NYC misconceptions

Last December, we went to see family and friends in the South. At one gathering, one of my nephews said something that irritated me. He was talking to my oldest brother and was recounting a trip his family made to The City when he was maybe 7. He said, "You know, typical New York attitude..."

I don't know that he's been back to NYC since then. If there's one thing I can attest to, there are few things in the Big Apple or among New Yorkers that are "typical."

Here's the beginning of a list of misconceptions about NYC and the reality...

Misconception: It's easy to get lost in New York.
Reality: If you're below 14th Street in Manhattan or almost anywhere in one of the Outer Boroughs, that's mostly true. Above 14th St in Mannyhatty, though, is mostly one big grid. Just look for the Empire State Building to get your bearings. Everyone else does.

Misconception: You'll get robbed in New York.
Reality: FBI stats show less crime, per capita, in NYC than in the town I left or the town where my sister lives now. Even with the tougher economic situation, NYC crime stats are down. Keep your wallet in your front pocket and be aware.

Misconception: New Yorkers are rude.
Reality: Some are, but most New Yorkers aren't rude. They're in a hurry. Do NOT stop in the middle of the sidewalk.

Misconception: If you stand near the edge of the subway platform, someone will push you onto the tracks. (My oldest brother's wife really believes this.)
Reality: Are you kidding me? That would delay the subway service. Everyone else would kill the person who pushed you onto the tracks.

Misconception: New Yorkers are in a hurry.
Reality: True, unless you're one of those fat arses who insist on walking in front of me at the subway station and take 15 minutes to climb or descend one flight of stairs and make me miss my train AAARRRRGGGGHH!, OR jibber jabber with two or three of your fat-arsed friends side by side on the sidewalk.

More to come...

fundies in NYC

There's one thing about living in New York, you really don't have to deal with too many fundamentalists - at least not compared to the number I used to deal with in the South.  Most of the ones I come across are either in subway stations or on the subway trains.  Some take it to a whole new level:  they ask for $$ or food, and then have the audacity to spew their words of intolerance.

The other chief "source" of fundamentalists here in NYC are Jehovah's Witnesses, of which there are plenty.  The headquarters of the JW organization, the Watchtower Society, is in Brooklyn.  If you go to South Street Seaport in lower Manhattan and look across the East River, it's easy to see.

My wife's family has several JW's.  They all boycotted our wedding because 1-I'm not a JW, 2-a United Methodist minister officiated.  Ironically, the minister was one of the pastors of the church my wife was attending at the time.  Part of JW hypocrisy is that they want you to attend their church, er, Kingdom Hall; but they are forbidden by the Watchtower Society from attending other church servcies.  I suppose that's why her family boycotted us.  They could have been disfellowshipped (a JW term synonymous to excommunicated) for coming to our wedding.

Anyway, JW's appear to be the majority of fundies in New York.  They stand in or near subway stations with smug expressions, holding up copies of "Watchtower" and "Awake!".  About a month ago, on a Saturday, I was schlepping some laundry down to one of the neighborhood laundromats.  Through the apartment building door, I could see them - six JW's dressed in their finest, satchels of literature ready to be distributed.  When I opened the door to go out, one of them grabbed the door - not to hold it open for me with my laundry - to come into the building.  "The hell with that!" I thought.

"Are you here to visit someone?" I asked.  "Oh, yes," was the reply.  "Okay, well you need to use the intercom to call that person and have him buzz you in," I said.  The woman thanked me and held onto the door.  "Close the door, please," I insisted.  Finally, she let it go and it closed with a heavy click.   One of her accomplices said, "I guess you should just start buzzing.  Someone will let you in."

I had laundry to do, so I toddled on, but I was struck by so many thoughts.  First, our building has a No Tresspassing / No Solicitation policy.  In the name of their religion, they were breaking the law.  But deeper than that, they were willing to use deception to spread their "holy" word.  How can deception ever by the foundation of truth?

