Ot: Nyc '77 - Page 4

fuzzalow · #46 03-15-2017, 04:18 PM

Oh yeah, what was the point of this thread anyways? Whatever it was, I missed it.

OtayBW · #47 03-15-2017, 04:26 PM

I grew up in the suburbs of NYC in the 60s-70s and moved to rural Tennessee for 10 yrs followed by 12 more years in the SW Virginia Highlands....and then I moved away to the boonies! The city definately has a ton going for it and is interesting for me for short visits, but I just do not get the concept of living there, and even less the notion of actually riding there. Riding in the city is completely counter to most all of the reasons that I ride: fresh air, peace and beauty of nature, solitude, fast/windy roads, hills, seeing new places. Riding in the city? I just don't 'get it', but I don't have to.

Tony T · #48 03-15-2017, 04:43 PM

Riding in NYC is just for commuting.

choke · #49 03-15-2017, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OtayBW

I grew up in the suburbs of NYC in the 60s-70s and moved to rural Tennessee for 10 yrs followed by 12 more years in the SW Virginia Highlands....and then I moved away to the boonies! The city definately has a ton going for it and is interesting for me for short visits, but I just do not get the concept of living there, and even less the notion of actually riding there. Riding in the city is completely counter to most all of the reasons that I ride: fresh air, peace and beauty of nature, solitude, fast/windy roads, hills, seeing new places. Riding in the city? I just don't 'get it', but I don't have to.

I could never live in a city, but I've always said that I think it's wonderful that so many people do desire to live there....it keeps them from moving to where I am.

beeatnik · #50 03-15-2017, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzalow

Oh yeah, what was the point of this thread anyways? Whatever it was, I missed it.

That the East Coast is so weird!

Tony T · #51 03-15-2017, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzalow

Oh yeah, what was the point of this thread anyways? Whatever it was, I missed it.

NYC 1977

bironi · #52 03-15-2017, 05:59 PM

Seems like most that have spent much time in the city are pretty passionate about it in their own ways. Thanks, a good winter read.

johnmdesigner · #53 03-15-2017, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzalow

Oh yeah, what was the point of this thread anyways? Whatever it was, I missed it.

Exactly. You did miss it.

fuzzalow · #54 03-15-2017, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnmdesigner

Exactly. You did miss it.

OK. As a matter of courtesy for my inadequacy on the uptake, would you mind tellin' me what was your point? 'Cos if there was something other than a hatchet job about a NYC that doesn't exist anymore, I dunno what's goin' on here. Thanks.

beeatnik · #55 03-15-2017, 07:11 PM

On a related note (and by no means an attempt to derail the thread), a few months back I almost lost a friend because I, inelegantly, expressed nostalgia for an LA which no longer exists. I said, "I remember when you could walk 15 miles and you wouldn't see a white face."

The central City of Los Angeles was mostly abandoned by "whites" for a generation after the Watts Riots.

http://la.curbed.com/2016/4/19/11460...opulation-boom

LA is so weird.

johnmdesigner · #56 03-15-2017, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzalow

OK. As a matter of courtesy for my inadequacy on the uptake, would you mind tellin' me what was your point? 'Cos if there was something other than a hatchet job about a NYC that doesn't exist anymore, I dunno what's goin' on here. Thanks.

I have had a NY experience. So have you. They are quite different.
I hold no grudge against NY. For me to say so would be to admit to throwing away my entire life.
I talk about my experiences here with a decent amount of humor. Yes, I suffered but I have no one else to blame except myself. Perhaps you suffered here too.
The city has a dark side and it is that side that makes it interesting. It makes it unique. Not really American and not really like anywhere else.
I just can’t clinically analyze it in the manner that you do. It just sounds like a NYT article about France where some reporter tries to explain why the French behave the way they do. And they can’t.

johnmdesigner · #57 03-15-2017, 07:26 PM

Sometimes when the weather is nice I'll hop the train and go out to Jackson Heights. A place where perhaps 30 different nationalities exist in a rather limited area. Where you can have 30 different kinds of food. Where people from all over the world have (by necessity) learned to get along (more or less).
Walk into a Yemeni restaurant and sit down. There's no judgement. The're happy to serve you a meal. Invite them to sit down and join you and they'll tell you something you didn't know about their country. How they came to be here. How it was for them. They ask you about your life. What it's like to grow up here.
That is what is so special about living here. And why it's so important for it not to be replaced by a Starbucks.

fuzzalow · #58 03-15-2017, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnmdesigner

I have had a NY experience. So have you. They are quite different.
I hold no grudge against NY. For me to say so would be to admit to throwing away my entire life.
I talk about my experiences here with a decent amount of humor. Yes, I suffered but I have no one else to blame except myself. Perhaps you suffered here too.
The city has a dark side and it is that side that makes it interesting. It makes it unique. Not really American and not really like anywhere else.
I just can’t clinically analyze it in the manner that you do. It just sounds like a NYT article about France where some reporter tries to explain why the French behave the way they do. And they can’t.

No one, least of all me, would dispute the NYC can be a tough town. I hope for the best in whatever you are going through and that you persevere and get to a state you want or can work with. And the sun will rise tomorrow.

The 7 train is the miracle conveyor of the New York City melting pot that brings much of the world for the price of a token, which is what old NYers like me still call a subway fare slide on a MetroCard.

Be well.

velofinds · #59 03-15-2017, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beeatnik

On a related note (and by no means an attempt to derail the thread), a few months back I almost lost a friend because I, inelegantly, expressed nostalgia for an LA which no longer exist. I said, "I remember when you could walk 15 miles and you wouldn't see a white face."

The central City of Los Angeles was mostly abandoned by "whites" for a generation after the Watts Riots.

http://la.curbed.com/2016/4/19/11460...opulation-boom

LA is so weird.

This Doors video always had nice B-roll of El Ley I thought.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDlx-ZUj9qs

Edit: this one by RHCP also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwlogyj7nFE

johnmdesigner · #60 03-15-2017, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuzzalow

No one, least of all me, would dispute the NYC can be a tough town. I hope for the best in whatever you are going through and that you persevere and get to a state you want or can work with. And the sun will rise tomorrow.

The 7 train is the miracle conveyor of the New York City melting pot that brings much of the world for the price of a token, which is what old NYers like me still call a subway fare slide on a MetroCard.

Be well.

It's not really necessary to treat me like a potential suicide victim. I can assure you I am quite happy with my life.

Just to drift off topic for a moment;
During the first Gulf War, I was a businessman in Paris working for an American company. It was difficult being introduced in that manner because the French people I encountered had a rather low opinion of Americans. Even though we all came from NYC my bosses treated the French in like manner, blowing them off as insignificant. They ended up being hated for the stereotype the French had created for them.
I tried a different approach. I mentioned the fine meal I had had the night before. The magnificent buildings I had walked passed on the way to the meeting. My hopes to see more. They warmed to me because I wasn’t what they had expected.
What is my point? Well, if I hadn’t lived in NYC among peoples from all nations I probably wouldn’t have been able to see the good in everyone and be able to express it. I didn’t have to speak their language - they just made me feel welcome. That’s what living here has given me. It’s a shame that not everyone in America is able to experience that. And the fact that that aspect of NYC is slowly being swept away is distressing to me.