TigerClaw
Photorific
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2000
- Posts
- 3,259
Today is February 6th, almost 5 Months since the attack on America. It is still weird to view the NYC skyline from West Orange, NJ. I am so used to seeing the twin towers standing in the middle of that great big city. When we moved from LI to NJ it was reassuring to look out over NJ to NYC.
We moved from a town on the south shore of LI. At the time Jones beach was a very big part of my life. I met many people their from all over NY. Many from Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island. It was interesting meeting people from all over the state and especially the bad city people. After all my view of NYC was the bowery boys movies and all the gangster movies back then. Edgar G ?? Robinson ??, Humphrey Bogart, etc. As I got older I realized NYC was not so bad. Yes, you had to have your wits about you. You just could not stroll down the street as if you were in a small country town. But it was not the big bad city.
LI at the time had many different activities. The Rte 110 Drive Inn, (Remember that one!) Walt Whitman Mall with the plants and wildlife all about inside, Creations comics store before they became the nasty outfit they are now, Burger n shake, small stores that you could find almost anything you ever dreamed of wanting, special clubs and events held by most every school, church and library.
We moved to NJ. The country. Where the sidewalks were rolled up at 5 PM and you never saw a sole except at the mall. Oh, so you are from Loooong IIIIIsliiiiiiiind. Were the insults you would get when you were friendly to people. Yes, and you are born and raised in New JeRRRRRRseeeee, I finally began replying. Funny how once you gave it back they were friendly. But that is anywhere you go I have learned. Now when I go out of state I get your are from New Jerrrrrsey, from the North. No, I am from New Youk, I say now. NJ was not as friendly as NY. In NY you could start talking to people in the street.
Funny how we are all American and we insult each other’s states. Yes, not all states are created equal. We are all different.
NJ was so boring back then. I would look out to NYC to make sure everything was ok. Seeing the striped lighting from the different floors being lit up was reassuring that all was well. I would imagine the hustle and bustle that was going on in NYC, wondered why it held the allure for runaways and imagined people’s lives. You looked out over NJ to NYC and you saw life just from the city being lit up. Meanwhile no one was around after 5 PM in NJ.
Over the years I had reason to travel into Manhattan several times. The big bad city had some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet. The only people I have ever met that are nicer are country folk in Texas half way between Houston and San Antonio, Upstate NY by Middletown, NY, and now SC. I have traveled on roads in NJ over looking the city. I have learned of the shared history of the 2 states regarding George Washington, Ft Lee and Ft Washington. You take for granted what you see every day.
Now NJ is not the same country state it was. People are friendlier. Jersey is getting built up. I have not had the need to go and look over to NYC in the last couple of years.
One day at work everything became salient. Then moans and Oh My God a plane hit the building could be heard, and then everything went silent again. Low whispers became quiet talking. My boss came over and said One of the Twin Towers was hit by a plane. All work stopped and people clustered around cubes of the people who had radios. The internet and cell phones that everyone now raves about as staying open were dead. No, cell phone made it out. No one could get a page to come up on the internet. The land phones could make it out if your party was not on the phone themselves.
No one suspected the towers would come down. After all this had happened to the empire state building earlier in the century. But the Empire State building is made of heavy stone and did not have jetA as the fuel source on the plane. Later we all learned of the consequences of the different building structures.
Now, when I look over NYC I don’t see NYC. I don’t see home. I see a changed America. I see an America with its hands tied. We cannot travel with out seeming like we live in WWII Gastopo ?? Germany. I fly only when needed. We changed the country that harbored the attackers but many of them got away. Surrounding countries are harboring them and others that would do us harm. Had we done something in the late 60's and 70's when this was a big problem for the European countries we would not have this problem today. People were picnicing in Liberty State Park and celebrating in nearby towns here in the USA. Never did hear if they were deported for it.
What do we do now? Traveling is a nightmare. I had the most common items pulled from my carry on luggage as weapons. I don’t care about myself but I don’t want my woman to be man handled at the x-ray as people have reported in the newspapers. I passed the initial x-ray just to be pulled to the side. I always passed these things in the past with flying colors. This time my rivets on my jeans, shoe eyelets, glasses, belt buckle, belt ornaments set the personal detector off like a Christmas tree.
We need safety. We need to make travel safe so that our own commercial industries, no matter what they are, cannot be used against us. I understand we have to protect each other and ourselves but we also have to protect our freedom.
