,646
of all the Zs that
barbershops use.
699
00:34:03,867 --> 00:34:04,738
Oh, ho, ho.
700
00:34:06,914 --> 00:34:09,264
Got a good barbershop up here.
701
00:34:13,573 --> 00:34:14,965
How you doing man?
702
00:34:20,884 --> 00:34:24,801
Designz and Lignz,
a new barbershop.
703
00:34:24,845 --> 00:34:27,413
I like the Lignz, L, I, G, N, Z.
704
00:34:29,154 --> 00:34:32,374
Oh, we've got not
only a Z barbershop,
705
00:34:33,810 --> 00:34:38,206
but one that is ripping off
the Brooklyn Nets' logo.
706
00:34:41,775 --> 00:34:44,212
Pretty good, Brooklyn Cutz.
707
00:34:44,256 --> 00:34:46,519
I was hoping to hit 200
by the end of the walk.
708
00:34:46,562 --> 00:34:47,911
I think that's a
little ambitious,
709
00:34:47,955 --> 00:34:51,089
but I think I'll
definitely be over 150.
710
00:34:52,351 --> 00:34:55,702
C, U, T, Z is one of
the most common ways
711
00:34:56,485 --> 00:34:58,183
to throw a Z in,
712
00:34:58,226 --> 00:35:00,446
or its sibling, K, U, T, Z.
713
00:35:06,104 --> 00:35:07,888
You know, people have
theories about everything.
714
00:35:07,931 --> 00:35:09,411
People can tell you
why this is this way,
715
00:35:09,455 --> 00:35:10,760
why this is this way.
716
00:35:10,804 --> 00:35:12,197
Of course you can look at this
717
00:35:12,240 --> 00:35:14,199
and say it has something
to do with hip hop culture
718
00:35:14,242 --> 00:35:16,984
and how it's rooted
and how it's spreading,
719
00:35:17,027 --> 00:35:19,639
and you can look at the
different ethnic neighborhoods
720
00:35:19,682 --> 00:35:22,511
where the Zs are and kind of
come up with some theories,
721
00:35:22,555 --> 00:35:23,904
and it could all make sense,
722
00:35:23,947 --> 00:35:24,948
but what does that say?
723
00:35:24,992 --> 00:35:25,732
Does it say anything?
724
00:35:25,775 --> 00:35:26,994
Probably not.
725
00:35:27,037 --> 00:35:28,822
So I think if it says anything,
726
00:35:28,865 --> 00:35:30,867
it's not anything
about barbershops.
727
00:35:30,911 --> 00:35:35,829
It's just about the value of
paying attention to something.
728
00:35:35,872 --> 00:35:37,222
I like the sign.
729
00:35:37,265 --> 00:35:38,397
It's a new sign.
730
00:35:38,440 --> 00:35:41,051
- I'm Betty, and P is for Pedro.
731
00:35:42,618 --> 00:35:44,881
- [Matt] Oh, B.P. over
there, Betty and Pedro.
732
00:35:44,925 --> 00:35:46,318
- [Betty] Yes.
733
00:35:46,361 --> 00:35:47,101
- I'm walking every block
in all of New York City,
734
00:35:47,145 --> 00:35:48,015
all five boroughs.
735
00:35:48,058 --> 00:35:49,538
I walk all over the city,
736
00:35:49,582 --> 00:35:50,931
and I take pictures
of a bunch of stuff,
737
00:35:50,974 --> 00:35:53,412
but I take a lot of pictures
of barbershop signs,
738
00:35:53,455 --> 00:35:54,935
especially ones with the Zs.
739
00:35:54,978 --> 00:35:56,676
I like the ones with
the Z on the name.
740
00:35:56,719 --> 00:35:59,461
- Alright. [laughing]
741
00:35:59,505 --> 00:36:00,854
[mumbling]
742
00:36:00,897 --> 00:36:02,595
- I seen a million barber shops.
743
00:36:02,638 --> 00:36:03,552
This is the only
one with that name.
744
00:36:03,596 --> 00:36:04,814
- There's only one A List Cutz.
745
00:36:04,858 --> 00:36:06,816
- Yep, yep, and it's good.
746
00:36:06,860 --> 00:36:08,862
You'll be up there in the
phone book starting with A.
747
00:36:08,905 --> 00:36:12,039
- Exactly, so the next one
will be A List Cutz Two.
748
00:36:12,082 --> 00:36:12,909
- Oh, you gonna franchise it?
749
00:36:12,953 --> 00:36:14,215
Yeah, of course.
750
00:36:14,259 --> 00:36:18,524
- And Z is, instead of
like Cuts, it's Cuts.
751
00:36:18,567 --> 00:36:19,655
- It's got attitude, right?
752
00:36:19,699 --> 00:36:21,091
- Yes. [laughing]
753
00:36:21,135 --> 00:36:23,790
- Some people throw
a K in there too.
754
00:36:23,833 --> 00:36:24,965
- With the Kutz, yeah.
755
00:36:25,008 --> 00:36:27,968
- I like the purity of the C.
756
00:36:28,011 --> 00:36:29,099
- Yeah, me too.
757
00:36:29,143 --> 00:36:30,666
- You just change
the end, you know?
758
00:36:30,710 --> 00:36:31,928
It's like normal and then
at the end, [mumbling].
759
00:36:31,972 --> 00:36:34,148
Oh yeah, right over
there, right over there.
760
00:36:34,192 --> 00:36:35,889
Oh, get that, okay.
761
00:36:37,238 --> 00:36:39,066
[camera shutter clicking]
762
00:36:39,109 --> 00:36:39,849
- [Betty] What's
your name again?
763
00:36:39,893 --> 00:36:40,763
- [Matt] Matt.
764
00:36:40,807 --> 00:36:42,896
- [Betty] Matt, I'm Betty.
765
00:36:46,595 --> 00:36:49,642
[mumbling]
766
00:36:49,685 --> 00:36:50,991
- I walk because there's nothing
767
00:36:51,034 --> 00:36:53,733
that gives you the
texture of a place,
768
00:36:53,776 --> 00:36:55,213
the texture of its people,
769
00:36:55,256 --> 00:36:58,999
and even your own texture
of yourself, like walking,
770
00:36:59,042 --> 00:37:01,436
that walking puts me in
touch with my own humanity
771
00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:04,526
and other people's humanity in
a way that nothing else does.
772
00:37:04,570 --> 00:37:06,615
[gentle instrumental music]
773
00:37:06,659 --> 00:37:08,095
As I began walking
around New York City,
774
00:37:08,138 --> 00:37:09,966
I've been here almost a decade.
775
00:37:10,010 --> 00:37:11,229
I moved from Jamaica,
776
00:37:11,272 --> 00:37:12,621
and the first thing
I did was decided
777
00:37:12,665 --> 00:37:14,014
to get to know the city
778
00:37:14,057 --> 00:37:15,929
by walking and
exploring it on foot,
779
00:37:15,972 --> 00:37:18,279
and so various friends
and acquaintances
780
00:37:18,323 --> 00:37:20,934
and colleagues said, "Oh,
do you know Matt Green?
781
00:37:20,977 --> 00:37:22,109
"You have to know Matt Green.
782
00:37:22,152 --> 00:37:23,589
"You have to go walking
with Matt Green."
783
00:37:23,632 --> 00:37:26,287
- I just Googled walk
every block in Manhattan,
784
00:37:26,331 --> 00:37:27,897
and up came his website,
785
00:37:27,941 --> 00:37:30,204
so I reached out to
him to just basically
786
00:37:30,248 --> 00:37:32,554
get some logistics of how
he's mapping his route,
787
00:37:32,598 --> 00:37:33,860
and then I had some
random questions
788
00:37:33,903 --> 00:37:37,385
about where does he find
water and bathrooms.
789
00:37:37,429 --> 00:37:39,909
- So yeah, so it's
not necessarily
790
00:37:39,953 --> 00:37:41,607
by neighborhood or anything.
791
00:37:41,650 --> 00:37:44,740
I try to walk wherever I
can that's kind of close
792
00:37:44,784 --> 00:37:46,438
to where I'm staying,
793
00:37:46,481 --> 00:37:49,963
but like today I was able to
just walk out of the door,
794
00:37:50,006 --> 00:37:51,660
the apartment I was in
in downtown Brooklyn,
795
00:37:51,704 --> 00:37:55,795
and just walk here and
mostly cover new ground.
796
00:37:55,838 --> 00:37:57,710
- I'm Bill Helmreich.
797
00:37:57,753 --> 00:38:00,800
I'm a professor of
sociology at City College,
798
00:38:00,843 --> 00:38:02,497
and with the exception
of Matt Green,
799
00:38:02,541 --> 00:38:03,933
I believe I am the only one
800
00:38:03,977 --> 00:38:07,023
to have systematically
walked New York City.
801
00:38:07,067 --> 00:38:10,200
I started that walk in 2008.
802
00:38:10,244 --> 00:38:13,639
I completed it four
years later in 2012.
803
00:38:13,682 --> 00:38:16,859
Walked it in rain,
sun, evenings,
804
00:38:16,903 --> 00:38:19,558
mornings, afternoons, weekends.
805
00:38:19,601 --> 00:38:24,084
Matt has identified the city
as being about 8,000 miles,
806
00:38:24,127 --> 00:38:25,520
whereas I say 6,000,
807
00:38:25,564 --> 00:38:27,740
but that's because Matt
is walking all the parks
808
00:38:27,783 --> 00:38:30,220
and all the paths
and all the piers,
809
00:38:30,264 --> 00:38:32,440
and I have generally
restricted myself
810
00:38:32,484 --> 00:38:35,182
to the inhabited
streets of the city.
811
00:38:35,225 --> 00:38:38,098
[rain falling]
812
00:38:38,141 --> 00:38:39,404
- [Matt] Yeah, it's
kind of overwhelming
813
00:38:39,447 --> 00:38:40,970
as I'm going through it.
814
00:38:41,014 --> 00:38:42,015
- Are you from here?
815
00:38:42,058 --> 00:38:44,060
- No, I'm from Virginia.
816
00:38:44,104 --> 00:38:44,844
- Okay.
817
00:38:44,887 --> 00:38:46,019
- My dad grew up here,
818
00:38:46,062 --> 00:38:47,150
and I have cousins here,
819
00:38:47,194 --> 00:38:49,718
so we're kind of
rooted in New York,
820
00:38:49,762 --> 00:38:52,199
but I didn't spend much
time here growing up.
821
00:38:52,242 --> 00:38:55,202
- Matt's approach to
doing this is not focused
822
00:38:55,245 --> 00:38:57,465
on organizing what he sees.
823
00:38:57,509 --> 00:39:00,207
It's focused on
describing what he sees.
824
00:39:00,250 --> 00:39:03,341
His approach appears to
me to be more random,
825
00:39:03,384 --> 00:39:06,518
to expose people and let
them see what the heart,
826
00:39:06,561 --> 00:39:09,216
soul, and pulse of this city is,
827
00:39:09,259 --> 00:39:12,132
and this is a case
where the parts
828
00:39:12,175 --> 00:39:15,440
are actually greater
than the whole.
829
00:39:15,483 --> 00:39:17,006
- The great thing
about New York City
830
00:39:17,050 --> 00:39:22,055
is that every street feels
like a fossil record,
831
00:39:22,098 --> 00:39:25,145
that you just peel
and peel and peel,
832
00:39:25,188 --> 00:39:28,061
and there are stories
buried beneath stories.
833
00:39:28,104 --> 00:39:31,151
No street becomes
the simple picture
834
00:39:31,194 --> 00:39:32,761
of what you see
before your eyes,
835
00:39:32,805 --> 00:39:35,198
that suddenly it's
rich with history,
836
00:39:35,242 --> 00:39:37,157
and it's rich with adventure,
837
00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:39,420
and it's a whole panoply
of stories waiting
838
00:39:39,464 --> 00:39:41,161
for you to uncover them.
839
00:39:41,204 --> 00:39:44,164
[camera shutter clicking]
840
00:39:44,207 --> 00:39:46,296
- People grow up in
neighborhoods in New York.
841
00:39:46,340 --> 00:39:48,386
They'll say, "Oh, I grew
up on the West Side.
842
00:39:48,429 --> 00:39:50,083
"I know the West Side."
843
00:39:50,126 --> 00:39:52,259
It often is not true
that you even know
844
00:39:52,302 --> 00:39:53,739
the neighborhood you grew up in.
845
00:39:53,782 --> 00:39:55,871
The block you walked on
because the subway was there
846
00:39:55,915 --> 00:39:57,351
becomes more important
than the block
847
00:39:57,395 --> 00:39:59,266
that nothing is there on.
848
00:39:59,309 --> 00:40:00,963
The block where you
bought your candy
849
00:40:01,007 --> 00:40:03,096
or where you did your
shopping becomes important,
850
00:40:03,139 --> 00:40:06,360
but the block where you didn't
shop becomes irrelevant,
851
00:40:06,404 --> 00:40:08,188
so that when people say
they know a neighborhood,
852
00:40:08,231 --> 00:40:09,494
they really don't.
853
00:40:09,537 --> 00:40:10,843
[mumbling]
854
00:40:10,886 --> 00:40:14,107
- A lot of this area, I
walked really early on,
855
00:40:14,150 --> 00:40:15,369
and I found that,
856
00:40:15,413 --> 00:40:17,632
I feel like I was almost
blind when I started.
857
00:40:17,676 --> 00:40:21,114
Like I'll go back places
now, and I'll see things.
858
00:40:21,157 --> 00:40:23,551
It's funny how long it
takes you to see stuff,
859
00:40:23,595 --> 00:40:26,249
to get in the right
frame of mind, you know,
860
00:40:26,293 --> 00:40:27,294
like all, yeah, these little--
861
00:40:27,337 --> 00:40:28,208
- [Daniel] So great.
862
00:40:28,251 --> 00:40:30,253
- [Matt] A little family.
863
00:40:31,690 --> 00:40:34,083
- One of the wonderful things
about walking with Matt
864
00:40:34,127 --> 00:40:37,739
also is that we get
to compare notes,
865
00:40:37,783 --> 00:40:42,222
so for instance, I have a
whole costume, as I call it.
866
00:40:42,265 --> 00:40:44,224
I go through a whole pantomime
867
00:40:44,267 --> 00:40:47,270
to avoid the appearance
of criminality.
868
00:40:47,314 --> 00:40:49,316
Time and again,
because of my race,
869
00:40:49,359 --> 00:40:53,233
because I am black,
people are fearful of me,
870
00:40:53,276 --> 00:40:55,888
and that in itself induces
a certain fear in me.
871
00:40:55,931 --> 00:40:57,933
I try to dress in a certain way
872
00:40:57,977 --> 00:41:01,110
that makes me appear
safe and non-threatening.
873
00:41:01,154 --> 00:41:03,243
I'll have reading glasses
on the bridge of my nose
874
00:41:03,286 --> 00:41:04,679
and a book.
875
00:41:04,723 --> 00:41:07,029
I try to move in ways that
appear non-threatening,
876
00:41:07,073 --> 00:41:08,509
no quick or sudden movements.
877
00:41:08,553 --> 00:41:11,381
I avoid hoodies or dark clothes,
878
00:41:12,382 --> 00:41:14,515
and so in walking with Matt,
879
00:41:14,559 --> 00:41:17,910
it was refreshing just to
hear him telling me just ways
880
00:41:17,953 --> 00:41:20,303
in which he doesn't
have to think
881
00:41:20,347 --> 00:41:24,177
about some of the things
that I have to think about.
882
00:41:24,220 --> 00:41:27,136
[birds chirping]
883
00:41:27,180 --> 00:41:29,922
[wind blowing]
884
00:41:42,064 --> 00:41:45,328
[plane engine running]
885
00:41:48,593 --> 00:41:51,291
[bird squawking]
886
00:41:55,600 --> 00:41:57,297
- We're about to go through
887
00:41:57,340 --> 00:42:00,561
this really weird
kind of vacant part
888
00:42:00,605 --> 00:42:02,998
where there used to
be beach houses there,
889
00:42:03,042 --> 00:42:04,304
little bungalows,
890
00:42:04,347 --> 00:42:06,393
and the city tore them down
891
00:42:06,436 --> 00:42:09,352
as kind of like an
urban renewal effort,
892
00:42:09,396 --> 00:42:11,485
and then never built
anything there.
893
00:42:11,529 --> 00:42:13,313
So it's this kind
of part of Edgemere,
894
00:42:13,356 --> 00:42:14,967
the southern part of Edgemere,
895
00:42:15,010 --> 00:42:17,926
basically these streets that
kind of go toward the beach,
896
00:42:17,970 --> 00:42:19,319
and then it's just all abandoned
897
00:42:19,362 --> 00:42:21,321
until you get to the boardwalk.
898
00:42:21,364 --> 00:42:23,105
This is pretty rare to just have
899
00:42:23,149 --> 00:42:26,152
a totally wiped out
grid of streets.
900
00:42:27,457 --> 00:42:31,940
I don't think there's anywhere
else like this in the city.
901
00:42:33,376 --> 00:42:35,944
[siren ringing]
902
00:42:43,430 --> 00:42:45,606
- My name is Nicky Rodriguez.
903
00:42:45,650 --> 00:42:50,219
I met Matt probably
going on four years now.
904
00:42:50,263 --> 00:42:52,482
I read about him in
The New York Times,
905
00:42:52,526 --> 00:42:55,616
and at the time, I was
working in a kitchen basement.
906
00:42:55,660 --> 00:42:57,270
I was really unhappy,
907
00:42:57,313 --> 00:42:59,141
and then I read about
this guy who's out
908
00:42:59,185 --> 00:43:00,447
seeing the world, exploring.
909
00:43:00,490 --> 00:43:02,449
It was an interesting contrast
910
00:43:02,492 --> 00:43:05,278
to what I was
experiencing at the time.
911
00:43:05,321 --> 00:43:08,107
I was like, I gotta
meet this guy.
912
00:43:10,457 --> 00:43:12,328
So we probably dated
for about two years.
913
00:43:12,372 --> 00:43:13,503
I don't know.
914
00:43:17,246 --> 00:43:18,726
I think I probably
fell in love with him
915
00:43:18,770 --> 00:43:22,469
from the first day, and he
would probably debate that,
916
00:43:22,512 --> 00:43:24,602
but I know how I feel.
917
00:43:24,645 --> 00:43:27,343
[birds chirping]
918
00:43:30,346 --> 00:43:32,305
- Matt and I met when
we were in college.
919
00:43:32,348 --> 00:43:36,265
We were together for
three or four years
920
00:43:36,309 --> 00:43:37,876
before we got engaged.
921
00:43:37,919 --> 00:43:41,706
He and I moved in
together in New York City.
922
00:43:41,749 --> 00:43:44,360
We got engaged and broke up six,
923
00:43:45,535 --> 00:43:47,276
seven weeks before our wedding,
924
00:43:47,320 --> 00:43:49,801
so never ended up
getting married.
925
00:43:49,844 --> 00:43:52,499
We had already mailed out
our wedding invitations
926
00:43:52,542 --> 00:43:55,502
and had started receiving RSVPs
927
00:43:55,545 --> 00:43:57,199
and were sorting the
yes's and the no's
928
00:43:57,243 --> 00:44:01,116
and figuring out how many
people would be there.
929
00:44:03,466 --> 00:44:05,512
I used to say to him when
he and I were together,
930
00:44:05,555 --> 00:44:07,383
oh, we're gonna turn 35.
931
00:44:07,427 --> 00:44:08,646
We're gonna have kids.
932
00:44:08,689 --> 00:44:10,299
It'll be fine,
933
00:44:10,343 --> 00:44:12,606
and the closer and closer
we got to getting married,
934
00:44:12,650 --> 00:44:15,783
it became clear that we
wanted very different things.
935
00:44:15,827 --> 00:44:18,525
I wanted to get
married, have kids,
936
00:44:18,568 --> 00:44:20,222
do the whole
settling down thing,
937
00:44:20,266 --> 00:44:22,050
and I think Matt wanted
to go wander the country
938
00:44:22,094 --> 00:44:23,356
or the city.
939
00:44:23,399 --> 00:44:25,837
- I sometimes questioned
whether it was healthy,
940
00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:29,144
all that isolation that
he would do with his walk.
941
00:44:29,188 --> 00:44:31,103
[camera shutter clicking]
942
00:44:31,146 --> 00:44:32,495
There were a lot of
times where I felt
943
00:44:32,539 --> 00:44:35,716
like I was vying for attention.
944
00:44:35,760 --> 00:44:37,718
Yeah, we fought a
lot about things
945
00:44:37,762 --> 00:44:40,112
that I didn't even
realize were a big deal,
946
00:44:40,155 --> 00:44:41,809
like going to the movies,
947
00:44:41,853 --> 00:44:45,770
and he doesn't really
care for that stuff, and,
948
00:44:47,685 --> 00:44:48,947
so his project,
949
00:44:50,426 --> 00:44:51,950
although it was the thing
that drew me to him,
950
00:44:51,993 --> 00:44:54,474
was also the thing
that separated us.
951
00:44:54,517 --> 00:44:56,606
[train engine running]
952
00:44:56,650 --> 00:44:59,044
I kind of badgered
him a little bit
953
00:44:59,087 --> 00:45:01,394
at wanting to know when
the project would end.
954
00:45:01,437 --> 00:45:03,396
He would give me two years out.
955
00:45:03,439 --> 00:45:04,614
Then he would give
me three years out,
956
00:45:04,658 --> 00:45:05,833
then four years out,
957
00:45:05,877 --> 00:45:08,706
so I kind of decided
to just accept
958
00:45:08,749 --> 00:45:13,711
that there is no known time
when this project is gonna end.
959
00:45:14,581 --> 00:45:15,800
- He doesn't go to what's next,
960
00:45:15,843 --> 00:45:17,758
and when you ask him
about what's next,
961
00:45:17,802 --> 00:45:19,586
he gets vague and uninterested.
962
00:45:19,629 --> 00:45:21,762
He's mostly interested in
what's happening today,
963
00:45:21,806 --> 00:45:25,635
what he saw today, and what
he's planning for tomorrow.
964
00:45:25,679 --> 00:45:27,725
- So yeah, I guess
it seems trivial.
965
00:45:27,768 --> 00:45:29,509
Oh, you complain about
going to the movies,
966
00:45:29,552 --> 00:45:32,512
but that kind of was
a big deal for us.
