It’s funny the things that stick in your mind about a place, and the ways those memories are triggered. Taking the shuttle from JFK into Manhattan, I looked out through the window at the rain-slicked streets and reflected lights and was transported back to a similar shuttle van ride I took before I’d graduated from high school. It was startling how vividly I recalled the moment—I was on my way to the airport that time, and was trying to figure out how to ask a guy to a school dance when I returned home.
That kickstarted a series of disjointed memories of New York trips. There was the Internet World conference in December of ‘93, where I first saw a professionally-made graphical web page (it was the O’Reilly Global Network Navigator, or GNN), and had the immediate sensation that I was looking at the future of information. There was the first trip I took to NYC after living in Tuscaloosa for a while—it felt so good to be in a real city that time, to see the energy and buildings and lights. There was the trip with Gerald to see Little Feat play two shows at the BB King blues club.
I really do love New York. I love the greengrocers on the corner, with their brightly-colored produce contrasting with the gray buildings. I love the proliferation of international restaurants, the halal hotdog vendors, smorgasbord of personal styles, the lights and the noise. I wouldn’t want to live here…I like having a house, a yard, green space nearby. But I don’t want to give up my visits, either, because they always end up making me feel just a little more alive.
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