Home again, home again, jiggty jog
I'm rocketing back up to Boston on the Acela Express. Man this was a fun trip to New York. I looked up friends I haven't spoken to in years...and it's just so great to remember why you were friends with someone in the first place. :)
I hurt my back a week or two ago so walking was a go-sit-go proposition but I still covered alot of territory. I ended up not doing as much touristy stuff this time, more exploring neighborhoods and finding interesting landmarks and buildings. It was more like getting the flavor of the city, seeing it as the sum rather than just the parts.
When I first got down there I briefly wondered what it would be like to live there. It's a stimulating place, making Boston seem downright sleepy by comparison. There's plays, musicals, every amusement imaginable, and the people...you can people watch just by walking down the street.
But after a day or two I noticed that baseline "rush" feeling you hear people talk about. Everyone needing to be somewhere quickly, never enjoying the ride. I don't know if I could live somewhere like that.
Also there's a certain dearth of manners. Whenever I was polite to someone there was a slight look of surprise in their face. Boston isn't exactly a chummy place, but there is a certain amount of "Brotherhood of Man" comradarie at work. I liked being a bubble of gentility while I was in Manhattan, but I don't think I could keep it up for very long.
Like the song goes "Live in New York, but leave before you become too hard."
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