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Friday, November 04, 2005

New York state of mind

Is basically insane! I arrived at 4.23pm after a beautiful almost soporific trip through the fall colours of Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. As I'd been staying in Pentagon City, I was surrounded by healthy living, early-rise-early-bed people with big back yards. The under-current of racism is very strong - in perverse ways. People are esepcially polite nad kind to each other, as if they have the residual memory. Very false - maybe South Africa will be this way in 20 years' time.
The moment I emerged from Amtrak into the subway, what a change! New Yorkers don't wear the sullen miserable mask of the London commuter, they really twitch with the rage inside. Frankly, most of the people on platform waiting for the uptown 2/3 train looed crazy - mad, bad and dangerous to know. In my tiny room on 71st St West, I realised again that New York is like London - fun if you're rich, take taxis, know where you're going.
So I went out to PD O'Hurleys for a Guinness, discovered that Sam Adams Oktoberfest is delicious, chatted to some people at the bar, and got myself a slice of pizza and outrageous chocolate cake. Felt better and sat in watching Johnny Depp doing the best Keith Richards impression ever.

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