Yesterday was so beautiful that I took Goblin for a long saunter around the park. We circled the Great Lawn and hiked past Belvedere Castle, through the Ramble, and around the lake until we at last arrived at Strawberry Fields. Although I had passed it a number of times, I had never entered Strawberry Fields until that very moment. Goblin and I admired the sculpted lawns and sat to rest by the Imagine mosaic.

One of the fascinating things about Central Park is that each zone is so distinct. The playing fields of the Great Lawn cater to the jocks, the Ramble features solitary men who follow other solitary men with their eyes (or disappear with them into the foliage), the lake attracts lovers of all sorts, and Strawberry Fields lures musicians, tourists, and residual hippies. At Imagine, Goblin and I enjoyed the live Beatles music and watched the Japanese tourists kneel on the mosaic to have their photos taken.

After a little while, we walked home via the Bridle Path.

It was a day of transcendent moments. Not only did I get to commune with the spirit of John Lennon, but on the way to Strawberry Fields, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the most awesome vista ever: a combination of lake, trees, and cityscape so inspiring, I could have encountered it only in one place before . . . the closing credits of “The Jeffersons” where, over the humming gospel singer, Isabel Sanford intones, “’The Jeffersons’ was recorded in front of a studio audience.” And you know, if it were a serious, “very special” episode, there would just be silence, as if Isabel Sanford just wanted to give us a moment to let it all sink in.

That’s what it felt like yesterday.

It all sank in.