Noo Yawk in Summer (MySpace 8/17/2008)

Subject	Noo Yawk in Summer
DateCreated	8/17/2008 2:14:00 AM
PostedDate	8/17/2008 2:01:00 AM
Body	Some miscellaneous impressions after spending the last half of July in NYC - a counterpart to what I wrote six months ago... - Green, very green - Not the ever-green of conifer northwest California. But the green-green of broadleaf trees and giant weeds. A hot summer with rainfall makes plants grow. - Heat and humidity - Not as bad as expected. You may feel throughly wilted, but the thick, moist air helps hold you upright and prevents you from shriveling. I remember, as a kid, trying to fall asleep in my own sweat.  This time around there was air-conditioning, and trying to fall asleep despite the roar of the AC. (Silicone ear-putty!) - Heat and subways - In accordance with modern living standards, the subways are now air-conditioned. But, as you know, heat that gets pumped-out has to go somewhere. So, while the interior of the train is so pleasantly cool, the exterior of the train - e.g., the tunnel - is not. Some underground stations are hot like you would not believe. One more thing - the newest subway cars are made by Kawasaki. Well, I find that amusing. - Parking - I have seen it with my own eyes - so help me - angle-parking in reverse. Yes, you back in.  In action, it makes much more sense than the California nose-in method. Hey, I'd way sooner back blind into a parking space, than back blind into traffic. - Rain and smoke - In the west, thunderstorms portend forest fires, and lots of smoke. In NYC, thunderstorms mean serious torrents of water coming down from out of the sky, and a different kind of smoke phenomenon. Cigarette smokers may indeed be in the minority, but in a downpour they will gravitate to exactly the same sheltered places where the non-smokers are.  The effect is the same - lots of smoke. - Race relations - I reluctantly admit that NYC is not yet a race-relations paradise - there are still pockets of resistance. Adjacent to my old neighborhood is Gerritsen Beach, a place I avoided as a kid, because I figured I was not white enough to suit the residents. It has changed somewhat. It has it's own website, apparently run by someone of the liberal persuasion. I am providing a link to a section devoted to a racial incident involving the cops last June in another neighborhood. Many opinions are represented, especially in the blog titled "civil rights died in Manhattan Beach". If you have the patience - or an interest in this kind of nonsense - see if you can figure it out. - Food prices - Yes, California fruit is cheaper in NYC than in California, especially California supermarkets. And, as I wrote last winter, you can eat out well for much less. Ethnic food stores are an infinite source of affordable treats. First day back in Arcata found me standing dumbfounded, frozen in sticker-shock, at the deli section of "Wildberries" supermarket. The prices were really, seriously "uptown". Yet the shoppers looked less affluent than the ones two days prior in that Russian store in Brooklyn. Yeah - in California, a person of modest means could easily blow their income on snacks. (Gasoline, by contrast, was only about 25 cents higher.)