Nothing brings you back to reality... or a certain distorted reality..like being in your hometown. and if your home town is the exact opposite of where you live now and the frequency with which you return to it has gotten further and farther between, the separation becomes cavernous. I always say "ah, I see now why gay marriage will never be legal nationwide" or "I get now why Bush won the election" because Ohio is not NYC. And it is so.. not close. And I mean this in a very non-condescending way (at least all parts minus the anti gay anti let's not think like heathens stuff). It's slower here and that's why I like to visit. People are open and welcoming. Granted, some have only 3 teeth and one happens to have something living in it, but they're open. Granted, the phyics teacher had sex with the student and got arrested and now they're living together and they bought a yorkie isn't that cute, but they're welcoming. The dish ran away with the spoon, didn't he??
I feel like a rock star when I'm here. Really. I just returned from a family event and the questions abuot the city were flying. I had to control my reactions. I couldn't laugh at questions because they were honest, and I can't make someone feel like an idiot just because they're not exposed to the world outside-- I would like to see some of these people getting a little more educated though.
"Is it safe on the bus? People don't bother you?" - I get this all the time. I LOVE THE BUS. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. But everytime I say it, people look at me like every day there is a bomb on the bus and you have to keep it above 60mph.
"So, West Village.. is there more crime there? Are there a lot of vagrants? New York is a little more high money, right, so there are probably less poor people." Quite the opposite actually. And who says vagrants anymore?! I always laugh with the boy about how the street people in the West Village are MARKEDLY different than the upper east side. Like the guy who was darting in and out of traffice 3 nights ago, yelling at a police van to stop following him. He may have been wearing UGGs.
"you walk home from work!?!!? Is that safe?? Isn't it dark?!!" Oh sigh. Dark? Yeah, the sky is dark because the sun went down... but the people and the lights are always on, full blast.
"If I'm going to visit NYC, I want to stay in Manhattan, right??" At the risk of sounding like a Manhattanite... is there any other place? Manhattan IS the city. No no, here's a better idea, stay in the Bronx. Just take the 6 to the 149th street stop, walk around and look clueless, you'll find a place to stay.
"So, how much are houses in NYC" -- that's when I get up and get a drink. Houses? come on.
It's all so foreign in Ohio. I have a love hate relationship with it. I have a conflict constantly with this place. And my family. And... just Ohio. I'm dying to get back home, where I may or may not write about a recent event stemming from my old roommate - who values money over friendship any day.
The conflict there is whether or not it's better for my deeply hurt feelings to just let it go.
I hope everyone had an amazing Christmas - I know I did - and there's more of it when I get home.
Man, I miss the boy. I need some down home country bonin' when I get back.
