New York – Concrete jungle where dreams are made of…

I’m procrastinating. I don’t want to wrap gifts. I don’t want to do any online last minute shopping. I don’t want to redistribute gifts because I forgot a person I should have remembered to give a gift to and I need to rejigger stuff…
I don’t wanna do none of it..

And in the midst of it all – I’m sitting here – watching TV… (the greatest procrastinating enabler in the whole world) and a scene from New York’s Brooklyn Bridge passes by.

A little background on me. I grew up in New York. Brooklyn to be exact. It is a huge part of who I am. In fact, often, I lament the idea of my daughter growing up in suburbia, USA. There are a lot of pros living in suburbia USA, but – c’mon. New York – concrete jungle where dreams are made of! There’s nothing you can’t do!!And although I’ve acclimated to the life I have here in suburbia USA, I’m mindful of New York every time I see it on TV, or visit friends/family in New York, or walk the mean streets of New York.

I mean – I was in New York when 42nd street really was filled with sleeze… and not the adult Disney extravaganza that it is now. You could walk through the parks by Gracie Mansion, and it wasn’t gated off, and the Twin Towers stood tall above the underground plaza beneath with Banana Republic and the Mariott and the Duane Reade, amongst the HSBC ATMs by the escalators leading to the PATH. That was MY New York. Before Alphabet City was filled with yuppies, before they decided to start, and before they completed construction on the Manhattan Bridge. There was no W line, and trains were referred to their letter/number – not their color. The red line? What the frick is that?!?!

I spent the better half of 25 years in New York City-smelling the smells, learning the streets, falling in love. Besides my family, it is the longest relationship I’ve ever been in.

But – we separated about 10 years ago – and a lot changes in 10 years. Some things still stay the same. Thirty rock is the same, Central Park – for the most part – is the same. The Guggenheim, 34th Street – Herald Square, the Empire State Building, the Natural Museum of History, Pier 17, Chinatown, Little Italy, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridges (sans squatters settlement at the base in NYC), Chelsea Piers, 14th Street…. The same.

But other things- like Williamsburg in Brooklyn, Brooklyn Heights area, Flatbush, Main Street – those places have exploded. It’s crowded, it’s hustling, it’s bustling, it’s crazy…

Truth is, I’m not sure I would want to live in NYC right now. It’s not exactly the best place for a family who’s starting up with small kids. I mean, there’s the subway, autonomy for kids… As a kid – I loved it! But my children cannot be trusted. They cannot be trusted with autonomy. I gasp at the idea. But what a world it was when I was young. I started taking the train when I was young young. I had my fair share of men flashing me man giblets, and saw a whole bunch of inappropriate things on the train. But – wasn’t that par for the course? But – funny thing is – I don’t want my daughter going through that. I don’t want her first experience with man giblets to be on a subway from some skeezy homeless guy… I’m getting there.

I don’t think I’ll ever get over New York. Everyone has a place that is home to them. For me – it’s New York. I do get nostalgic when I see it on the tube. I get nostalgic when I visit friends/family. I get nostalgic when I hear songs. I miss the city.

New York. Concrete Jungle where dreams are made of. There’s nothing you can’t do.

That’s the place in my heart. New York City – is my heart….