The Summer Wind, was coming in... from across...

somewhere that's not New York, that's for sure. What a shock it was to wake up this morning after several weeks of relatively warm weather and find that it was FREEZING outside. Not really, but close enough for me. When I woke up this morning it was 41 degrees, but the wind chill pushed it down into the 30s, and today it's expected to hit 50 with, again, the wind chill pushing it down about ten degrees. Something to look forward too. I picked up some wind-resistant gloves and they really do the trick on my poor little hands which are confused about why the blood won't circulate in them.

I think this is the part where I try to get used to the fact that things are changing weather-wise around here. I went out coat-shopping the other night, desperately trying to find something that will deal with any temperature and rain/wind/snow/ice issue I expect to encounter while living here. All my shoes are in the process of getting resoled and weather-proofed and I picked up some super warm socks. I will be prepared. When I spoke with my father last night he said that it was cold in North Carolina as well, a whopping 50 degrees. I was thinking, "As opposed to what?" As far back as I can remember that sounds pretty average to me but I stood, shivering outside a gallery opening and going, "Wow, Dad, that's pretty chilly!" thinking that my feet might fall off from being too close to the sidewalk.

Part of the problem, again, is the buildings, which are perfect for collecting and holding heat in the summer and then keeping everything cold and icy in the winter. It amazes me that after living here people will happily clear-cut several acres of trees to cement a driveway and put their house in the middle of a large lawn. Never before have I been so appreciative of how nature protects us. I wonder what New York looked like before it was completely developed. Was Saks surrounded by oaks? Tiffany's have a lawn out front with various bushes and birds? Not that there was any such thing at the time. Sadly enough the pilgrims wouldn't have appreciated either of those, but I like to think about them. I even wonder if it was better when the streets were mainly dirt and mud, if that helped absorb some of the temperatures. I imagine settlers carefully building in the shelter of firs and cedars, comfortably settling themselves among pine needles before hibernating for the winter. Now it's all cement. I understand that theoretically it's a good idea, and I've always supported cities going up rather than out. Looking at the mess Raleigh, Durham, Cary and Greensboro have become it's even easier to say, well, look at downtown, why didn't you try to keep everything important and central downtown? Where most towns have a dying main street, New York has a fabulous mid-town that has everything you could ever want in life convieniently contained within several blocks. Eight by Twenty-two miles holds a whole world of possibilities. No wonder some people never leave. Why would they? I'm reminded of a Sex and the City episode where Miranda dates a guy VERY briefly who had literally not left Manhattan in 16 years. Imagine staying in your town for that long. It's not like it was in 1785, when it was difficult and exhausting to travel even ten miles. Now planes trains and automobiles can take you whereever. And if you were raised on the Upper East Side, chances are you have the money to leave. But this particular man just didn't see any reason to leave, saying that "Everything I could ever need or want is right here." Bit of a closed opinion but apparently doable.

I can't imagine staying in one place for that long without even a week's vacation from the city. This summer I spent most of my time trying to invite myself to Hamptons timeshares and finding out who lived underneath a pool. One of my co-workers seems to have the best of both worlds. She and her family rent a Hamptons cottage during the summer and then during the early winter have a house in Massachusetts for skiing. I'm sorry to say I'm incredibly jealous with the opportunities allotted her during these times of escape. What I have to look forward to is getting out of this city back into North Carolina, to spend a week being hounded by family and friends on what it's really like to live in New York. The city with a golden image.

At the same time, I'm still not quite sure what living in New York means. For some people it means this is it. This is where they will raise their families, retire and end up. For others, they spend most of their New York time planning their escape to other places, to Vail or Aspen, Miami or on a cruise to "get out of the city'. i'm even amazed that after all the years I spent getting up here, I've caught myself doing the same thing. When nothing in this city stays the same for very long.