"A tall building fell on Daddy." -- Iggy Pop (1982)
Life is dangerous. Maybe one of the most life-affirming things we can do after 9/11 is visit cities, enjoy them, support them. That's what I've been doing, anyway. New York City, Washington, London, Madrid -- I like all of them, and if I had the travel money, I'd be going to them more often. Most recently I've fixated on NYC/Manhattan, the kingpin of US cities. And I like Detroit, of course.
Cities are exciting places: the concentration of culture and audience, the infrastructure, the complexity and people watching. Skyscrapers can be daunting, though -- I took a brief elevator ride up one of the Twin Towers back in the 1980s, and felt sick by the time I reached ground level again. Heights give me the chills, and for good reason.
As do airplanes, but they're still the most efficient way to get from Point A to distant Point B. While hoping not to ever find myself on a flight hijacked by fanatical kamikaze types, I continue to travel by plane.
Commuter Trains and subways? They work better in some places than others -- more conveniently in Europe and the Eastern US, for instance, than in Metro Detroit, where they are virtually non-existent.
Worried about bombs? Forget about it -- be wary, be prepared for anything, and ramble on. Life is dangerous, no matter where we are or what we do. Might as well enjoy it whenever possible.
Today's Rune: Strength.
Bon voyage -- and peace be with you!
5 comments:
I agree,Erik! Keep livin' while you're breathin'! My husband and I enjoyed taking the train from Windsor to Toronto, and on to Montreal for our honeymoon. But going to see my brother in CA, we definitely took the plane! Now he's in FLA, so, at least the flight time will be cut in half! Airports are interesting places, though (probably more so when you don't have to travel much.)!
Hey Robin, thanks for your comment -- I really want to do that train trip from Windsor. And yeah, here's to really livin' while we're here. I've driven to Toronto in about the same time it takes to drive to Chicago, which was really good when the U.S. dollar was ahead. Before City Airport closed for bigger flights, they used to have a 45 minute flight to Chicago for fairly inexpensive. I did it once, very fun to be there in such quick time.
Cheers, E'
I tend to stay away from big cities & big crowds due to the line of work I'm in. I've heard too many horror stories. But you're absolutely right, Erik--cities are fascinating places to be. And yeah, I love Detroit as well.
I like visiting cities vicariously. For instance, for New York I watch Woody Allen movies and Seinfeld episodes.
Erik,
Love the Sinatra album cover. Not only was he a great Italian-American singer, but I liked his acting a lot, too.
My favorite film of his was a little-known, low-budget, but suspenseful spy thriller called "the Naked Runner".
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