I thought a lot about what to write about in this new post, and I considered going through all the plays that I have seen and giving quick responses to all of them, but I don't think I could do any of them justice anyway and, besides, most of them are closed by now so what's the point? Instead, I'm simply going to celebrate that it is indeed finally summer in New York City. And I have time and energy to write a blog. And it's beautiful.
I never thought that I'd think New York was beautiful. I mean, sure, it's cool. And there are awesome buildings and stuff, but it's dirty and, let's just admit it now: it smells terrible. But there's something almost mystical about a city that has been dark and freezing suddenly becoming bright. The buildings and the sidewalks somehow seem less hard, like maybe they are taking deep breathes. I think the people might actually be nicer in the summer. Well, maybe not. I'm probably just projecting. I'm certainly nicer.
And I'm not just talking about the places in the city that we know are beautiful: central park, the highline, those places where nature has been stuffed in among the concrete and garbage bags, in an effort to preserve our sanity. I'm talking about when you come out from the subway at Brooklyn Bridge and you see the flowing, watery edges of the Beekman Tower touching the sky and you think "Huh, who came up with that?" Everywhere I look, it's something I've never seen before. Everywhere I look its creativity and innovation and... awesome.
Okay, pulling myself back down to Earth. Why do I feel the need to write this? Well, recently, due to a cancelled flight, I was forced to take the eight-hour train to Buffalo from NYC. And, as is often the case when random people are stuck together, I had dinner with two really interesting people and one really annoying person. This man insisted on blabbing on about how much he hates NYC. So many people! So much greed! It's so dirty! And, most importantly: it's ugly! Now, this is not the first person that I've heard express this opinion, or the similar opinion that "New York is a nice place to visit, but God I'd NEVER live there," but he was the first one to really irritate me. And I think I've figured out the reason.
Flowers, trees, rivers, and all that are great, but they don't think. They don't have imaginations. People do. People may curse at you when you walk too slow and their cars may send fumes up into the atmosphere, but people create art, and theater, and business. I love living around all these people. People are the most beautiful part of summer in the city. And, while I may hate them when they are slammed up against me in the subway, I'm so grateful to be a part of this place that is constantly generating new ideas and new stories for the world.
Do I miss the roses growing in my Mom's huge backyard in Cincinnati? Sure I do. But I just saw Monet's Waterlilies at the Museum of Modern Art, so I'll live.
Beekman Tower
