New York, I Love You
I fell in love and his name is New York.
Recently my mom and I travelled to New York for a very special event she was apart of. It's top secret so I can't tell you just yet what it was about. This was my first time in the Big Apple. My mom went once in the 70s. By now, it's very different so it was like her first time as well. Prior to going, I had all these big ideas of the city was going to be like. You see it in movies, TV shows, and you up build this image up in your brain about what it's going to be like. I imagined cars honking, music playing, the smell of pizza on every corner, thousands of people walking around, smells like I have never smelled before, yellow taxes galore, and skyscrapers as far as the eye could see. All that was true. I witnessed it all, and then some. Expect for the pizza on every corner. I didn't see one pizza stand. That's all my mom kept talking about before the trip. "All I want is a slice of NY pizza". She didn't get any. I've never seen someone so disappointed. It was like a little girl on Christmas not getting that horse she asked Santa for.
I don't want to generalize an entire population of people, but New Yorkers definitely lived up to their reputation on this trip. If you were walking across the street, with the right away, cars were honking at you to get out the way. Or they right on your ass as you were trying to cross. There was only inches between you and the car.
The reputation of New Yorkers being rude people was something that definitely lived to. I can understand people getting annoyed with tourists taking pictures, always looking up, and not paying attention to where they're going (I was that tourist always taking pics and looking up). But to treat a disabled individual unkindly was very disheartening.
People bumped, shoved, huffed and puffed, and completely ignored the fact my mom is disabled and is using a walker. Cars would be right on her ass as she's trying to cross the road (even if we had the right away, they didn't care. Driving in New York is on a whole other level). Forget about trying to come out of a bathroom or an elevator. People would literally stand in front of the door and not move as she's trying to come out. I had ask every time "excuse me, can she come through please?" They would just stand there and stare. That's when I had to get loud and mama bear had to protect her young (yes I am a mama bear with her). They would just look at her as if she was beneath them. To them, she was in their way! I couldn't believe some peoples refusal to step to the side.
I can't say everyone who was rude to us was a New Yorker. Some of them could have been tourists. And not everyone we came in contact was a jerk. We met some very nice drivers, waiters, and business leaders who were fantastic!
With every hour I was there, I fell in love with city more and more. The food, the architecture, the nooks and crannies, and the liveliness of the city was very contagious. I caught the bug and I caught it bad. The dream I had in my head about the city became a beautiful reality. I could see myself living there. I dream of the day I can go back. New York, I can overlook your imperfections. No one is perfect. I'm definitely now perfect. It's those imperfections that make us perfect. There's certain places that you visit that touch your soul. You feel like you belong there. You feel like it's been apart of who you are in past lives. A place you call home. San Francisco has been that place for us. We never call if San Francisco, we always call it "home". New York has crept its way up that list of places that feel like home. Maybe New York can be that place to set my soul free and get lost in.
Number one thing on the to-do list when we go back: get that slice.
Recently my mom and I travelled to New York for a very special event she was apart of. It's top secret so I can't tell you just yet what it was about. This was my first time in the Big Apple. My mom went once in the 70s. By now, it's very different so it was like her first time as well. Prior to going, I had all these big ideas of the city was going to be like. You see it in movies, TV shows, and you up build this image up in your brain about what it's going to be like. I imagined cars honking, music playing, the smell of pizza on every corner, thousands of people walking around, smells like I have never smelled before, yellow taxes galore, and skyscrapers as far as the eye could see. All that was true. I witnessed it all, and then some. Expect for the pizza on every corner. I didn't see one pizza stand. That's all my mom kept talking about before the trip. "All I want is a slice of NY pizza". She didn't get any. I've never seen someone so disappointed. It was like a little girl on Christmas not getting that horse she asked Santa for.
I don't want to generalize an entire population of people, but New Yorkers definitely lived up to their reputation on this trip. If you were walking across the street, with the right away, cars were honking at you to get out the way. Or they right on your ass as you were trying to cross. There was only inches between you and the car.
The reputation of New Yorkers being rude people was something that definitely lived to. I can understand people getting annoyed with tourists taking pictures, always looking up, and not paying attention to where they're going (I was that tourist always taking pics and looking up). But to treat a disabled individual unkindly was very disheartening.
People bumped, shoved, huffed and puffed, and completely ignored the fact my mom is disabled and is using a walker. Cars would be right on her ass as she's trying to cross the road (even if we had the right away, they didn't care. Driving in New York is on a whole other level). Forget about trying to come out of a bathroom or an elevator. People would literally stand in front of the door and not move as she's trying to come out. I had ask every time "excuse me, can she come through please?" They would just stand there and stare. That's when I had to get loud and mama bear had to protect her young (yes I am a mama bear with her). They would just look at her as if she was beneath them. To them, she was in their way! I couldn't believe some peoples refusal to step to the side.
I can't say everyone who was rude to us was a New Yorker. Some of them could have been tourists. And not everyone we came in contact was a jerk. We met some very nice drivers, waiters, and business leaders who were fantastic!
With every hour I was there, I fell in love with city more and more. The food, the architecture, the nooks and crannies, and the liveliness of the city was very contagious. I caught the bug and I caught it bad. The dream I had in my head about the city became a beautiful reality. I could see myself living there. I dream of the day I can go back. New York, I can overlook your imperfections. No one is perfect. I'm definitely now perfect. It's those imperfections that make us perfect. There's certain places that you visit that touch your soul. You feel like you belong there. You feel like it's been apart of who you are in past lives. A place you call home. San Francisco has been that place for us. We never call if San Francisco, we always call it "home". New York has crept its way up that list of places that feel like home. Maybe New York can be that place to set my soul free and get lost in.
Number one thing on the to-do list when we go back: get that slice.
Comments
NYC holds a special place in my heart dispute not getting my slice 🍕🍕 I would love to explore more of you. Maybe my next journey I'll will be back in your city. If not thank you for showing us your love.