NYC vs Vermont: Which Is More Primitive?

Just back from a half work / half vacation trip to the East Coast - a couple of days in the Boston area, then 5 days in Vermont, followed by about 2.5 days in NYC.

Boston traffic drives me nuts. I'm appalled that I might have to live there some day in the future but given that this is where most of my living relatives reside, it might happen.

And when I say traffic, I don't mean the drivers, which is the usual complaint. It actually seems that lately Boston drivers are not quite as crazy. Fortunately, I learned my city driving in NYC where I spent most of my adult life. New York City driving is aggressive and assertive but generally not nutty. This made dealing with Boston driving a little less horrific.

But these days, it's all about delays and traffic and weird routing. I turned on MyTracks as we left my sister's house in Marblehead. From there we drove 30 miles total, first to pick up my Dad and his girlfriend in Cambridge and then to my cousin's house in Jamaica Plain.

That trip took 90 minutes. 30 miles, 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon. MyTracks confirmed that we spent 30 of those minutes "stopped".

That's Boston.

In Vermont, there is still no cell phone coverage because no one wants ugly towers on the beautiful hills. However, I did notice a very visible wind power unit.

Then New York. Very sophisticated. Very primitive. Back when I moved to California, I couldn't get cable in my Brooklyn neighborhood because we had "bluestone" sidewalks and the neighbors didn't want their sidewalks ripped up. During the first Gulf War, I really couldn't quite get what the "Mother of all..." referred to because I only got basic VHS and VHF cannels. TV life was pretty much like Vermont in that regard.

On the other hand, I did get to stand about 6 feet away from George HW Bush and General Schwarzkopf as they rode down Broadway for the victory ticker tape parade.

Sun's offices were on Broadway at that time. A couple of years later the offices moved to the World Trade Center. Everyone made it out of those offices on 9/11 thanks in large part to a conscientious Xerox contractor.

When I go to New York, I usually stay with my friend, Pauline, and her family in their loft on Murray Street, in the what used to be covered by the shadow of the WTC, a block away. I really can't do their 9/11 stories justice so I'll leave it at that. There are many more tourists in that part of town now.

Getting around NYC is significantly better than Boston. Pauline and I made it from the Lexington Avenue stop closest to the Metropolitan Museum to the Brooklyn Bridge stop closest to her house in about 15 minutes.

But for those who have never lived in NY or spent a long time there, it is hard to describe just how constrained and primitive life can be there. Basically, to live with the equivalent suburban conveniences requires unimaginable wealth.

- Storage: most places have tiny closets or none. I really felt I'd arrived when my last place in Brooklyn allotted me a 5x10 space in the basement for extra storage.
- Parking: assuming you have a car, you will almost never be able to park it outside your residence.
- If you are lucky, you will have an elevator.
- Doorman? Please!

This is how I would get ready for a car trip:
1. Go find car, usually 2-10 blocks away.
2. Drive back. Double park in front of building.
3. Lock car. Climb stairs. Unlock front door. Lock front door.
4. Climb to 4th floor. Bring down all items (2-5 trips).
5. Lock apartment with each load (this might not be necessary if you have good neighbors).
6. Unlock front door. Put first load on stoop.
7. Lock front door.
8. Take load to car. Unlock car. Put stuff in car.
9. Lock car.
10. Unlock front door. Go in.
11. Lock front door? Is someone climbing the stairs behind you?
12. Unlock front door, but next load on stoop.
13. Repeat until done.
14. Repeat in reverse when you come home.

Michael and Pauline would like to get rid some some stuff they have accumulated in their loft.

Naively, I suggested freecycle. Michael laughed when I described leaving stuff tucked behind my chimney for people to pick up. The whole issue is getting things to the street. Once there, it will take care of itself.

Ah, I am now so spoiled. I can even drive to the supermarket, park, and roll a shopping cart out to my car.

All that being said, I do miss New York.

Now back to technology!