967
00:45:32,555 --> 00:45:34,122
He didn't really get
enjoyment from those types
968
00:45:34,166 --> 00:45:35,384
of things that I did,
969
00:45:35,428 --> 00:45:38,213
like going to a nice
restaurant and--
970
00:45:45,655 --> 00:45:48,920
[train engine running]
971
00:46:00,932 --> 00:46:03,673
[wind blowing]
972
00:46:10,811 --> 00:46:14,119
[plane engine running]
973
00:46:23,345 --> 00:46:26,522
- It's our first big
snow of the season.
974
00:46:28,046 --> 00:46:31,745
There were lots of blizzard
warnings and stuff today.
975
00:46:31,789 --> 00:46:33,703
It's not too, too bad yet,
976
00:46:33,747 --> 00:46:35,836
but it's supposed to
keep snowing all day
977
00:46:35,880 --> 00:46:37,316
and through the night.
978
00:46:37,359 --> 00:46:38,665
[camera shutter clicking]
979
00:46:38,708 --> 00:46:39,840
The city is kind of a
whole different place
980
00:46:39,884 --> 00:46:41,146
when it's covered in snow,
981
00:46:41,189 --> 00:46:42,930
like the same kind of
skeleton of the city,
982
00:46:42,974 --> 00:46:45,150
but the experience of being out
983
00:46:45,193 --> 00:46:47,500
in it's completely different.
984
00:46:49,632 --> 00:46:51,983
We'll see how far we go today.
985
00:46:52,026 --> 00:46:54,637
I'm hoping to get in maybe,
986
00:46:54,681 --> 00:46:58,511
like eight miles or
something would be good.
987
00:46:58,554 --> 00:46:59,512
We'll see.
988
00:47:01,253 --> 00:47:02,036
Woo.
989
00:47:10,349 --> 00:47:13,656
I just got a message
on my phone saying
990
00:47:15,006 --> 00:47:18,661
that all non-emergency
vehicles have
991
00:47:18,705 --> 00:47:22,752
to be off the streets of
New York City by 2:30 P.M,
992
00:47:23,579 --> 00:47:26,278
so a little later in the day,
993
00:47:26,321 --> 00:47:28,671
we'll have the streets
all to ourselves.
994
00:47:28,715 --> 00:47:30,151
[yelling]
995
00:47:30,195 --> 00:47:32,632
Oh, there's a football game
going on in the street.
996
00:47:32,675 --> 00:47:35,983
[yelling and laughing]
997
00:47:39,552 --> 00:47:40,640
Who's winning?
998
00:47:40,683 --> 00:47:41,902
- It's four to three.
999
00:47:41,946 --> 00:47:44,426
- [Matt] Four,
three, close game.
1000
00:47:44,470 --> 00:47:45,340
- [Man] What's your name?
1001
00:47:45,384 --> 00:47:46,254
- Matt Green.
1002
00:47:46,298 --> 00:47:47,168
- Matt, nice to meet you.
1003
00:47:47,212 --> 00:47:48,604
- Yeah, nice to meet you too.
1004
00:47:48,648 --> 00:47:49,692
- [Man] Go go, get in.
1005
00:47:49,736 --> 00:47:51,912
[mumbling]
1006
00:47:51,956 --> 00:47:52,739
- [Man] Hold on.
1007
00:47:52,782 --> 00:47:54,306
Yo, this guy's in.
1008
00:47:54,349 --> 00:47:55,307
- [Man] Hut.
1009
00:47:55,350 --> 00:47:57,570
[yelling]
1010
00:47:58,614 --> 00:47:59,746
- [Man] He got it.
1011
00:47:59,789 --> 00:48:00,529
Let's go.
1012
00:48:00,573 --> 00:48:01,574
- [Man] Get him.
1013
00:48:01,617 --> 00:48:02,357
Get him.
1014
00:48:02,401 --> 00:48:03,141
Get him.
1015
00:48:03,184 --> 00:48:05,404
[yelling]
1016
00:48:06,927 --> 00:48:09,190
[cheering]
1017
00:48:20,201 --> 00:48:21,899
- [Man] Touchdown.
1018
00:48:21,942 --> 00:48:24,640
[wind blowing]
1019
00:48:30,516 --> 00:48:31,691
- We are in Brighton Beach now,
1020
00:48:31,734 --> 00:48:33,606
in this little kind
of sub-neighborhood
1021
00:48:33,649 --> 00:48:36,870
with these little pedestrian
alleys crisscrossing it.
1022
00:48:36,914 --> 00:48:39,133
It used to be a kind
of bungalow colony.
1023
00:48:39,177 --> 00:48:41,570
A lot of the bungalows
are gone now,
1024
00:48:41,614 --> 00:48:42,920
and then sometime,
1025
00:48:42,963 --> 00:48:46,314
I think in the late
'90s, early 2000s,
1026
00:48:46,358 --> 00:48:49,709
there was a big kind
of wave of development
1027
00:48:49,752 --> 00:48:52,581
where a lot of the
bungalows were knocked down
1028
00:48:52,625 --> 00:48:57,064
and replaced with these big
multi-unit developments,
1029
00:48:57,108 --> 00:48:59,458
but it was all just done
kind of thoughtlessly,
1030
00:48:59,501 --> 00:49:01,025
and then the economy crashed,
1031
00:49:01,068 --> 00:49:05,203
and now you just have all these
half built vacant buildings
1032
00:49:05,246 --> 00:49:08,684
just kind of looming
over the landscape.
1033
00:49:08,728 --> 00:49:09,990
Some of them have
just been half built
1034
00:49:10,034 --> 00:49:12,471
for like five years or more.
1035
00:49:29,662 --> 00:49:31,272
- I threw my kid away.
1036
00:49:31,316 --> 00:49:34,014
[laughing]
1037
00:49:34,058 --> 00:49:34,841
That's my daughter.
1038
00:49:34,884 --> 00:49:35,711
She's 6 years old.
1039
00:49:35,755 --> 00:49:37,017
[yelling]
1040
00:49:37,061 --> 00:49:38,932
She wanted to be buried
like in the beach.
1041
00:49:38,976 --> 00:49:40,368
- [Matt] Yeah, it's
like the winter version
1042
00:49:40,412 --> 00:49:42,153
of going to the beach.
1043
00:49:42,196 --> 00:49:43,110
- [Man] I had too many kids.
1044
00:49:43,154 --> 00:49:45,156
I had to throw one away.
1045
00:49:47,419 --> 00:49:48,289
[yelling]
1046
00:49:48,333 --> 00:49:51,901
[camera shutter clicking]
1047
00:50:03,435 --> 00:50:04,740
[mumbling]
1048
00:50:04,784 --> 00:50:07,656
[car horn honking]
1049
00:51:04,887 --> 00:51:07,803
[car engine running]
1050
00:51:07,847 --> 00:51:11,503
[birds and insects chirping]
1051
00:51:12,765 --> 00:51:15,985
- So this is Ashland,
Virginia, my hometown.
1052
00:51:16,029 --> 00:51:19,685
This is the house
that I grew up in.
1053
00:51:19,728 --> 00:51:21,252
My parents still live here.
1054
00:51:21,295 --> 00:51:24,124
So Ashland is a little
town of, I think,
1055
00:51:24,168 --> 00:51:26,909
maybe 7,000 people now,
something like that.
1056
00:51:26,953 --> 00:51:29,695
It's kind of got
a small town feel
1057
00:51:29,738 --> 00:51:31,305
and a little downtown area.
1058
00:51:31,349 --> 00:51:33,438
The railroad tracks
run right through,
1059
00:51:33,481 --> 00:51:36,832
so there's a old
fashioned kind of feel.
1060
00:51:36,876 --> 00:51:39,313
[tool running]
1061
00:51:42,055 --> 00:51:44,710
I never thought that
I would ever want
1062
00:51:44,753 --> 00:51:46,494
to live in a big city,
1063
00:51:47,669 --> 00:51:49,628
New York least of all of them,
1064
00:51:49,671 --> 00:51:52,935
so yeah, I mean, I kind of
thought I was just a small town,
1065
00:51:52,979 --> 00:51:55,547
I thought that was kind
of the place for me.
1066
00:51:55,590 --> 00:51:57,549
So this is the backyard.
1067
00:51:58,811 --> 00:52:00,813
This is the old, we'll
call it a tree house
1068
00:52:00,856 --> 00:52:03,381
though there's no tree involved.
1069
00:52:03,424 --> 00:52:06,166
I was, quote, unquote,
helping my dad build this
1070
00:52:06,210 --> 00:52:08,864
when I was in third
grade or something,
1071
00:52:08,908 --> 00:52:10,039
which is where this
scar came from,
1072
00:52:10,083 --> 00:52:13,521
by smashing my
hand with a hammer.
1073
00:52:13,565 --> 00:52:15,567
- [Man] Wow, what do
you call this, Matthew?
1074
00:52:15,610 --> 00:52:17,177
I like this thing
your dad built.
1075
00:52:17,221 --> 00:52:19,614
What do you call it?
1076
00:52:19,658 --> 00:52:22,269
Is it a tree house
or what is it?
1077
00:52:22,313 --> 00:52:23,836
- It's a playhouse.
1078
00:52:23,879 --> 00:52:26,839
- [Man] Playhouse, did you
help him build it a little bit?
1079
00:52:26,882 --> 00:52:27,883
- Yeah.
1080
00:52:27,927 --> 00:52:29,668
- [Man] Great.
1081
00:52:29,711 --> 00:52:30,973
- I don't know.
1082
00:52:31,017 --> 00:52:32,540
I feel really lucky
in general, you know,
1083
00:52:32,584 --> 00:52:34,673
my parents and where I
was raised and everything.
1084
00:52:34,716 --> 00:52:35,848
We were really fortunate
1085
00:52:35,891 --> 00:52:37,893
to always have
everything we needed,
1086
00:52:37,937 --> 00:52:40,200
but we also, I had a
sense instilled in me
1087
00:52:40,244 --> 00:52:42,028
and my parents that stuff's
1088
00:52:42,071 --> 00:52:43,943
not what makes you
happy either though,
1089
00:52:43,986 --> 00:52:46,250
so it was like, if you
can just walk around
1090
00:52:46,293 --> 00:52:47,512
in the woods and be happy,
1091
00:52:47,555 --> 00:52:50,993
then you're kind of
set for life, you know?
1092
00:52:51,037 --> 00:52:53,909
[insects chirping]
1093
00:52:55,476 --> 00:52:57,739
- When people ask
us what he's doing,
1094
00:52:57,783 --> 00:53:00,742
I normally tell them that
he's very well educated,
1095
00:53:00,786 --> 00:53:02,483
that he was a licensed engineer,
1096
00:53:02,527 --> 00:53:04,050
but he didn't like it.
1097
00:53:04,093 --> 00:53:07,619
I guess maybe in the very
beginning it was a little odd
1098
00:53:07,662 --> 00:53:10,491
because their kids were all
going off and finding jobs,
1099
00:53:10,535 --> 00:53:13,190
but to me he really is
accomplishing something.
1100
00:53:13,233 --> 00:53:14,974
- It might not have
not been our choice
1101
00:53:15,017 --> 00:53:16,802
for what our son
would have done,
1102
00:53:16,845 --> 00:53:19,457
but he is happy doing
what he's doing.
