Barkeater Lake by Corey Pandolph for December 20, 2012
December 19, 2012
December 21, 2012
Transcript:
Bill: You ever been to New York City, Mike? Mike: Nah. My dad would never let me. He says it's a cesspool. Bill: Yeah! Mine says that too. Has your dad ever been there? Mike: No. So, how do they know it's a cesspool, then? Mike: "Law & Order", dude. Bill: Oh yeah. Someone's dead every week on that show.
Yeah, they abound. I was raised in rural central PA. The standard stereotype was that all cities were bad. And NYC, being the biggest, was the most bad. -———————One year, our parents took the family to NYC for a tourist trip. We did all the standard touristy things - I remember it as pretty interesting. Our last day there (a Sunday) we were walking from our hotel to go to mass at St. Patrick’s. It was a bright sunny morning, very pleasant. Forget the exact street we were walking on, but it was like six lanes with heavy traffic. On the other side of the street you could see a guy happily breaking out a plate glass window with a club. You could hear what I assume was a burglar alarm blaring. With the guy’s demeanor, he could have been painting trees in Central Park. -——————————————Now I’ve been to NYC since; so have friends. All have had some good times. But the image of NYC that will always stay with me is the one of that thief—breaking that window like he had all the time in the world and every right to do it—and nobody caring.