it's been two long years since the top of the world came crashing down

What is the city but the people?
~William Shakespeare

So I came back from a week long vacation that included stops in NH, CT, and NYC. Mind you, this was my first time ever visiting the Big Apple, and despite it being an abbreviated stay...I came to a few conclusions about NYC, metropolitan cities, and rural living.

I grew up mainly in rural to suburban towns...the former being where I spent most of my younger and subsequent formative years. Quiet country-side towns offering solace, a slower pace, and a sense of peaceful security. Roads so silent you could hear cars coming miles away before you ever saw them. Towns safe enough to forget about the badness out in the world. People know who you are even if they've never met you.

Suburbia is it's own bag of monkeys. Depending on how much the town has going for it, you may get through high school without the whole town knowing your business. They likely have other things to do than to talk about how you barfed during your SAT test. Suburbia can also be a very lonely place to grow up in. It's right in the middle of being just big enough but not too small where if you fall out of your group of friends, it's hard to find a new niche.

Ah, but the big city. It's the best of both. You can find a community of like-minded individuals or purposefully get lost in the sea of people. Atlanta fosters the southern hospitality, the diversity, and a plethora of dining and entertainment. You feel at home at your local grocery store, and love talking to the cashiers about whatever. The only common complaint about Atlanta is the public transit system being a big pile of crap.

New York. This one is tricky. It's a city made up of multiple burroughs, all unique in the community of people that inhabit each one. I learned a few things about how different this city is to my own...like how there are precious few grocery stores, and you live out of your local deli. You are better for befriending your deli guy. You take home what you can carry in two hands, since you don't have the benefit of pushing a cart out to your car to transport it home. You choose your residence based on how close it is to the subway, pub, and bagel shop. You also pay an arm and two legs for this convenience. As I said, I only spent about 24 hours here so what I'm about to say could be way off base...but this is what I gleaned from die-hard New Yorkers: often the things you hate about the city are the very things you love about it. I can get behind that. It's truly a grueling, unique, charming, filthy, beautiful, and personable city.

Now that I'm back in Atlanta...I can say a few more things:
1. I'm glad to be back, so I can continue walking at a much s l o w e r pace, and drive, and pay a pittance for food.
2. I missed Josh and the kitties while away, but it wasn't on my mind all day every day. I think it was good to go away...distance makes the heart grow fonder, eh?
3. I will go back to NYC and spend more time there. It meant a lot to see the things my brother loves about his new hometown, and meant even more to spend time with him and my cousin for an evening.

How do you see NYC?