1103
00:53:19,500 --> 00:53:21,850
It's his decision and his life.
1104
00:53:21,894 --> 00:53:23,635
I would like for him
to make money doing it,
1105
00:53:23,678 --> 00:53:25,245
so he'd have a way to live.
1106
00:53:25,289 --> 00:53:27,943
I mean, admittedly, he doesn't
make any money at his walk,
1107
00:53:27,987 --> 00:53:30,903
but he is able to
live on very little.
1108
00:53:30,946 --> 00:53:33,210
He doesn't ask us for anything.
1109
00:53:33,253 --> 00:53:34,907
He saved up his money
when he was working,
1110
00:53:34,950 --> 00:53:37,605
and he manages to
get by very well,
1111
00:53:37,649 --> 00:53:40,782
but we've had a
couple of instances,
1112
00:53:40,826 --> 00:53:42,262
one with him, one
with his brother,
1113
00:53:42,306 --> 00:53:46,353
where there was some life
threatening situations.
1114
00:53:47,920 --> 00:53:51,228
So Matthew was riding
his bike in Brooklyn.
1115
00:53:51,271 --> 00:53:54,056
There was an older driver,
1116
00:53:54,100 --> 00:53:56,276
and the driver apparently
became distracted,
1117
00:53:56,320 --> 00:53:57,582
and he hit Matthew.
1118
00:53:57,625 --> 00:53:58,887
He hit his head on the curb,
1119
00:53:58,931 --> 00:54:00,106
and he was knocked out.
1120
00:54:00,149 --> 00:54:02,326
Of course, if he didn't
have that helmet,
1121
00:54:02,369 --> 00:54:04,589
he wouldn't be here,
1122
00:54:04,632 --> 00:54:07,026
and then his brother Jonathan,
1123
00:54:08,375 --> 00:54:10,943
who is five years
younger than Matthew,
1124
00:54:10,986 --> 00:54:14,773
two and a half years ago had
a fairly major brain bleed.
1125
00:54:14,816 --> 00:54:18,167
He had something that
he was born with.
1126
00:54:19,343 --> 00:54:22,563
He had no symptoms
whatsoever until it blew.
1127
00:54:26,088 --> 00:54:28,917
- In the fall of
2012, I had a stroke,
1128
00:54:28,961 --> 00:54:31,790
and I was in the
hospital and rehab.
1129
00:54:31,833 --> 00:54:34,706
That was after Matt had
already started his walk,
1130
00:54:34,749 --> 00:54:37,012
but he came out to Chicago
1131
00:54:37,056 --> 00:54:40,015
and lived there
for several months.
1132
00:54:40,059 --> 00:54:42,409
I think that people
have experiences
1133
00:54:42,453 --> 00:54:46,500
that sort of reminds
them of the value of life
1134
00:54:46,544 --> 00:54:47,762
and of living,
1135
00:54:49,198 --> 00:54:52,637
so yeah, when he had his
bike accident in New York,
1136
00:54:52,680 --> 00:54:54,334
I don't know if
that was the thing
1137
00:54:54,378 --> 00:54:57,076
that set him off on this trip,
1138
00:54:57,119 --> 00:54:59,774
but I think his bike
accident and my stroke
1139
00:54:59,818 --> 00:55:01,689
remind us all that
we're not promised
1140
00:55:01,733 --> 00:55:04,083
any time on this earth.
1141
00:55:04,126 --> 00:55:07,086
- I would say that
maybe isn't the reason
1142
00:55:07,129 --> 00:55:08,435
that he goes out walking,
1143
00:55:08,479 --> 00:55:10,568
but I think at this
point in time he realizes
1144
00:55:10,611 --> 00:55:12,047
that stuff can happen.
1145
00:55:12,091 --> 00:55:13,484
I mean, it almost
happened to him.
1146
00:55:13,527 --> 00:55:15,268
It almost happened
to his brother.
1147
00:55:15,312 --> 00:55:18,010
I think it really
opens you up to life
1148
00:55:18,053 --> 00:55:20,578
and to the fact that
either you live it,
1149
00:55:20,621 --> 00:55:22,580
or you put it off
for the future,
1150
00:55:22,623 --> 00:55:25,452
and you don't know that the
future is gonna be there.
1151
00:55:25,496 --> 00:55:29,108
[gentle instrumental music]
1152
00:55:37,116 --> 00:55:40,467
[horn honking]
1153
00:55:40,511 --> 00:55:41,338
- Hey, look at that.
1154
00:55:41,381 --> 00:55:42,904
Fig tree.
1155
00:55:42,948 --> 00:55:46,647
You can see the
figs hanging off it.
1156
00:55:46,691 --> 00:55:51,696
Oh look, it's a whole little
patch of garden here even.
1157
00:55:52,392 --> 00:55:53,262
Oh, look at that,
1158
00:55:56,875 --> 00:56:00,792
a little broccoli or
broccoli rabe or something.
1159
00:56:03,142 --> 00:56:05,362
Oh yeah, some tomatoes
over here too.
1160
00:56:05,405 --> 00:56:09,017
[camera shutter clicking]
1161
00:56:11,063 --> 00:56:15,459
This is an edible plant
called lamb's quarter,
1162
00:56:15,502 --> 00:56:17,591
or some people call
it wild spinach.
1163
00:56:17,635 --> 00:56:18,853
Pretty tasty too,
1164
00:56:18,897 --> 00:56:20,202
I'm only not eating that
'cause it's at prime
1165
00:56:20,246 --> 00:56:22,074
like dog piss level.
1166
00:56:24,859 --> 00:56:29,037
Ah, here's a good example
of a squash trellis.
1167
00:56:29,081 --> 00:56:31,997
I mean, there's no dirt.
1168
00:56:32,040 --> 00:56:33,433
There's no soil here.
1169
00:56:33,477 --> 00:56:35,435
It's just a paved area,
1170
00:56:35,479 --> 00:56:37,132
but with a little ingenuity,
1171
00:56:37,176 --> 00:56:38,830
you put down a few
containers of soil.
1172
00:56:38,873 --> 00:56:40,309
You put up this trellis.
1173
00:56:40,353 --> 00:56:41,963
Let the vines climb up,
1174
00:56:42,007 --> 00:56:45,358
and all of a sudden you have
this giant canopy of green,
1175
00:56:45,402 --> 00:56:48,883
and you can see all the
squashes just dangling from it.
1176
00:56:48,927 --> 00:56:50,711
You could see moving
into this house saying,
1177
00:56:50,755 --> 00:56:52,496
"Ah, I just got this driveway.
1178
00:56:52,539 --> 00:56:54,802
"It's all paved, nothing
I can do about it,"
1179
00:56:54,846 --> 00:56:58,763
but a little ingenuity
and you could have this.
1180
00:57:08,642 --> 00:57:10,122
I'm a professional now.
1181
00:57:10,165 --> 00:57:13,517
[camera shutter clicking]
1182
00:57:15,301 --> 00:57:16,476
It's pretty surprising to me
1183
00:57:16,520 --> 00:57:19,305
how much I've
learned about plants,
1184
00:57:19,348 --> 00:57:22,134
about flowers and
trees, on this walk,
1185
00:57:22,177 --> 00:57:23,483
given that I'm in New York,
1186
00:57:23,527 --> 00:57:26,878
which is not a place you
associate with greenery
1187
00:57:26,921 --> 00:57:29,837
or any kind of
natural life really,
1188
00:57:31,056 --> 00:57:33,841
kind of concrete
and hard surfaces.
1189
00:57:38,455 --> 00:57:39,934
[camera shutter clicking]
1190
00:57:39,978 --> 00:57:42,154
Ah, there's some butterfly weed,
1191
00:57:42,197 --> 00:57:44,025
that cool orange flower.
1192
00:57:44,069 --> 00:57:47,768
I saw that in Marine
Park a couple years ago.
1193
00:57:51,076 --> 00:57:55,341
This giant tree right
here on Houston Street
1194
00:57:55,384 --> 00:57:57,299
is actually a redwood tree.
1195
00:57:57,343 --> 00:57:59,432
It's a type of redwood
called a dawn redwood
1196
00:57:59,476 --> 00:58:01,347
that was thought to be extinct,
1197
00:58:01,390 --> 00:58:02,609
and in the 1940s,
1198
00:58:03,828 --> 00:58:05,351
some were discovered
in central China,
1199
00:58:05,394 --> 00:58:07,701
and the seeds were
taken and spread out
1200
00:58:07,745 --> 00:58:09,050
around the world,
1201
00:58:09,094 --> 00:58:10,791
and now it's actually
a popular street tree
1202
00:58:10,835 --> 00:58:12,271
in New York City.
1203
00:58:12,314 --> 00:58:14,752
The first one I saw was
this giant one in Brooklyn,
1204
00:58:14,795 --> 00:58:16,536
and I figured out what
kind of tree it was
1205
00:58:16,580 --> 00:58:18,190
and was shocked to realize
1206
00:58:18,233 --> 00:58:22,977
that there are these redwoods
growing all around New York.
1207
00:58:24,326 --> 00:58:27,678
[camera shutter clicking]
1208
00:58:33,901 --> 00:58:36,338
That is a good looking tree.
1209
00:58:37,296 --> 00:58:40,647
There's a grape vine
down there, delicious.
1210
00:58:43,302 --> 00:58:45,739
There's a little mint here.
1211
00:58:45,783 --> 00:58:48,786
Can you smell it
through the camera?
1212
00:58:51,440 --> 00:58:54,226
[camera shutter clicking]
1213
00:58:54,269 --> 00:58:57,142
One of my favorite
examples is figs
1214
00:58:57,185 --> 00:58:59,492
because I didn't really,
1215
00:58:59,536 --> 00:59:01,015
I mean, I guess I
had a vague sense
1216
00:59:01,059 --> 00:59:04,192
of what a fig looks
like when you eat it,
1217
00:59:04,236 --> 00:59:05,237
but I had no idea
what they look like
1218
00:59:05,280 --> 00:59:07,413
growing on trees or anything,
1219
00:59:07,456 --> 00:59:09,458
and I started noticing.
1220
00:59:09,502 --> 00:59:11,765
A few months into my walk,
1221
00:59:11,809 --> 00:59:13,288
I started noticing these trees
1222
00:59:13,332 --> 00:59:18,293
with these little kind of
nodules growing off of them.
1223
00:59:19,556 --> 00:59:20,731
Actually, there's a fig
tree in a garbage bucket
1224
00:59:20,774 --> 00:59:24,038
right over there
as I'm saying this.
1225
00:59:24,082 --> 00:59:26,432
So this is a relatively
small fig tree.
1226
00:59:26,475 --> 00:59:29,000
The fig, we think
of it as a fruit,
1227
00:59:29,043 --> 00:59:32,525
but it's actually an
inside out inflorescence,
1228
00:59:32,569 --> 00:59:35,093
which means that it
has hundreds of flowers
1229
00:59:35,136 --> 00:59:37,530
growing inside of it.
1230
00:59:37,574 --> 00:59:38,749
You want a half a fig?
1231
00:59:38,792 --> 00:59:40,098
Here, I'll eat it if you eat it.
1232
00:59:40,141 --> 00:59:40,881
- Ew, I don't know what this is.
1233
00:59:40,925 --> 00:59:41,665
- It's good.
1234
00:59:41,708 --> 00:59:42,840
It's good.
