Here in Arizona, when people ask me where I'm from, the answer isnt that simple. I like telling people that I'm from New York here on a 11 vacation. They tell me that if I've been here that long, I am an Arizonan, not a New Yorker.
Arizonan......just the sound of it sounds like a creature from a bad horror flick. I'm still waiting for my third eye to pop out. Between the pollution, dirt, dust, lack of rain, and 1000 degree days..one has to wonder why it hasn't happened to anyone living here. And don't get me started on the color brown...OY VEY!!!
In my head, I will always be a New Yorker. My closest friends and my best best memories are from there. If there was a chance of me moving back tomorrow, I would.
This week, my family and I are going back to New York for my sister's long overdue wedding. My friend's will be able to meet my children for the first time. I will have a chance to drive around the old stomping grounds and wonder what has changed. What has changed is....... I guess I can now tell people I am from Arizona. Why? Because after this trip, that's where my family will be....and I will always be from where they are.
You can take the boy out of New York, but not the New York out of the boy. Once a New Yorker, always a New Yorker. I don't care if you move to Timbuktu. It's one of the unique things that makes New York the greatest city/state in the world; it's more than a place, it's a spirit.
ReplyDeleteCheck out my New York photo gallery here: http://negativespace.photoshelter.com/gallery/New-York/G0000a2dLz98bkt8/
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