I look out over NYC and wonder what the future will hold. Have we lost our freedoms or are they on hold for the moment?
We moved from a town on the south shore of LI. At the time Jones beach was a very big part of my life. I met many people their from all over NY. Many from Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island. It was interesting meeting people from all over the state and especially the bad city people. After all my view of NYC was the bowery boys movies and all the gangster movies back then. Edgar G ?? Robinson ??, Humphrey Bogart, etc. As I got older I realized NYC was not so bad. Yes, you had to have your wits about you. You just could not stroll down the street as if you were in a small country town. But it was not the big bad city.
LI at the time had many different activities. The Rte 110 Drive Inn, (Remember that one!) Walt Whitman Mall with the plants and wildlife all about inside, Creations comics store before they became the nasty outfit they are now, Burger n shake, small stores that you could find almost anything you ever dreamed of wanting, special clubs and events held by most every school, church and library.
We moved to NJ. The country. Where the sidewalks were rolled up at 5 PM and you never saw a sole except at the mall. Oh, so you are from Loooong IIIIIsliiiiiiiind. Were the insults you would get when you were friendly to people. Yes, and you are born and raised in New JeRRRRRRseeeee, I finally began replying. Funny how once you gave it back they were friendly. But that is anywhere you go I have learned. Now when I go out of state I get your are from New Jerrrrrsey, from the North. No, I am from New Youk, I say now. NJ was not as friendly as NY. In NY you could start talking to people in the street.
Funny how we are all American and we insult each other’s states. Yes, not all states are created equal. We are all different.
NJ was so boring back then. I would look out to NYC to make sure everything was ok. Seeing the striped lighting from the different floors being lit up was reassuring that all was well. I would imagine the hustle and bustle that was going on in NYC, wondered why it held the allure for runaways and imagined people’s lives. You looked out over NJ to NYC and you saw life just from the city being lit up. Meanwhile no one was around after 5 PM in NJ.
Over the years I had reason to travel into Manhattan several times. The big bad city had some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet. The only people I have ever met that are nicer are country folk in Texas half way between Houston and San Antonio, Upstate NY by Middletown, NY, and now SC. I have traveled on roads in NJ over looking the city. I have learned of the shared history of the 2 states regarding George Washington, Ft Lee and Ft Washington. You take for granted what you see every day.
Now NJ is not the same country state it was. People are friendlier. Jersey is getting built up. I have not had the need to go and look over to NYC in the last couple of years.
One day at work everything became salient. Then moans and Oh My God a plane hit the building could be heard, and then everything went silent again. Low whispers became quiet talking. My boss came over and said One of the Twin Towers was hit by a plane. All work stopped and people clustered around cubes of the people who had radios. The internet and cell phones that everyone now raves about as staying open were dead. No, cell phone made it out. No one could get a page to come up on the internet. The land phones could make it out if your party was not on the phone themselves.
No one suspected the towers would come down. After all this had happened to the empire state building earlier in the century. But the Empire State building is made of heavy stone and did not have jetA as the fuel source on the plane. Later we all learned of the consequences of the different building structures.
Now, when I look over NYC I don’t see NYC. I don’t see home. I see a changed America. I see an America with its hands tied. We cannot travel with out seeming like we live in WWII Gastopo ?? Germany. I fly only when needed. We changed the country that harbored the attackers but many of them got away. Surrounding countries are harboring them and others that would do us harm. Had we done something in the late 60's and 70's when this was a big problem for the European countries we would not have this problem today. People were picnicing in Liberty State Park and celebrating in nearby towns here in the USA. Never did hear if they were deported for it.
What do we do now? Traveling is a nightmare. I had the most common items pulled from my carry on luggage as weapons. I don’t care about myself but I don’t want my woman to be man handled at the x-ray as people have reported in the newspapers. I passed the initial x-ray just to be pulled to the side. I always passed these things in the past with flying colors. This time my rivets on my jeans, shoe eyelets, glasses, belt buckle, belt ornaments set the personal detector off like a Christmas tree.
We need safety. We need to make travel safe so that our own commercial industries, no matter what they are, cannot be used against us. I understand we have to protect each other and ourselves but we also have to protect our freedom.
I look out over NYC and wonder what the future will hold. Have we lost our freedoms or are they on hold for the moment?
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D) who live smack in the middle of NYC, I will report to you that life is NOT at all the same for me and for so many others on Manhattan island.
I'm hoping not only to solidify our personal relationship, but to show this midwestern man how wonderful a City this is.
