My first thought when I got into the city was that it was going to swallow me completely, and that any illusions that I might have had about being able to keep being myself in a city like New York were just that, illusions. This city can consume little personalities and spit out something different, like one of those coin pressing machines that spit out flattened pennies with city-scape designs. But as I walked, and walked, and walked, I eventually found my city legs and stopped freaking out. I will admit, it was a little embarrassing because I believed, being from LA, that I would be able to handle myself. But the truth is that I have more of a suburban soul than an urban one. New York was a trip.
The bus dropped me off in the middle of Manhattan and so I ended up walking all the way across the Brooklyn bridge to my hostel in Brooklyn. It was a long freaking walk. I walked through a Black neighborhood hosting block parties, to a Hasidic neighborhood composed of Jews with large cylinder shaped fur hats, to a Puerto Rican neighborhood playing reggaeton. The real Brookyln experience. I had walked through much of the lower half of Manhattan, including Wall Street and Ground Zero. They had just opened up the 9-11 museum but it was too crowed to go into. The two waterfalls they built around the site were impressive, but not so solemn as the flood of tourists was never-ending. The night before I got some drinks and a Panini at a local bar in Brooklyn. While I was eating my Panini I saw a cockroach crawl out from under the bar. I wrote it up as a New York thing and kept eating. Seeing as I still had a bit of time, and being a bit buzzed, I went to the local store and bought a pack of Reds (dammit). I can't even rationalize smoking at this point, its as spontaneous as an erection in a middle school classroom. I spent the rest of the evening smoking and walking up and down the neighborhoods. I met some guy from Bangladesh that definitely wanted something from me but didn't have the English language skills to ask for it. He awkwardly hung around me for a while. I got a bit annoyed, forced him to take a cigarette, and walked away. A lady asked me in Spanish where the local church was and if mass was in session. I got back to the hostel and didn't feel tired so I started to reread Heart of Darkness. No relation to my New York trip, it is just what was on my Kindle at the time.
The next day I basically walked back up Manhattan and saw Chinatown, Little Italy, NYU, MOMA, Central Park, and all around that middle area. It was pretty tight. The modern art museum was a little much. There was a cool display about future cities, the famous Warhol Monroes were a hit, but then the museum had to go and ruin that positive impression with a Yoko Ono exhibit. I would give it a 2/10. I had to leave within the hour or I was going to vomit my stomach out at the pretentiousness of the exhibit. When I got back on the subway I found to my chagrin that my track to Brooklyn was closed. So I walked the Williamsburg bridge back to Brooklyn. Along the way I encountered some real-life Jersey shore girls. It was a head scratcher as I wasn't sure that they were real human beings. And so on and so forth. I am tired so I don't feel like going too much more into what I did, but basically more walking, drinking, smoking, and people watching. New York is definitely an unlimited source of interest with some real cool people.
"Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offense and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes. Love has no end."
Remember to delight in the truth, but keep your teeth sharp enough to survive.
Ground Zero
Brooklyn Bridge
My Neighborhood in Brooklyn
Pretty Sweet
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