[Ebbc-Talk] ‘Ode to Bike Sharing’ - NYTimes .com

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/opinion/ode-to-bike-sharing.html?hp

‘Ode to Bike Sharing’ - NYTimes.com

I created this short film from a message left on my home answering machine. It’s part of a project I call Animation Hotline: People are invited to call (212) 683-2490 and leave a short story, poem, secret, passion, life lesson, experience, experiment, list, rant, opinion, news item or basically anything — as long as it is a minute or less.  I then choose messages to turn into short animations, which I post regularly online.

This particular message is from my friend Thatcher Keats. He calls quite often and has left maybe 100 messages about nearly everything. In this particular message, he looks forward to New York City’s new bike-share program, which will begin on Monday, and he reminisces about the city of his youth.

I feel as if New York is such an insane city and at the same time so magical and so difficult. Of course, it’s hard to get around the city. It’s challenging for everyone — but especially so for me, because I’ve been using a manual wheelchair for the past 18 years. It would be nice if city officials gave more thought to the disabled when they made decisions about transportation.

But even though I won’t be able to use the new bike-share program, I’m impressed with New York City’s ability to transform itself into a more bike-friendly environment.

Dustin Grella is an animator and documentary filmmaker whose work has been shown at the Cannes Film Festival and the Margaret Mead Film Festival. He has written and mailed himself a letter every day for the past 11 years and has all 4,015 sealed letters neatly filed and categorized.


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