New York, New York, it’s a hell of a town. The city so nice they named it twice. Gotham City. The Big Apple. The City that Never Sleeps. Concrete Jungle Where Dreams Are Made Of. Home.
For almost two years I called New York home and every single day of it is ingrained in me. It hasn’t been that long since I’ve been home but every single day that I was there is still fresh in my memory. The bustle of the city and the unforgiving nature of subway carts have prepared me for any trials and tribulations in my life. The bar scene that stays open till 4 a.m. and the establishments that stay open longer have given me an iron liver that can take on any day of drinking. The heat and humidity in the summer hasn’t prepared me for anything because I’m always gonna be a sweaty bollix, but at least I now have lots of cool baseball hats to show people I was in the States.
In short, New York is a training ground that spits out the weak and gets you tough for the years ahead. In the nicest way possible.
I won’t lie, it has been a struggle to write anything about New York because I’ve been struggling since I came home. I came home for a course in September and decided to just leave in January as I missed the family and friends a bit. I’ve had a great time so far, working with a plumber for a while and now back at the cinema for a while. However, the course doesn’t seem like it’s going ahead and with each passing week of no contact with the co-ordinator I start to wonder if I want to spend 5 Gs on a course that I’m not sure if I want to do anymore. In all likelihood I probably won’t but sure look, I change my mind about ten times a week on every decision I have yet to make.
While the lack of direction in my life at the moment is worrying, I think the thing that is making me struggle the most is that I miss New York. I’ve struggled to write about it necause if I put my actual feelings about the place onto a page or onto a screen it’ll be real and I’ll realise that I want to go back. Some days I do and some days I don’t. Some days I curse the place and most days I yearn to be back there. It doesn’t help that most movies and t.v. shows have at least one scene set in Manhattan. Goddamn urban scenery and diverse population!
You’d miss the lads, wouldn’t ya? The people you meet and the memories you make are a part of you forever. I see it in my Dad when he talks about the place. The memories have stuck with him. I only spent a fraction of the time that he did in New York but it has had a profound effect on me. Late nights and early mornings under the influence are one set of memories; the matches we played and the concerts, gigs and stand-up sets we went to are another. Each set of memories is as vibrant as the other, taking up all the space in my mind so that I can do nothing but think about going back.
I could spend a paragraph talking about how the money is fantastic but I think we all know that. I could do the same with the food and the drink. Perhaps I’ll do different posts on those. I could write about all the things we did in New York; the scraps we got into; the outrageous nights out that you are a part of; and the days we all just went for dinner and had the craic while trying to eat. I could spend another while waxing lyrical about the greatest city on Earth but I’ll leave it for another day. All I’ll finish with is that lads, and New York, I miss ye.
The Rathpeacon Rambler 