The Story
For thirteen years, New York City was home.
I lived just across the Hudson River in West New York, New Jersey, and every day I had a front-row seat to one of the most recognizable skylines in the world.
My apartment had nearly thirty feet of floor-to-ceiling windows facing Manhattan.
It was a view that never got old.
Every morning, every evening, every change in the weather transformed the city into something different.
One evening, just before sunset, something extraordinary happened.
The sun dropped to exactly the right angle, and for just a few minutes the entire skyline turned to gold.
It looked as if someone had flipped a switch.
I grabbed my camera and captured the moment before it disappeared.
That photograph became the foundation for this exhibit.
When I sent it to Anabela, I gave her a challenge.
I told her I wanted to become part of the New York skyline, but I didn't want her to simply place a photograph of me into the picture.
Instead, she created the Benny Doro crest you see rising from the buildings.
It wasn't meant to be me standing in New York.
It was meant to represent that New York had become part of who I was.
When I look at this piece today, it reminds me of those years, the businesses, the music, the friendships, and the opportunities that only New York seemed capable of creating.
Like many of the exhibits from this period, we also included one of the recipes from my website.
This time it was my Apple and Parma Ham Salad.
It's a simple salad, but one that always seemed especially popular in the fall. Maybe it was the fresh apples. Whatever the reason, people kept making it, and that made it a perfect addition to this piece.
I always enjoyed blending different parts of my life together.
Music.
Photography.
Food.
Business.
Travel.
None of them ever existed on their own.
They all became part of the same story.
And this piece captures one of my favorite moments from my years in New York, when, for just a few minutes, the greatest skyline in the world turned completely gold.