New York

>While I fully respect your comments about the aged Who and the difficult
>city, I feel most compelled to defend New York.  I've lived in NYC for five
>years.  I'm in my mid-twenties.  New York is dirty, angry, lovely,
>passionate, fearful, funny, heartbreaking and absurd--24 hours a-day, seven
>or eight days each week.  More than anything, it's profoundly human, whether
>one wants it or not.  As a writer, I can't imagine living anywhere else.  The
>place energizes me, like Dickens's London and Dostoevski's Petersburg.  More
>importantly, it demands the *individual's* energy at a time in history when
>passivity and compliance threaten from every screen, speaker and billboard.
>(By the way, I'm riffing a bit on E.B. White's essay, "Here is New York," a
>perfect explanation of the city's contradictions.)
>I like Chicago, too.  And San Fransisco is gorgeous and romantic.  And New
>Orleans is sexy and slippery.  But, against the odds, I fucking love New
>York.
>(And I'm grateful that Mr. Townshend picks up his guitar for a gig here quite
>regularly.)
>--R.

        I'll defend it too, since I've lived in NYC all of my life.  I read
another essay by E.B. White (I think) about crossing over a bridge from
Brooklyn or Queens into Manhattan, seeing the skyline, and feeling a sense
of awe.  New York is my home, and when I leave it for a while and return, I
feel much passion in my heart when I get a first glimpse of the skyline.
There's not another sight that is more beautiful to me.  There is nothing
more profound than seeing all of those thousands of points of light,
windows of the monumental skyscrapers, and realizing how alive everything
is.  I've been to many other cities in the US, and I like some of them,
especially New Orleans, but nothing comes close to NYC for me.

ms wrote:

>Deep down I feel the excitment everyone has about the shows, but not to the
>point of traveling 500 miles to NYC. The masses, the fighting with crowds all
>over town, can't get a cab to save your life, dealing with unhappy and
>unpleasent people etc.,etc.

        There are some spots where you must "fight with the crowds," but
not "all over town."  Getting cabs is an easy task.  Sometimes you have to
be aggressive, but usually cabbies fight each other to pick you up.  Many
times it seems there are more cabs than ordinary cars.
        Commonly people describe NYers as "unhappy and unpleasant"
unfairly.  Yes, if you are walking through Times Square during rush hour,
no one is going to stop and chat with you.  Manhattan is busy, and everyone
either has somewhere to go, or is pretending they have somewhere to go.
The reason why tourists come away with this notion that NYer aren't
friendly is because they base their opinions on the people who fly by them
on the streets of Manhattan.  Over 8 million people live in NYC.  Only one
million live in Manhattan.  If you walk down a quieter street in The Bronx,
Brooklyn, Queens, or SI, you may not have the same opinion about NYers.

        The most relevant thing I have to say, as far as this list is
concerned, is directed to those who are planning to come to NYC for the
first time for the Quad shows, or to others who may benefit from this
advice:  when you walk through the streets of Manhattan, carry yourself as
if you know where you are going, even though you may be lost.  Be aware of
your surroundings, look straight ahead, and walk fairly quickly.  The
Madison Square Garden vicinity is a prime spot for crime, since it is above
Penn Station, and tourists are commonly found there.  Criminals prey on
tourists who look like tourists.  I don't mean to scare anybody, but if
anyone can benefit from this advice, no matter how paranoid in nature, it
would be worth it.  I care about my fellow Who fans!
                                                                        Stacey.