1235
00:59:42,883 --> 00:59:43,623
It's a fruit.
1236
00:59:43,667 --> 00:59:44,581
Try it.
1237
00:59:44,624 --> 00:59:46,583
- Ew, what's it good for?
1238
00:59:47,496 --> 00:59:48,236
- It's a fruit,
1239
00:59:48,280 --> 00:59:49,411
like it's sweet.
1240
00:59:49,455 --> 00:59:51,370
People eat it for desserts.
1241
00:59:51,413 --> 00:59:52,414
- Ew.
1242
00:59:52,458 --> 00:59:53,198
- It's good.
1243
00:59:53,241 --> 00:59:53,981
Try it.
1244
00:59:54,025 --> 00:59:54,765
I just ate it.
1245
00:59:54,808 --> 00:59:55,592
I like that.
1246
00:59:55,635 --> 00:59:56,505
You're adventurous.
1247
00:59:56,549 --> 00:59:57,245
- Oh, it does taste good.
1248
00:59:57,289 --> 00:59:58,420
- It's not bad, right?
1249
00:59:58,464 --> 00:59:59,639
- Yeah, it does taste good.
1250
00:59:59,683 --> 01:00:00,814
I like it.
1251
01:00:00,858 --> 01:00:04,122
[horn honking]
1252
01:00:04,165 --> 01:00:06,515
[car engine running]
1253
01:00:06,559 --> 01:00:10,432
- Here we have the mighty
cornfields of Queens.
1254
01:00:18,353 --> 01:00:21,269
Geographically, I
knew what to expect
1255
01:00:21,313 --> 01:00:23,794
with the walk in terms
of the amount of time
1256
01:00:23,837 --> 01:00:26,361
it would take to
walk that distance,
1257
01:00:26,405 --> 01:00:29,103
but I didn't expect
that I would be spending
1258
01:00:29,147 --> 01:00:31,497
this much time
digging into things
1259
01:00:31,540 --> 01:00:34,195
that I saw after the fact.
1260
01:00:34,239 --> 01:00:37,590
That's ended up
taking up more time
1261
01:00:37,634 --> 01:00:38,678
than the walking itself,
1262
01:00:38,722 --> 01:00:40,898
which was a big surprise to me.
1263
01:00:40,941 --> 01:00:44,510
[upbeat instrumental music]
1264
01:00:51,430 --> 01:00:54,172
[birds squawking]
1265
01:01:16,498 --> 01:01:18,587
[mumbling]
1266
01:01:23,767 --> 01:01:26,030
All these pock
marks in the facade
1267
01:01:26,073 --> 01:01:29,381
of the building are
almost 100 years old.
1268
01:01:30,904 --> 01:01:34,473
They're from this bombing
that happened here in 1920.
1269
01:01:34,516 --> 01:01:38,346
These Italian anarchists
set off a bomb.
1270
01:01:38,390 --> 01:01:42,655
It was the deadliest terror
attack in U.S. history
1271
01:01:42,699 --> 01:01:43,612
at that point.
1272
01:01:43,656 --> 01:01:45,745
I think close to 40 people died.
1273
01:01:45,789 --> 01:01:48,269
The bank intentionally
left all the marks here
1274
01:01:48,313 --> 01:01:50,576
as a reminder of that.
1275
01:01:50,619 --> 01:01:52,099
[bell ringing]
1276
01:01:52,143 --> 01:01:54,406
[mumbling]
1277
01:02:04,459 --> 01:02:07,332
This is Trinity Churchyard,
1278
01:02:07,375 --> 01:02:11,031
so it's a little bit
of a incongruous scene,
1279
01:02:11,075 --> 01:02:13,077
seeing all these
graves in the middle
1280
01:02:13,120 --> 01:02:15,557
of all these skyscrapers.
1281
01:02:15,601 --> 01:02:17,864
There's Alexander Hamilton.
1282
01:02:20,649 --> 01:02:22,303
Lower Manhattan looks different
1283
01:02:22,347 --> 01:02:23,827
than the rest of the city.
1284
01:02:23,870 --> 01:02:27,439
It's where the original
settlement of New Amsterdam was,
1285
01:02:27,482 --> 01:02:29,093
and as a result of that,
1286
01:02:29,136 --> 01:02:30,790
streets are curving around.
1287
01:02:30,834 --> 01:02:32,749
Streets are narrower,
1288
01:02:32,792 --> 01:02:37,579
just this swirl of history
and so many layers of history,
1289
01:02:37,623 --> 01:02:42,541
and it makes it impossible to
take in even a small percent.
1290
01:02:43,498 --> 01:02:45,762
Well, just half
a block up there,
1291
01:02:45,805 --> 01:02:48,329
on Wall Street between
Pearl and Water,
1292
01:02:48,373 --> 01:02:50,592
that's apparently where
New York's municipal
1293
01:02:50,636 --> 01:02:53,465
slave market was
from 1711 to 1762,
1294
01:02:55,162 --> 01:02:57,512
and if it weren't
for this sign here,
1295
01:02:57,556 --> 01:03:00,777
I don't think I would
have any clue about it.
1296
01:03:00,820 --> 01:03:04,041
This is a particularly
poignant reminder
1297
01:03:04,084 --> 01:03:05,433
of a hidden story in New York,
1298
01:03:05,477 --> 01:03:07,784
but these hidden stories
are all over the city,
1299
01:03:07,827 --> 01:03:11,222
and I'm missing things
every single day.
1300
01:03:12,832 --> 01:03:15,617
I was just reading
recently about how garbage
1301
01:03:15,661 --> 01:03:19,621
has become such big
problem in Lower Manhattan.
1302
01:03:19,665 --> 01:03:21,841
Before 9/11, it was just
a business district.
1303
01:03:21,885 --> 01:03:23,712
Not that many people
lived down here.
1304
01:03:23,756 --> 01:03:25,627
Apparently now the
population's shot up,
1305
01:03:25,671 --> 01:03:27,716
the sidewalks are
narrow down here,
1306
01:03:27,760 --> 01:03:32,373
and so there's all these
problems with walls of trash.
1307
01:03:38,858 --> 01:03:39,728
I was surprised to learn there
1308
01:03:39,772 --> 01:03:41,948
was a big Vietnam memorial,
1309
01:03:43,210 --> 01:03:44,646
and I had never heard of it.
1310
01:03:44,690 --> 01:03:47,432
"We are all afraid to die,
1311
01:03:47,475 --> 01:03:51,175
"and all we do is count
the days till we go home.
1312
01:03:51,218 --> 01:03:53,612
"I want to hold my
head between my hands
1313
01:03:53,655 --> 01:03:56,571
"and run screaming
away from here."
1314
01:03:57,746 --> 01:04:00,967
[camera shutter clicking]
1315
01:04:06,407 --> 01:04:08,322
You know, I'll come back
from this walk today,
1316
01:04:08,366 --> 01:04:10,150
and I'll have a lot
more photos to add
1317
01:04:10,194 --> 01:04:12,544
into the pile of
thousands of photos
1318
01:04:12,587 --> 01:04:15,721
that I still have to go through.
1319
01:04:15,764 --> 01:04:19,943
Right now, I'm a year and
a half behind on my blog.
1320
01:04:19,986 --> 01:04:21,596
When I go out and walk,
1321
01:04:21,640 --> 01:04:23,642
I'm done with those blocks
when I'm done walking them,
1322
01:04:23,685 --> 01:04:26,645
and the photos,
they lag behind me,
1323
01:04:26,688 --> 01:04:30,692
and they're just creating
this giant weight
1324
01:04:30,736 --> 01:04:32,956
that I'm pulling
behind me all the time,
1325
01:04:32,999 --> 01:04:35,436
but I've never thought
about quitting,
1326
01:04:35,480 --> 01:04:37,743
about cutting back on anything,
1327
01:04:37,786 --> 01:04:41,486
about spending less
time doing research.
1328
01:04:41,529 --> 01:04:43,488
It's an integral part
of my personality
1329
01:04:43,531 --> 01:04:46,230
that I'll never quit
something once I've started,
1330
01:04:46,273 --> 01:04:48,667
which is not necessarily
always the greatest trait
1331
01:04:48,710 --> 01:04:50,364
in the real world,
1332
01:04:50,408 --> 01:04:52,627
to be so obsessed with details
1333
01:04:52,671 --> 01:04:56,631
and to lose sight of the
larger point of something
1334
01:04:56,675 --> 01:04:58,720
because you want to
finish it the exact way
1335
01:04:58,764 --> 01:05:00,766
that you want to finish it.
1336
01:05:12,343 --> 01:05:15,215
[metal clattering]
1337
01:05:16,564 --> 01:05:18,610
I was driving by on the BQE,
1338
01:05:18,653 --> 01:05:20,655
that elevated roadway up there,
1339
01:05:20,699 --> 01:05:24,616
and I saw really quick what
looked like a 9/11 mural,
1340
01:05:24,659 --> 01:05:28,881
a new 9/11 mural,
painted up on a building,
1341
01:05:28,925 --> 01:05:31,623
and I'm not trying
to constantly keep up
1342
01:05:31,666 --> 01:05:35,018
with every single new 9/11
memorial that sprouts up,
1343
01:05:35,061 --> 01:05:38,195
but since I saw it
I figured I should,
1344
01:05:38,238 --> 01:05:41,111
when I'm in the neighborhood,
get out and walk by it
1345
01:05:41,154 --> 01:05:42,677
and check it out.
1346
01:05:48,640 --> 01:05:51,382
[camera shutter clicking]
1347
01:05:51,425 --> 01:05:52,644
Standing down here
by the firehouse,
1348
01:05:52,687 --> 01:05:54,733
I can just look down the street,
1349
01:05:54,776 --> 01:05:55,995
and you get a clear view
1350
01:05:56,039 --> 01:05:59,390
of the new One World
Trade Center building.
1351
01:05:59,433 --> 01:06:01,696
People standing on
this spot on 9/11
1352
01:06:01,740 --> 01:06:05,657
would have seen the Twin
Towers crumbling down.
1353
01:06:24,893 --> 01:06:28,593
I think this is a 9/11 memorial.
1354
01:06:29,811 --> 01:06:32,292
"We will never forget,"
fireman kneeling.
1355
01:06:32,336 --> 01:06:36,688
Oh, that's the ruins of
the old World Trade Center.
1356
01:06:44,478 --> 01:06:45,349
[camera shutter clicking]
1357
01:06:45,392 --> 01:06:48,134
[gentle instrumental music]
1358
01:06:48,178 --> 01:06:49,875
When I first started this walk,
1359
01:06:49,918 --> 01:06:53,748
I had seen a number of
9/11 memorials beforehand,
1360
01:06:53,792 --> 01:06:57,970
and I had this idea that I
would just keep my eye out
1361
01:06:58,014 --> 01:06:59,624
for them as I walked.
1362
01:06:59,667 --> 01:07:01,669
I assumed they would all be
like the ones I had noticed,
1363
01:07:01,713 --> 01:07:03,758
which were classical
granite monument
1364
01:07:03,802 --> 01:07:05,934
with names on it maybe,
1365
01:07:07,197 --> 01:07:11,288
but I've been blown away
by the diversity of them.
1366
01:07:11,331 --> 01:07:13,638
I've seen so many
murals like this one.
