Just got back from New York City (NYC) where we visited our son and his wife who live and work there. They just got into their new apartment and wanted us to see it.
I will admit that life in NYC is very different from life in Canton, Michigan or any city in Michigan for that matter. I was happy to see that my son and his wife have acclimated very well to city life and astonishingly, seem just like everyone else in NYC and this after growing up in Michigan suburbs.
We went to Coney Island on the subway. It was 92 degrees and many New Yorkers were heading for the beach. Imagine heading for the beach on the subway; families with coolers, blankets and beach chairs – on the subway?
Once we got there the place was hoping. I have never been to Coney Island in NYC and was surprised to see a massive boardwalk made entirely of wooden boards. The beach was huge and you could not get a hot dog at Nathan’s Famous Coney Dog places because the lines were too long.
The one thing that stood out for me as I wandered around was the huge ethnic diversity of the crowd. I hardly heard any American being spoken; I did not hear any Polish either. I did hear a lot of Russian and other languages I could not identify. The families seemed happy while enjoying a day at the beach.
The scene probably mirrored the early 1900s or late 1800 when Europeans descended on New York by the thousands creating Little Italy, Little Poland, etc. Now the immigrants come from Asia, the Middle East, Russia and the Caribbean – so nothing has really changed.
I like to point out to those Americans that resent “foreigners” that we are, after all, all foreigners and the children, grandchildren or great grandchildren of immigrants who braved the dangers and uncertainties of travel and re-settlement to a different country, a country that held the promise of a better life for generations to come.
It makes you stop and think that America still holds that allure for so many after all these years. It also shows us that the people of the world still need an America; a land of opportunity for all, because many other countries of the world are still repressive and regressive with no hope for a better life in the near future.
I admire the courageous human spirit of past and present immigrants and believe that, that spirit is what makes us great and has made us great. I decry the attitude of “America for Americans” because it is an attitude of ignorance and arrogance; just look how many non-citizen immigrants are serving in the armed forces.
NYC is still expensive as hell to visit but I did get airline tickets to JFK for $109 round-trip and that is not bad.
I will admit that life in NYC is very different from life in Canton, Michigan or any city in Michigan for that matter. I was happy to see that my son and his wife have acclimated very well to city life and astonishingly, seem just like everyone else in NYC and this after growing up in Michigan suburbs.
We went to Coney Island on the subway. It was 92 degrees and many New Yorkers were heading for the beach. Imagine heading for the beach on the subway; families with coolers, blankets and beach chairs – on the subway?
Once we got there the place was hoping. I have never been to Coney Island in NYC and was surprised to see a massive boardwalk made entirely of wooden boards. The beach was huge and you could not get a hot dog at Nathan’s Famous Coney Dog places because the lines were too long.
The one thing that stood out for me as I wandered around was the huge ethnic diversity of the crowd. I hardly heard any American being spoken; I did not hear any Polish either. I did hear a lot of Russian and other languages I could not identify. The families seemed happy while enjoying a day at the beach.
The scene probably mirrored the early 1900s or late 1800 when Europeans descended on New York by the thousands creating Little Italy, Little Poland, etc. Now the immigrants come from Asia, the Middle East, Russia and the Caribbean – so nothing has really changed.
I like to point out to those Americans that resent “foreigners” that we are, after all, all foreigners and the children, grandchildren or great grandchildren of immigrants who braved the dangers and uncertainties of travel and re-settlement to a different country, a country that held the promise of a better life for generations to come.
It makes you stop and think that America still holds that allure for so many after all these years. It also shows us that the people of the world still need an America; a land of opportunity for all, because many other countries of the world are still repressive and regressive with no hope for a better life in the near future.
I admire the courageous human spirit of past and present immigrants and believe that, that spirit is what makes us great and has made us great. I decry the attitude of “America for Americans” because it is an attitude of ignorance and arrogance; just look how many non-citizen immigrants are serving in the armed forces.
NYC is still expensive as hell to visit but I did get airline tickets to JFK for $109 round-trip and that is not bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment