The following is from my preservation journal at the Pan Am..(met life) 200
park ave

"" where far below lies the hustle and bustle of the city;
yet up here it is so quiet. There are actually falcons here that make their
eerie here; You can see them drifting lazily in the up-drafts from  the
nearby buildings.
They nest near the open I beam structure of the cooling towers.and  survive
on a diet of good old  New York squab which are too numerous on the roofs
below..

Hanging at sixty stories in the  mid town  canyons of Manhattan is like
climbing in Monument Valley or  El Capitan in California.. There are just the
sounds of your rock tools as you and your partner "climb wall.
Then as the 11 o'clock sun passes the stainless  steel eagles of Chrysler
Building you hear distinct Hal-lows (hello's ) resonating in the distance.
You search the roof tops below..nothing..
.then .more Ha-lows.only  more close by.
.then you peer..just off your right about 5 buildings  just adjacent you
...there are some figures waving..you adjust your focus and see  another
group of masons on the Hemsley building riding just about your level;
You wave  hammers and they respond in same... then suddenly just off shoulder
you are startled by yet another call of Hal-lows  and peering slightly
downward  there is another group of masons "riding rig" with raised hammers
on the Lincoln building.

Like climbers we share a small private world; the rhythm of hammer and
chisel on stone resonates our environment. We know each other by certain
signs,
and symbols;to outsiders we talk in tongues.....we share the dust and blood
in ancient craft.
Michael;
I return to New York in one week I hope my lap top will be running by then
( un edited excerpts from a restoration journal all rts MDD2001)

PS I hope my lap top will be restored next wek when I go back to NYC