1367
01:07:13,681 --> 01:07:16,771
I've seen homemade things
in people's front yards,
1368
01:07:16,815 --> 01:07:20,514
photos of victims with
flowers around them.
1369
01:07:24,823 --> 01:07:29,088
There's one that struck
me the hardest, I think.
1370
01:07:29,132 --> 01:07:31,873
It was an old fire call
box mounted on the wall
1371
01:07:31,917 --> 01:07:33,223
of a firehouse,
1372
01:07:34,354 --> 01:07:37,096
and inside, a silhouette
of the Twin Towers
1373
01:07:37,140 --> 01:07:40,056
and just a flame
burning inside it.
1374
01:07:43,972 --> 01:07:46,062
9/11 memorial.
1375
01:07:48,412 --> 01:07:49,630
How you doing?
1376
01:07:52,416 --> 01:07:53,156
[camera shutter clicking]
1377
01:07:53,199 --> 01:07:54,853
That's a new thing.
1378
01:07:54,896 --> 01:07:57,899
I've never seen the Statue
of Liberty crying before.
1379
01:07:57,943 --> 01:08:00,467
Also, Captain America pops in.
1380
01:08:04,080 --> 01:08:05,603
By the time I'm done walking,
1381
01:08:05,646 --> 01:08:07,953
I think I'll probably have
at least 300 memorials
1382
01:08:07,996 --> 01:08:10,390
that I've photographed,
1383
01:08:10,434 --> 01:08:14,655
which is, you know, a
stunning number to think of.
1384
01:08:25,536 --> 01:08:27,886
[gentle instrumental music]
1385
01:08:27,929 --> 01:08:31,107
[car engines running]
1386
01:08:51,083 --> 01:08:52,476
- [Man] Rolling.
1387
01:08:53,868 --> 01:08:54,913
Rolling.
1388
01:09:16,935 --> 01:09:17,936
- A wedding.
1389
01:09:29,730 --> 01:09:32,037
[mumbling]
1390
01:09:50,969 --> 01:09:53,450
[horn honking]
1391
01:10:47,765 --> 01:10:50,202
[wind blowing]
1392
01:10:53,336 --> 01:10:55,990
[birds chirping]
1393
01:11:05,696 --> 01:11:10,135
So I've walked through
dozens of cemeteries already,
1394
01:11:11,354 --> 01:11:13,094
and to me they're kind of,
1395
01:11:13,138 --> 01:11:15,227
I walk them for the same
reason that I walk a park,
1396
01:11:15,271 --> 01:11:18,099
which is that it's just a
big outdoor public area.
1397
01:11:18,143 --> 01:11:21,146
To me that's just as important
as walking as a street,
1398
01:11:21,189 --> 01:11:23,975
and on top of that, so
many cemeteries in New York
1399
01:11:24,018 --> 01:11:25,368
are just gorgeous.
1400
01:11:25,411 --> 01:11:27,065
Some of the
landscaping is amazing.
1401
01:11:27,108 --> 01:11:28,545
The terrain's amazing.
1402
01:11:28,588 --> 01:11:32,157
There's just a lot of beautiful
statuary in cemeteries,
1403
01:11:32,200 --> 01:11:34,028
a lot of beautiful graves.
1404
01:11:34,072 --> 01:11:36,727
It's a great kind of look
at other people's lives,
1405
01:11:36,770 --> 01:11:38,468
little windows
onto who they were.
1406
01:11:38,511 --> 01:11:42,820
You see sometimes really,
really touching epitaphs,
1407
01:11:44,082 --> 01:11:46,258
just really unusual
way to kind of look
1408
01:11:46,302 --> 01:11:49,043
into a lot of people's
lives, just a little bit.
1409
01:11:49,087 --> 01:11:52,612
[gentle instrumental music]
1410
01:11:54,222 --> 01:11:57,487
This little area here is
called the Soldiers' Lot,
1411
01:11:57,530 --> 01:12:01,012
and it's full of
Civil War veterans,
1412
01:12:01,055 --> 01:12:04,537
most of whom were
killed during the war,
1413
01:12:04,581 --> 01:12:07,671
and up at the top
here is this statue
1414
01:12:09,542 --> 01:12:12,023
that says Our Drummer Boy.
1415
01:12:12,066 --> 01:12:13,981
Clarence D. MacKenzie,
1416
01:12:14,025 --> 01:12:17,245
he was the first soldier
from Brooklyn killed
1417
01:12:17,289 --> 01:12:18,856
in the Civil War,
1418
01:12:18,899 --> 01:12:21,685
and he was 12 years
old at the time,
1419
01:12:21,728 --> 01:12:24,949
and he was killed just
during a training exercise
1420
01:12:24,992 --> 01:12:25,993
by accident.
1421
01:12:40,268 --> 01:12:42,401
This symbol you
see a lot on stones
1422
01:12:42,445 --> 01:12:44,098
in Jewish cemeteries.
1423
01:12:44,142 --> 01:12:46,666
It's kind of hands like this.
1424
01:12:46,710 --> 01:12:49,974
When the Kohanim, which are
the priestly class of Jews,
1425
01:12:50,017 --> 01:12:52,368
bless the congregation,
1426
01:12:52,411 --> 01:12:53,804
they hold their
hands in this shape
1427
01:12:53,847 --> 01:12:56,023
while they're
saying the blessing,
1428
01:12:56,067 --> 01:13:00,941
and this is what inspired the
Vulcan salute in Star Trek
1429
01:13:02,073 --> 01:13:02,813
because Leonard Nimoy
remembered being
1430
01:13:02,856 --> 01:13:04,205
in synagogue as a kid,
1431
01:13:04,249 --> 01:13:05,903
and then many years
later he just pulled this
1432
01:13:05,946 --> 01:13:07,948
out of his memory banks.
1433
01:13:09,297 --> 01:13:13,737
Here is the tombstone of
the great Jackie Robinson.
1434
01:13:13,780 --> 01:13:16,174
My dad grew up in Brooklyn,
1435
01:13:16,217 --> 01:13:19,220
so in addition to his
kind of iconic symbolism
1436
01:13:19,264 --> 01:13:20,700
for all of baseball,
1437
01:13:20,744 --> 01:13:25,052
he also was a great local
player for my dad's team.
1438
01:13:25,096 --> 01:13:27,794
Celia Cruz, the Queen of Salsa.
1439
01:13:31,189 --> 01:13:32,756
Yeah, it is funny to
see this kind of row
1440
01:13:32,799 --> 01:13:34,758
of modest little headstones
1441
01:13:34,801 --> 01:13:38,414
and then to come across
a big, famous artist
1442
01:13:39,763 --> 01:13:41,678
who tragically died.
1443
01:13:41,721 --> 01:13:45,072
In fact, when I visited his
grave for the first time,
1444
01:13:45,116 --> 01:13:47,248
this family was
here, the Russos.
1445
01:13:47,292 --> 01:13:48,772
I think her sister was here,
1446
01:13:48,815 --> 01:13:50,991
and she was saying they
didn't know who this was,
1447
01:13:51,035 --> 01:13:53,385
but then they saw all
these things left here,
1448
01:13:53,429 --> 01:13:54,952
and then they read about him,
1449
01:13:54,995 --> 01:13:58,259
and just a funny
crossing of cultures
1450
01:13:58,303 --> 01:14:01,001
between this older
Italian-American family
1451
01:14:01,045 --> 01:14:03,613
and this young,
kind of punk artist,
1452
01:14:03,656 --> 01:14:08,269
and now they'll spend eternity
right next to each other.
1453
01:14:11,098 --> 01:14:13,100
This is the grave
of Emma Lazarus,
1454
01:14:13,144 --> 01:14:16,930
who wrote a well known poem
called The New Colossus
1455
01:14:16,974 --> 01:14:19,846
that can be found on
the Statue of Liberty.
1456
01:14:19,890 --> 01:14:21,805
"Give me your tired, your poor,
1457
01:14:21,848 --> 01:14:24,503
"your huddled masses
yearning to breathe free,
1458
01:14:24,547 --> 01:14:27,245
"the wretched refuse
of your teeming shore.
1459
01:14:27,288 --> 01:14:30,335
"Send these, the homeless,
tempest tossed to me.
1460
01:14:30,378 --> 01:14:33,773
"I lift my lamp beside
the golden door."
1461
01:14:42,173 --> 01:14:43,391
Harry Houdini.
1462
01:14:49,441 --> 01:14:51,312
[camera shutter clicking]
1463
01:14:51,356 --> 01:14:55,142
I wish I knew some kind
of magic trick to do.
1464
01:14:55,186 --> 01:14:56,535
Seems like the
appropriate place.
1465
01:14:56,579 --> 01:15:01,105
I see playing cards over
there, a lock and key.
1466
01:15:01,148 --> 01:15:03,934
Maybe I'll be
inspired by Houdini.
1467
01:15:11,376 --> 01:15:12,986
[leaves rustling]
1468
01:15:13,030 --> 01:15:15,815
[birds chirping]
1469
01:15:17,295 --> 01:15:19,384
You might think that
walking around a cemetery
1470
01:15:19,427 --> 01:15:21,604
is a very morbid thing to do,
1471
01:15:21,647 --> 01:15:23,388
that it's a very
sad place to be,
1472
01:15:23,431 --> 01:15:25,216
but when you spend
enough time there,
1473
01:15:25,259 --> 01:15:27,392
what you realize is
that all these stones
1474
01:15:27,435 --> 01:15:29,350
that you're seeing, of course,
1475
01:15:29,394 --> 01:15:31,091
represent somebody who died,
1476
01:15:31,135 --> 01:15:35,531
but what they are is a
reminder of that person's life.
1477
01:15:38,664 --> 01:15:40,579
You know, they had to die
to be in the cemetery,
1478
01:15:40,623 --> 01:15:43,060
but they had to live
a life to be here too.
1479
01:15:43,103 --> 01:15:45,932
[gentle instrumental music]
1480
01:15:45,976 --> 01:15:48,239
Charles Mile a Minute Murphy.
1481
01:15:49,414 --> 01:15:52,809
The Mile a Minute
part of his nickname,
1482
01:15:52,852 --> 01:15:56,334
he came up with this
idea in like the 1880s
1483
01:15:56,377 --> 01:15:58,162
that it would be possible,
1484
01:15:58,205 --> 01:15:59,946
if he rode behind a train,
1485
01:15:59,990 --> 01:16:02,253
to ride in the
slipstream of the train,
1486
01:16:02,296 --> 01:16:04,255
that he could ride a mile
in less than a minute,
1487
01:16:04,298 --> 01:16:05,822
and in his view,
1488
01:16:05,865 --> 01:16:07,737
he felt like the whole
world was laughing at him,
1489
01:16:07,780 --> 01:16:08,651
mocking him.
1490
01:16:08,694 --> 01:16:09,608
This could never be done.
1491
01:16:09,652 --> 01:16:11,915
He was a fool for thinking this,
1492
01:16:11,958 --> 01:16:14,657
and so he convinced the Long
Island Rail Road to build,
1493
01:16:14,700 --> 01:16:17,311
I think it was like a two
mile section of track,
1494
01:16:17,355 --> 01:16:19,096
and he failed the first time
1495
01:16:19,139 --> 01:16:20,445
or first two times or something,
1496
01:16:20,488 --> 01:16:22,012
and they had like one shot left,
1497
01:16:22,055 --> 01:16:24,492
and then he finally was able
to do it the third time.