Obviously, if you're reading this, you can tell I don't have much respect for fundies in general and JW's in particular.  They follow a belief system of fear and exclusion.  The Watchtower has changed its doctrines so many times, it's mind-boggling, yet JW's keep right on drinking it in.  For one thing, the organization is so tight.  Witnesses are discouraged from associating at all with non-Witnesses.  That in turn creates their social structure.  Witnesses often end up staying with it for fear of having no friends if they were to leave.  To further it, the Watchtower Society also forbids Witnesses from reading any religious material that didn't come from the WS, including its own translation of the Bible.  And Jehovah help the Witness who is caught reading anything written by a Witness who had the courage to leave the organization.  (BTW, the WS  refers to itself as "the organization."  It decries "churchy" terminology, as it teaches that churches are part of Satan the Devil's snares to keep people from the truth.  I may be creative, but I don't have the skills to make that up.)

There are some good books out there about the WS.  Diane Wilson wrote Awakening, Ray Franz wrote Crisis of Conscience.  Both of those are a bit heavy, especially the Franz text.  A lighter, yet still informative, read is Kyria Abraham's I'm Perfect, You're Doomed - Tales of a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing.  =)

Egad!

Not surprised, but still a bummer...

Word has come out that the California Supreme Court upheld the enforced discrimination of Proposition 8.  I'm not surprised, but it's still a bummer.  Here in NY, Gov. Paterson has introduced legislation to allow same sex marriage.  (NY recognized same sex marriage performed in other states, but it still doesn't grant couples the right to marry here.)  The State Assembly has passed it, but it's still being held up in the Senate.

One vocal opponent in NY Sen. Ruben Diaz.  Diaz is a bigot from The Bronx.  He has called on Latino clergy to unite in opposition.  I generally don't try to be so crass, but Diaz just needs to put a tailpipe into his mouth and breathe deeply.

No, I don't really feel that way, but this legislation - legislation of fairness, equality and what is RIGHT - is so long overdue.  A recent poll by the NY Daily News showed New Yorkers supporting same sex marriage by a 70-30 margin.  How refreshing to be in the majority on this.  How irritating that it still hasn't passed.

Memorial Day

Growing up in the South, I never knew that much about Memorial Day. School wasn't closed, and it really wasn't talked about that much. Once, I asked my mom about it, and she said, "Most folks think of Memorial Day as a Northern holiday."

It's moderated a bit down there, but I've had the chance to see more of differing perspectives about this holiday.

My dad served in the Marines for over two decades. He fought in Korea and VietNam. Most of that was before I was born, so I don't have much memory of being a Marine kid; although he did carry a lot of Leatherneck philosophy regarding discipline with him even after retiring!

Memorial Day, to me, is thinking about men and women who have made sacrifice, but especially about my dad. It bothers me some that my daughter will never know my dad. I often show her photos of him, but it's not the same.

My wife is working today, but I'm off and taking my daughter to a Memorial Day parade. I want her to know that sacrifice is important.

Peace to us all...

Great day for NY baseball

Saturday was a great day for NY baseball. In the first interleague games of the season, the Yankees hosted the Mets' chief rival, Philadelphia. The Mets finished up a road swing against the Yankees rivals, Boston. Both the Yankees and Mets went into the 9th inning trailing, and both teams came from behind to win.

All right, so I'm a transplant to NYC, so maybe my perspective is different. I've pulled for the Yankees for years. It is THE best franchise. Period. But I will pull for the Mets, and I was really disappointed when they choked the past two Septembers.

Still, a lot of Yankee fans hate the Mets almost as much as Boston. I don't think I've met a Met yet that can even say "Yankees" without turning purple.

I've asked NYC natives, and the answer is always the same, "You're either a Yankee fan or a Met fan. That's it." (I'll still pull for the Mets, until they play the Yankees.)

Let's go, Yankees! clap, clap, clap, clap, clap

Yankees Win! Thhhheeeeeeeeee Yankees Win!

Those of you who have listened to radio broadcasts of Yankee victories will recognize that.  More to be written later, but I had a good time at The Stadium last night.  Naturally, the final score of NY 11, Baltimore 4 didn't hurt matters!

Going to The Stadium

All right!  The Yankees have won seven straight with last night's win over Baltimore.  My wife was able to get some tickets for tonight's game through her employer.  I was at the second game at the new Stadium, which proved to be the first win there.  

Some complain about the new Stadium, and I wasn't really sure why they decided to build one.  But now that it's here, I love it.  The legroom is so much better than at the old Stadium, and the sight lines are fantastic.  The whole layout is a lot better.

"Let's go, Yankees! clap clap clap clap clap"

head cold...egad!

