- by Michael!
We’re almost done with this
season at Chautauqua – just a couple more weeks before we wrap things up. And
one of the questions I’ve heard most consistently from people here - and anywhere else I travel - is,
“Where do you live?”
When I tell them, “New York City,”
I typically have at least a fifty-fifty shot of hearing them reply with an
immediate and visceral “Oh, I hate New York City.”
Really? That’s the first
thing that comes into your head when you ask someone a personal question?
I’ve tried not to take it
personally. I know what they mean – some people just don’t like big cities, or
public transportation, or having more than one variety of Asian cuisine readily
available at all hours of the day. Manhattan is loud, and it is expensive, and
it is exhausting.
But guess what? I kinda like
it.
I like that I live in a city with
a multi-mile bike path that I can use on days when I want to torture myself for
eating street-meat the day before. And a city where I can,
coincidentally, eat street-meat on almost any street I encounter.
I like that I live in a city where
there is literally always something interesting happening, and
where – believe it or not – there is always something interesting and
free happening. It may be an hour away by subway, bus, and/or
rickshaw, but it’s still out there, and it’s worth it.
I like that I live in a city where
there’s a chance a couple on the subway will see the book I’m reading, strike
up a conversation about it, and give me their phone number when they leave
because, in their words, “I think you and your wife should be our friends!”
And more importantly, I chose
it.
If it’s not for you, cool.
Frankly, it’s not for me forever – I want a yard, and a grill, and so on, before
too much longer. You can even say “Oh, I couldn’t live there,” because that’s a
fairly objective statement with which I can identify.
But “I hate New York City”?
Seriously, how is that OK?
How on Earth is that not rude? If I told you I hated where you live, or
where you were born, wouldn’t you be at least a little bit defensive about it?
Maybe a touch insulted? God knows, telling people I’m from Alabama has made me
used to a fair amount of geographical judgment, and frankly it’s just as bad
when it’s the home I’ve chosen.
I know New Yorkers
can be obnoxious about it – as though living there is an accomplishment of
which you should be envious. (Most Texans are the same way, but more so – by at
least a factor of three.) And if I ever become such an obnoxious New Yorker,
feel free to chop me down to size with some well-placed poop-on-the-subway
comments. But until then, I’d like everybody to assume that yes, I do happen to
like the place where I live, and no, I would rather not be told how hateful you
find it.
Feel free, however, to mock
the Yankees as much as you want. I’ll probably join in.