So I have just finished reading Rats by Robert Sullivan. It is basically about rats (wow) and the author's experiences with them in New York City. He talks at length about NYC as well and the history of this city. I have never heard so much passion spouted about a city as the passion that New Yorkers have for theirs. Every night on Letterman they welcome us to the greatest city in the world, John McEnroe raves about it every year as he commentates on the US Open tennis and there seems to be never ending propaganda raving about this place.
I must admit that when I think of a city, New York would be the ideal. Enormous buildings, throngs of people as far as the eye can see and everything you would ever need. It can't be a bad place as Seinfeld lives there as do our Friends and many other TV characters. Better than that though are the superheroes who live there. Spiderman and Batman live there, as does Hellboy, the X-men, the Fantastic Four, and even the Ghostbusters. Where else could these guys live? They need that atmosphere that only New York can offer. This is especially the case for Spiderman. I often imagine how miserable Spiderman would be if he lived in Auckland. He would basically just be spinning his web around one building over and over again. The bad guys would simply drive into the suburbs rendering this poor superhero helpless. This would probably happen in bigger cities than my own as I have never been to a city that could compare with my image of NYC.
So what am I trying to say here? I have no idea. Basically I am facinated by the thought of New York. It amazes how people rave about it and I envy it for all its' superheroes!
Oh yeah, the books a good read, although there is not nearly enough info on rats for my liking!
San Nakji for President!
7 comments:
I'm not fond of rats. At least sewer rats and stuff. Fancy rats as pets are pretty cute. But other than that...rats carry disease and stuff, and well, I'd just as soon stay away from them, thank you. hehehe
Let me guess, the book never mentioned the shadier aspects of New York?
Yeah, there is no crime in New York !
I love rats, but Mrs San Nakji says NO!
Trust me, I've been in New York many times...it's a scary city. hehehehe
I once saw a gang strip an entire car down to the frame in about 10 minutes. Even the cops don't stop them. It's scary.
Don't forget that Letterman makes a lot of jokes about the rats in New York!
That's true
As someone who lived fairly close to the big apple (house right across the hudson river) and worked in manhattan, I can assure you that all these horror stories of nonstop crimes being commited in broad day light are just nonsense. The crime rate in nyc is lower than other major U.S cities such as houston, philli, L.A, Detroit, etc. FBI data shows that among the 25 largest American cities, New York ranks the 23rd most dangerous, beaten only by San Diego and San Jose.
Now, there are rats just like everywhere else but I've never seen gigantic rats that ppl speak of or letterman jokes about.
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