1498
01:16:24,536 --> 01:16:27,234
The idea of someone just
having this weird dream
1499
01:16:27,278 --> 01:16:31,369
and just making it happen is
really appealing story to me.
1500
01:16:31,412 --> 01:16:32,849
There are some people out there
1501
01:16:32,892 --> 01:16:36,243
who just do things for
reasons they don't understand,
1502
01:16:36,287 --> 01:16:37,680
that other people
don't quite understand.
1503
01:16:37,723 --> 01:16:41,031
I mean, I don't know
anybody like that.
1504
01:17:01,225 --> 01:17:03,314
[mumbling]
1505
01:17:08,232 --> 01:17:10,930
When you have this many
miles ahead of you,
1506
01:17:10,974 --> 01:17:13,933
you can't really just think
about how much is left.
1507
01:17:13,977 --> 01:17:15,979
Anyone who has taken
some kind of long journey
1508
01:17:16,022 --> 01:17:19,025
like that I guess kind
of knows that lesson,
1509
01:17:19,069 --> 01:17:22,376
that you just have to
take it one day at a time,
1510
01:17:22,420 --> 01:17:25,423
and if all you're
focused on is finishing,
1511
01:17:25,466 --> 01:17:27,207
then it's that much
easier to get overwhelmed
1512
01:17:27,251 --> 01:17:28,731
by how much is left,
1513
01:17:28,774 --> 01:17:32,909
but the goal of this walk
is not really to finish it.
1514
01:17:32,952 --> 01:17:35,259
The goal is to do
everything that happens
1515
01:17:35,302 --> 01:17:37,522
along the way to finishing it.
1516
01:17:37,565 --> 01:17:40,046
[wind blowing]
1517
01:17:45,138 --> 01:17:47,706
[water flowing]
1518
01:17:56,106 --> 01:17:58,325
There are lots of coconuts
1519
01:18:00,240 --> 01:18:03,243
in various odd parts of New York
1520
01:18:03,287 --> 01:18:06,072
you find washed up on the shore,
1521
01:18:06,116 --> 01:18:08,509
and I was always kind
of baffled by this,
1522
01:18:08,553 --> 01:18:09,728
[camera shutter clicking]
1523
01:18:09,772 --> 01:18:11,338
but then I read that
coconuts are often part
1524
01:18:11,382 --> 01:18:14,646
of this Hindu tradition that,
1525
01:18:14,690 --> 01:18:16,866
like back in India
people would be making
1526
01:18:16,909 --> 01:18:19,651
these offerings into
the Ganges River.
1527
01:18:19,695 --> 01:18:21,914
So then people
immigrate to New York,
1528
01:18:21,958 --> 01:18:24,743
and they gotta find some
kind of approximation,
1529
01:18:24,787 --> 01:18:26,702
so it makes sense that
if coconuts are thrown
1530
01:18:26,745 --> 01:18:27,920
into the water over here
1531
01:18:27,964 --> 01:18:30,575
that they'd get
washed in over here.
1532
01:18:30,618 --> 01:18:34,187
[gentle instrumental music]
1533
01:18:36,581 --> 01:18:39,410
This rusty little piece of metal
1534
01:18:41,934 --> 01:18:46,417
is a bristle from the brush
of a street cleaning truck.
1535
01:18:48,027 --> 01:18:51,335
They have hundreds of
these that rotate around,
1536
01:18:51,378 --> 01:18:55,556
and that's what kind of sweeps
stuff up off the streets.
1537
01:18:55,600 --> 01:18:57,210
If you were just
to look at my blog
1538
01:18:57,254 --> 01:18:58,472
and see the things
I've been taking photos
1539
01:18:58,516 --> 01:19:00,039
and writing about,
1540
01:19:00,083 --> 01:19:02,781
it probably seems like it's
a random list of stuff.
1541
01:19:02,825 --> 01:19:05,479
It's like, how is this
guy deciding what to do?
1542
01:19:05,523 --> 01:19:07,394
How does this all
fit into something?
1543
01:19:07,438 --> 01:19:09,570
And for me that's not a problem
1544
01:19:09,614 --> 01:19:12,138
because I'm not deciding
to look for anything,
1545
01:19:12,182 --> 01:19:14,488
and I'm not trying to
fit it into anything.
1546
01:19:14,532 --> 01:19:18,579
It fits into what it
ultimately becomes.
1547
01:19:18,623 --> 01:19:20,930
The collection of
all the random things
1548
01:19:20,973 --> 01:19:23,367
that I'm looking at
become the puzzle
1549
01:19:23,410 --> 01:19:24,890
that they are
pieces fitting into.
1550
01:19:24,934 --> 01:19:27,893
I don't have to know what the
puzzle was when I started.
1551
01:19:27,937 --> 01:19:32,506
These dots you see on any
kind of storm sewer inlet,
1552
01:19:32,550 --> 01:19:35,727
they are a mark
left by city workers
1553
01:19:35,771 --> 01:19:37,555
when they come to
treat the sewer
1554
01:19:37,598 --> 01:19:38,817
for West Nile virus,
1555
01:19:38,861 --> 01:19:40,819
so when they come back
by they can verify
1556
01:19:40,863 --> 01:19:42,560
that it had been
previously sprayed
1557
01:19:42,603 --> 01:19:45,171
by seeing if the dots are there.
1558
01:19:46,956 --> 01:19:47,783
Holy shit.
1559
01:19:50,786 --> 01:19:51,612
Damn, man.
1560
01:19:53,701 --> 01:19:55,878
One good example is right here.
1561
01:19:55,921 --> 01:19:59,229
This is the Queens Museum
in Flushing Meadows Park.
1562
01:19:59,272 --> 01:20:00,883
The building that
it's in was built
1563
01:20:00,926 --> 01:20:02,754
for the 1939 World's Fair.
1564
01:20:02,798 --> 01:20:05,017
It was the New
York City Building,
1565
01:20:05,061 --> 01:20:07,324
and I actually
just noticed this.
1566
01:20:07,367 --> 01:20:09,326
Underneath where it
says Queens Museum,
1567
01:20:09,369 --> 01:20:12,503
you can still see this
lettering from the World's Fair,
1568
01:20:12,546 --> 01:20:14,418
where it said The
City Of New York.
1569
01:20:14,461 --> 01:20:15,811
You can just faintly make out
1570
01:20:15,854 --> 01:20:17,725
that lettering
where it used to be.
1571
01:20:17,769 --> 01:20:20,903
There was actually, during
the '64 World's Fair,
1572
01:20:20,946 --> 01:20:22,730
there was a really cool
exhibit built in here.
1573
01:20:22,774 --> 01:20:26,038
It was called the Panorama
of the City of New York,
1574
01:20:26,082 --> 01:20:29,215
just a giant, three dimensional,
physical scale model
1575
01:20:29,259 --> 01:20:30,564
of New York City.
1576
01:20:30,608 --> 01:20:32,784
Huge model of New York,
each building's there.
1577
01:20:32,828 --> 01:20:35,961
There's almost a
million individual
buildings on this model.
1578
01:20:36,005 --> 01:20:38,224
It's just really mind boggling
1579
01:20:38,268 --> 01:20:41,749
kind of seeing the
scope of the whole city.
1580
01:20:43,795 --> 01:20:45,014
For me, there's a big difference
1581
01:20:45,057 --> 01:20:47,364
between reading about
a place in a book
1582
01:20:47,407 --> 01:20:49,714
and being there in person.
1583
01:20:49,757 --> 01:20:53,413
When I'm actually in the same
physical space as a place,
1584
01:20:53,457 --> 01:20:56,895
all of a sudden it
comes alive to me
1585
01:20:56,939 --> 01:20:59,898
because just being
there next to it,
1586
01:20:59,942 --> 01:21:01,552
just on a very human level,
1587
01:21:01,595 --> 01:21:03,684
gives me this relationship to it
1588
01:21:03,728 --> 01:21:06,513
that I don't have when all
I know about it is facts,
1589
01:21:06,557 --> 01:21:07,775
but when what I know about it
1590
01:21:07,819 --> 01:21:11,083
is what it feels to
stand in front of it,
1591
01:21:11,127 --> 01:21:13,259
what it feels like to touch it,
1592
01:21:13,303 --> 01:21:15,827
or what it feels like to
discover something about it,
1593
01:21:15,871 --> 01:21:17,742
to have found it for myself,
1594
01:21:17,785 --> 01:21:20,310
to have had some
kind of aha moment,
1595
01:21:20,353 --> 01:21:23,356
some kind of like,
oh, look at that.
1596
01:21:31,451 --> 01:21:34,715
This is the Audubon
Ballroom and Theater,
1597
01:21:34,759 --> 01:21:38,894
which is where Malcom X was
shot and killed in 1965.
1598
01:21:40,330 --> 01:21:42,941
You know, there's no
sign up or anything,
1599
01:21:42,985 --> 01:21:45,161
so I just thought this is
a cool looking building,
1600
01:21:45,204 --> 01:21:46,423
so I just took a photo of it,
1601
01:21:46,466 --> 01:21:48,686
and then found out the story.
1602
01:21:49,817 --> 01:21:51,080
Just like a person,
1603
01:21:51,123 --> 01:21:52,646
when you meet a
person you become
1604
01:21:52,690 --> 01:21:54,344
much more interested in them.
1605
01:21:54,387 --> 01:21:56,215
I think it's the same
thing with a city.
1606
01:21:56,259 --> 01:22:00,219
I mean, a city is a
thing built by people
1607
01:22:00,263 --> 01:22:01,655
and full of people,
1608
01:22:01,699 --> 01:22:03,353
and so I think it has a lot
1609
01:22:03,396 --> 01:22:05,703
of those same
characteristics that,
1610
01:22:05,746 --> 01:22:08,532
when you meet a
part of the city,
1611
01:22:08,575 --> 01:22:09,968
all of a sudden you care
about it a lot more,
1612
01:22:10,012 --> 01:22:11,187
and it's come alive to you.
1613
01:22:11,230 --> 01:22:12,710
It's an actual place
were you stood,
1614
01:22:12,753 --> 01:22:14,494
and you felt something there,
1615
01:22:14,538 --> 01:22:16,975
and you have some memory of it.
1616
01:22:18,411 --> 01:22:19,760
How you doing?
1617
01:22:28,247 --> 01:22:31,033
This is a memorial
to Eric Garner.
1618
01:22:32,860 --> 01:22:34,427
When he was being
choked to death,
1619
01:22:34,471 --> 01:22:35,733
he kept saying,
"I can't breathe.
1620
01:22:35,776 --> 01:22:36,516
"I can't breathe.
1621
01:22:36,560 --> 01:22:37,953
"I can't breathe."
1622
01:22:41,826 --> 01:22:44,698
This building, 42 Amboy Street,
1623
01:22:44,742 --> 01:22:48,572
what used to exist here
was 46 Amboy Street,
1624
01:22:48,615 --> 01:22:50,313
which was the
location of the first
1625
01:22:50,356 --> 01:22:52,663
birth control clinic in America.
1626
01:22:52,706 --> 01:22:55,971
It was opened by
Margaret Sanger in 1916.
