New York, part II

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Near Times Square.
In this past week, I've spent more time in the Big Apple than I have in the last five years. First, I met Susan, her sister and brother-in-law (almost, if domestic partners count as in-laws) near Penn Station after a train ride from Saratoga. We spent the weekend riding bikes through lower Manhattan, on the East River Ferry, and bar hopping at night. I heard a blues band playing a warehouse show. I was surrounded by hipsters, bikers and erotic dancers, and when they started playing an electric "Cross Roads" I couldn't help but tap out that off-beat.

Then, today and yesterday, I made a stop to support a couple of hotels that were just brought online this past week. I worked like a fury, buzzed like a beehive, and still found time to hit Times Square at night, snap some pics, and get service by one of the best bartenders I've ever met. A burly man, from Ireland, who insisted on giving me a complimentary "splash of beer" to wash down the late night diner I'd eaten.

It's amazing, the big city: New York! It's the epitome of selfish, grotesquely human, and beautiful. Millions of people piled on top each other, separated by concrete, steel, and cold stares. It's an entire organism in itself: a flesh of flesh, a human moss, creeping over the swamps and bedrock, consuming, regurgitating, filtering and consuming again.


As I rode the subway, I thought about how like the Internet it is. New York couldn't function without the underground transit line. Imagine all of those people on the subway suddenly on the streets and trying to jam into buses! The traffic is enough of a mess already. Now, we compare that to our society: a growing mass of information. Without the hidden lines of the Internet, we couldn't keep it all straight.

Ah, I feel like I can hardly keep myself straight after three weeks away from home. I'm headed back to South right now, in fact, finishing up this blog as the flight crew closes the cabin door. Thanks for reading!

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