I'm back in the office today for the first time since last Wednesday.  I had been congested but attributed it to the unusual abundance of pollen in NYC this spring.  By Wednesday night, I was achy, and Thursday morning felt as though I'd been hit by a bus.

Still not 100%, but much better...

Follow up note:  Still on the mend, but at least it isn't swine (h1n1) flu.  An assistant principal in Queens has fallen victim to it, and more schools are being closed just about daily.  A little bit scary.

lodge night

Tonight, I'll make a visit to another NYC lodge.  Mariners Lodge #67 meets on the eighth floor of the Grand Lodge of NY.  That Grand Lodge is one of the most impressive Masonic structures I've ever seen - surpassed only by the George Washington National Masonic Memorial and the House of the Temple of the Scottish Rite, in Washington, DC.  GLoNY underwent a huge restoration beginning back in the 80's, and I'm grateful to the brothers whose dedication has offered such an architectural treasure to us.

Lodge is interesting.  I've noted a few differences between the lodges up here and those back in NC.  Public impression of Masonry is even more interesting.  The ludicrous rantings of some of the fundamentalists are downright laughable.  And, no disrespect, but the perceived self-importance of some of the brethren is equally funny.

The reception I received at Washington Lodge was fair.  The brethren at Shakespeare Lodge were warmer.  One of the fellas I met that night is a member of Mariners 67.  That's one of the cool things about lodge in The City:  there are soooooooooo many, compared to my choices before.  

"On the level"...

lunchtime wisdom

I have the good fortune of working across the street from Riverside Park.  I often have lunch there.  Today, after sending my niece and her husband a congratulatory card and gift - they just announced they're having a baby - I walked over to the park on 112th.  Where it runs into Riverside Drive is a little section with some stone benches and a statue of Samuel J. Tilden.  Tilden was a governor of NY and was the Democratic nominee for president in 1876.  I had planned to read after eating, but there were so many birds and squirrels out.  The birds chirped beautifully, and this one squirrel came very close.  They have really long nails.  I suppose I would have concluded that had I ever really thought about it, but there was something about seeing it up close.

I don't know much about Tilden.  I vaguely remember the name from some US History class, but I was struck by a quote of his that was engraved on the statue's base:  "I trust the people."  For all of the stereotyping about NYC, New Yorkers really aren't that rude.  Sure, you can run into a jerk, but I ran into plenty of those when I lived in the South.  New Yorkers are people in a hurry, but not rude.  One aspect of the stereotype, though, is also a sense of not being able to trust anyone.  True, I have developed a good (or bad) sense of tunnel vision since I moved here.  (If you don't, you could easily give away every dime you own.)  Still, I remain a trusting person.  Thanks, Samuel Tilden.  I trust the people, too.

Happy (belated) Birthday!

Yesterday was George Gershwin's birthday.  It's tough to think of someone - with the possible exception of Irving Berlin - who has had such a lasting impact on American music.  Thank you, George & Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Billie Holliday, and others who give me pause in the middle of busy times to just enjoy.

Here are the lyrics to one of my Gershwin faves.  John Pizzarelli has a nice, smooth rendition of this one.  If you get a chance to listen to it, do so.

But Not For Me

They're writing songs of love, but not for me.
A lucky star's above, but not for me.
With love to lead the way
I've found more clouds of grey
than any Russain play could guarantee.
I was a fool to fall and get that way;
Heigh-ho! Alas! And also, lack-a-day!
Although I can't dismiss the mem'ry of his kiss,
I guess he's not for me.

He's knocking on a door, but not for me.
He'll plan a two by four, but not for me.
I know that love's a game;
I'm puzzled, just the same,
was I the moth or flame?
I'm all at sea.

It all began so well, but what an end!
This is the time a feller needs a friend,
when ev'ry happy plot ends with the marriage knot,
and there's no knot for me.

quiet time

My wife has gone to see the latest Star Trek movie with her father, and I just put my daughter to bed.  The television is off, the dishes are washed, and I have a moment of quiet time.  It's nice.  

This has been a beautiful day in NYC.  Soon, summer's oppressive heat and humidity will be with us like the insistent housecat who must rub against your leg when you're wearing dark trousers.  I'm a fan of late fall, winter, and early spring.  Today has been good.