1627
01:22:57,233 --> 01:22:58,582
I think the way that
I found out about it
1628
01:22:58,625 --> 01:23:00,453
was I was walking
in Brownsville,
1629
01:23:00,497 --> 01:23:02,847
and I had a photo of
something in the area,
1630
01:23:02,890 --> 01:23:04,501
and in reading
about that I somehow
1631
01:23:04,544 --> 01:23:07,156
came across this
birth control clinic.
1632
01:23:07,199 --> 01:23:08,635
You know what used to
be right over here?
1633
01:23:08,679 --> 01:23:10,289
- No.
1634
01:23:10,333 --> 01:23:12,509
- This was the first birth
control clinic in America.
1635
01:23:12,552 --> 01:23:13,814
- What?
1636
01:23:13,858 --> 01:23:14,728
- The first place
where birth control
1637
01:23:14,772 --> 01:23:15,120
was handed out to people.
1638
01:23:15,164 --> 01:23:16,469
- Wow.
1639
01:23:16,513 --> 01:23:18,341
- Yeah, it was only
open for nine days.
1640
01:23:18,384 --> 01:23:20,082
Then the government
shut it down,
1641
01:23:20,125 --> 01:23:22,954
so this, you can see that
same brick work up there.
1642
01:23:22,998 --> 01:23:24,651
This was the birth
control clinic,
1643
01:23:24,695 --> 01:23:26,653
what used to be right there.
1644
01:23:26,697 --> 01:23:28,220
- Wow.
1645
01:23:28,264 --> 01:23:29,134
- [Matt] So yeah, you can see
all these women out there.
1646
01:23:29,178 --> 01:23:30,048
- [Man] It's been closed.
1647
01:23:30,092 --> 01:23:31,745
That's really interesting--
1648
01:23:31,789 --> 01:23:32,311
- [Matt] You can see that
whole street there, yeah.
1649
01:23:32,355 --> 01:23:32,529
- [Man] Wow.
1650
01:23:45,977 --> 01:23:48,806
- The plaque on this rock,
1651
01:23:48,849 --> 01:23:50,503
right beside the service road
1652
01:23:50,547 --> 01:23:52,679
to the Long Island Expressway,
1653
01:23:52,723 --> 01:23:56,422
says, "General George
Washington traveled this road
1654
01:23:56,466 --> 01:24:00,252
"on his tour of Long
Island, April 24th, 1790."
1655
01:24:22,753 --> 01:24:23,623
Is that it?
1656
01:24:24,929 --> 01:24:25,712
No.
1657
01:24:29,412 --> 01:24:32,110
[birds chirping]
1658
01:24:37,855 --> 01:24:40,118
We're looking for
the Queens Giant,
1659
01:24:40,162 --> 01:24:44,296
which is the tallest known
tree in New York City,
1660
01:24:47,343 --> 01:24:49,954
and the oldest, ah, there it is,
1661
01:24:51,825 --> 01:24:54,959
the oldest living
thing in the city.
1662
01:24:55,002 --> 01:24:58,615
It's estimated 350
to 450 years old.
1663
01:24:58,658 --> 01:25:00,791
It's not really a
public visiting place
1664
01:25:00,834 --> 01:25:03,576
'cause they're trying
to preserve the tree,
1665
01:25:03,620 --> 01:25:05,622
so there's not
like a clear trail
1666
01:25:05,665 --> 01:25:08,015
or signs to it or anything.
1667
01:25:11,497 --> 01:25:15,110
[gentle instrumental music]
1668
01:25:16,415 --> 01:25:19,810
[camera shutter clicking]
1669
01:25:21,464 --> 01:25:25,468
Whoa, here's the sign,
kind of hidden back here.
1670
01:25:26,904 --> 01:25:29,515
"This tulip tree is the
tallest carefully measured tree
1671
01:25:29,559 --> 01:25:34,172
"in New York City, with
a height of 133.8 feet.
1672
01:25:34,216 --> 01:25:36,348
"It is also probably
the oldest living thing
1673
01:25:36,392 --> 01:25:40,613
"in the city at an estimated
age of 400 years or more.
1674
01:25:40,657 --> 01:25:42,963
"It was standing tall when
General George Washington
1675
01:25:43,007 --> 01:25:46,880
"passed close by in 1790
on a tour of Long Island.
1676
01:25:46,924 --> 01:25:49,013
"It has survived
miraculously from a time
1677
01:25:49,056 --> 01:25:52,016
"when native Matinecock
people trod softly
1678
01:25:52,059 --> 01:25:54,845
"beneath it to an age
when automobiles roar
1679
01:25:54,888 --> 01:25:57,021
"by oblivious to its presence.
1680
01:25:57,064 --> 01:25:58,588
"If we leave it undisturbed,
1681
01:25:58,631 --> 01:26:03,462
"it may live among us for
another hundred years or so."
1682
01:26:04,724 --> 01:26:06,291
There's a big hole
in the tree here,
1683
01:26:06,335 --> 01:26:09,555
and it's kind of the bottom
of the trunk is hollowed out.
1684
01:26:09,599 --> 01:26:11,905
There's a Tupperware
container inside the tree.
1685
01:26:11,949 --> 01:26:15,170
It's got some note
paper and stuff in it.
1686
01:26:22,438 --> 01:26:24,875
Wow, this book is just
filled with poems people
1687
01:26:24,918 --> 01:26:26,877
have written or notes.
1688
01:26:26,920 --> 01:26:29,923
"If trees could only talk.
1689
01:26:29,967 --> 01:26:33,927
"The things it's seen,
the things it's felt.
1690
01:26:33,971 --> 01:26:37,540
"The wisest creatures of
us all can live without us,
1691
01:26:37,583 --> 01:26:39,585
"but we can't without them.
1692
01:26:39,629 --> 01:26:41,631
"Respect life."
1693
01:26:41,674 --> 01:26:43,763
"This is my first visit
to the Queens Giant.
1694
01:26:43,807 --> 01:26:46,505
"She is a wonderful creature
that has seen so much
1695
01:26:46,549 --> 01:26:48,028
"and nourished many lives.
1696
01:26:48,072 --> 01:26:49,247
"Even just meeting her now,
1697
01:26:49,291 --> 01:26:51,902
"it's undeniable that
her spirit shines,
1698
01:26:51,945 --> 01:26:54,252
"and the beat goes on."
1699
01:26:54,296 --> 01:26:56,385
Sounds like a class
came out here.
1700
01:26:56,428 --> 01:26:57,821
"I never knew this
thing was here.
1701
01:26:57,864 --> 01:26:59,475
"This is so awesome
to be able to be here
1702
01:26:59,518 --> 01:27:01,172
"with my friends and teachers.
1703
01:27:01,216 --> 01:27:03,609
"East Side Community
High for forever.
1704
01:27:03,653 --> 01:27:04,828
"Zipporah G."
1705
01:27:06,917 --> 01:27:10,312
Gabriel says, "I salute
this sentinel of life,
1706
01:27:10,355 --> 01:27:12,792
"this tower of what
is natural and good.
1707
01:27:12,836 --> 01:27:14,533
"May our own little
lives be inspired
1708
01:27:14,577 --> 01:27:17,884
"by its breathing
breadth and height."
1709
01:27:17,928 --> 01:27:19,451
"July 18th, 2013.
1710
01:27:21,148 --> 01:27:22,976
"Summertime and
the living's easy.
1711
01:27:23,020 --> 01:27:26,023
"Enjoy your life, every
moment, every memory,
1712
01:27:26,066 --> 01:27:27,764
"before it's over."
1713
01:27:29,548 --> 01:27:31,855
Wow, that's pretty awesome.
1714
01:27:49,960 --> 01:27:51,309
Just thinking about
the Queens Giant
1715
01:27:51,353 --> 01:27:54,181
being 400 years old or whatever
1716
01:27:54,225 --> 01:27:56,488
means that it's
essentially been there
1717
01:27:56,532 --> 01:28:00,013
for the entirety of the
existence of New York City,
1718
01:28:00,057 --> 01:28:02,973
from the earliest
Dutch settlement,
1719
01:28:04,191 --> 01:28:05,932
and so it's kind of mind blowing
1720
01:28:05,976 --> 01:28:07,891
to think that that
tree has been there
1721
01:28:07,934 --> 01:28:12,330
kind of seeing the entire
transformation of New York City
1722
01:28:12,374 --> 01:28:16,421
from a natural area into the
metropolis that it is today,
1723
01:28:16,465 --> 01:28:20,947
and kind of all of those
changes that mankind has wrought
1724
01:28:20,991 --> 01:28:23,341
on this enormous scale here,
1725
01:28:23,385 --> 01:28:27,345
that tree has just been
there through all of it.
1726
01:28:28,912 --> 01:28:31,741
You know, it seems in my
head almost like something
1727
01:28:31,784 --> 01:28:34,004
that exists on a
geologic time scale.
1728
01:28:34,047 --> 01:28:37,355
That it would have just
taken such monumental efforts
1729
01:28:37,399 --> 01:28:40,358
to turn New York City
into what it is today,
1730
01:28:40,402 --> 01:28:42,795
and that that tree has just
been kind of sitting there
1731
01:28:42,839 --> 01:28:44,841
watching the whole time.
1732
01:29:18,048 --> 01:29:20,703
[birds chirping]
1733
01:29:27,318 --> 01:29:29,886
Somewhere in this
last block, I think,
1734
01:29:29,929 --> 01:29:33,411
I just crossed 8,000
total miles for the walk.
1735
01:29:33,455 --> 01:29:36,632
I was just over a mile shy
at the start of the day,
1736
01:29:36,675 --> 01:29:39,112
and when I started the walk,
1737
01:29:40,113 --> 01:29:42,942
8,000 was the number I'd
throw out as, you know,
1738
01:29:42,986 --> 01:29:44,161
how far is it gonna be?
1739
01:29:44,204 --> 01:29:46,076
I don't know, maybe 8,000 miles.
1740
01:29:46,119 --> 01:29:48,861
So in that sense, it seems
like I'm getting pretty close
1741
01:29:48,905 --> 01:29:50,123
to the end,
1742
01:29:50,167 --> 01:29:52,691
but it doesn't feel
like that to me.
1743
01:29:53,823 --> 01:29:56,129
The research and writing
and blogging part
1744
01:29:56,173 --> 01:29:58,828
of this project has
just grown and grown,
1745
01:29:58,871 --> 01:30:03,572
and I have such a huge backlog
of posts left to write,
1746
01:30:03,615 --> 01:30:04,529
and I still have, I don't know,
1747
01:30:04,573 --> 01:30:06,488
maybe another 500 or 1,000 miles
1748
01:30:06,531 --> 01:30:09,273
till I'm actually done,
1749
01:30:09,316 --> 01:30:11,014
so all that combined
makes me feel
1750
01:30:11,057 --> 01:30:12,668
like I'm just somewhere
1751
01:30:12,711 --> 01:30:15,453
in the middle of
the project, really.
1752
01:30:15,497 --> 01:30:18,064
It doesn't feel like
I'm close to the end,
1753
01:30:18,108 --> 01:30:21,285
even though I've hit 8,000.
1754
01:30:21,328 --> 01:30:23,896
[water flowing]
1755
01:30:25,245 --> 01:30:29,075
[gentle instrumental music]
1756
01:31:04,981 --> 01:31:07,200
[singing]
1757
01:32:41,120 --> 01:32:44,689
[gentle instrumental music]
122937
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