After 35 years of staying entirely in the Western United States I can say that the East is pretty strange. I’m from L.A. so of course the first thing I notice in New York city is how NOT laid back everyone is. Everyone is in such a hurry. Walking around the city left me with a constant and subtle sense of total narcissism. Everyone is so involved with thier own little sphere of existence that nobody reaches out to anyone beyond themselves. There is much diversity in the city, but it’s a forced diversity. Everyone is trying so hard to be unique that they wear their differences like big heavy chips on their shoulders. They look sharp…the bankers..and the models..they look different the Rastas and the over the top queens…they look the same, the workers on the trains riding in to service the swollen collective ego of a city too busy to breathe. As a first time visitor, it was made clear to me that each persons life in the city was more important than mine. Everyone had better things to be doing…than whatever they were doing…and no matter what they were doing…it was more important than anything related to me.

Visit NY is short bursts. Don’t stay long enough to become jaded. And don’t stay short enough to miss the cool sights. I love the history in New York. I love the buildings. I love the food. But it’s the New Yorkers…them I’m not so sure about. Hate may be a pretty strong word…but a couple weeks in NY has not left me with much good to say about all of my interactions with New Yorkers. A few people who have lived there told me I would get used to it. I told each one of them that I wouldn’t want to.