At 2am on a Friday morning, I was looking for something to distract me from my studying. Earlier in the night, I had noticed that the window in the conference room I was in was covered by a blind. I decided to go on an adventure/study break for a bit and take a peek outside the window. The beauty of what lies beyond that pane of glass simply captivated me, as it does every single time I see it.
Only rivaled by the beauty of my girlfriend's kaleidoscope eyes as she smiles lovingly at me was the beauty of the Manhattan skyline outside that window. New York City. The City. My City. My home. My home I desperately do not want to leave.
People take Manhattan for granted, and that is quite unfortunate. People who live in Manhattan or spend considerable time in the borough are more preoccupied with the blaring horns of morning traffic or the tourists aimlessly snapping pictures and clogging up the sidewalks. Since coming to St. John's in August 2009, I definitely have transitioned from the tourist to the person cursing out the tourist under their breath as they speed by. But what many Manhattanites (is that right?) don't recognize on a daily basis is how beautiful their home really is.
I believe that you need to view the city from a far in order to truly understand how magnificent of a city we occupy. Yes, staring at the Chrysler Building while at the entrance to Grand Central Terminal is awe inspiring, just as much as walking through Times Square is. But I encourage everyone to drive over the Throgs Neck Bridge in the direction of Queens and look out the passenger side window. Better yet, I encourage all people of all walks of life to stand at the top of the Great Stars, with a fountain at your back and seashells under your feet and just stare straight ahead. If you can physically remove the glance of your eyes away from the city, then you don't understand true beauty.
"Neon heart, day glow eyes
A city lit by fireflies
They're advertising in the skies
For people like us"
That's how an Irishman, strangely enough, described this city in 2005. And these four mere lines define New York City. The powerfully pulsating heart of the city glows like neon, as does the heart of anyone seeing the city for the first time. All eyes a glow in wonder and awe at the city's beauty. The lights of the billboards in Times Square, the top of the Empire State Building, and the headlights of the more than 10,000 taxi cabs illuminate the landscape as they flicker both in the sky and the still waters of New York harbor like fireflies. And these lights undeniably scream one's name. More enticing than a glass of lemonade on a warm summer evening or a camp fire on a cool New England night is the City. New York City. My City.
This city is glorious. It's beauty is indescribable to one who has not witnessed it for themselves.
I know I'm droning on and on, but I just can't help feeling inspired and purely happy at the signt of my City, my home. I don't want to leave it and go back to a place of dark country roads and people as dull and as similar as nearly every single other person in New Fairfield. That same Irishman said of the City in 2000:
"In New York freedom looks like
Too many choices
In New York I found a friend
To drown out the other voices...
In New York you can forget
Forget how to sit still
Tell yourself you will stay in
But it's down to Alphaville"
In New York, I've found best friends for life. Friends I will grow old with. Friends who's children will refer to me as "Uncle Barca". In New York I've done so many things that I only dreamed of doing. I have twice been to Ground Zero on 9/11. I celebrated the lives of 2,977 people at Ground Zero after the death of Osama Bin Laden last week. I have been to 2 NFL Drafts, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concert, a season of ranked college basketball, and will soon experience the magic of Coney Island. In New York I've met the most beautiful girl in the entire city, and the best part is that I get to kiss her lips, hold her hand, and drown in those kaleidoscope eyes amidst a silky smooth pastel face I'm so lucky to touch. In New York, I'm free. I'm free. I'm free. I'm free.
I do not want to leave this City of Blinding Lights.
Oh yea, that Irishman I was talking about...he loves this city as much as me. Here's my proof. Please check them out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9E8d74hGh8
City of Blinding Lights (album version)-U2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd01FObU3Q4
City of Blinding Lights (Live at the Brooklyn Bridge)-U2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvBsYYE3n3w
New York (Live in Boston)-U2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYFxIkvpwIw
New York (album version)-U2
No comments:
Post a Comment