Just after 7 a.m., about seven hours after the New York state legislature made marriage equality reality and Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law, we were in Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village having breakfast in Christopher Park and looking across to the Stonewall Inn, where the gay rights movement began almost exactly 42 years ago, when we were 18 years old.
All the TV stations seemed to carry the coverage of the celebrations last night at the Stonewall, and the WCBS/2 and WNBC/Newscenter 4 vans were still outside the bar this morning.
We got our iced tea and oatmeal at the nearby Starbucks and got to the little triangular Christopher Park -- which opened way back in 1837 -- just as workers were opening the gates.
Sitting by the famous statues of the two same-sex couples, if we squinted and made things a little blurry, we could now imagine them as married couples -- or not.
Back in that summer of 1969, we hung out in the Village, though mostly in Washington Square Park (even then couldn't take a decent photo)
and we really couldn't have imagined this day. After three gloomy rainy days, the sun was out in Greenwich Village this morning.
We're grateful to Governor Cuomo, New York's state legislators, and all the groups and individuals who made this happen.
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