There were many cliches penned by those who feared everything. One of them comes to us as "Idle hands are the devil's playthings". There are times when even the most spontaneous of us feel ennui. This is to be expected as are the myriad things that come to mind as activities for the bored. Those activities by and large are short-term, produce endorphins, and are not productive.
One can choose activities which have more redeeming value. These activities generally require more effort, and in many cases more time and organization.
And by and large what we find is these activities are in some way self-destructive. Chances are that the time used was taken from a more useful endeavor.
But we have our little distractions, our games, pastimes, etc. But eventually these things get in the way and we must get back to work.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
The other city...
I am a Philly boy. I have left the city now. I inhabit a single home on Main Street in a little town. Whether the town is a suburb or not is pretty immaterial. It had an industry of its own at one time. It no longer does. Let us just call it annexed. The definition of suburb is not my post to write.
I say "the city" and mean a metropolis of roughly 2,000,000 people covering 140 square miles founded at the point where the Delaware River and Schuylkill River are closest to one another. The city was named after a far more ancient city which in turn got its name from the ancient Greeks.
Directly to the east of this city is the state of New Jersey. Here, the phrase "the city" morphs. Roughly 80 miles northeast (as the crow files) of my city in another. A city of 300 square miles and over 8,000,000. Most of this distance lies within the state of New Jersey and 100's of thousands of people commute from New Jersey to both these cities. As a result of this proximity and our shared neighbor, numerous comparisons have been made between the 2 municipalities. As both also trace their founding back to the 17th century (Philadelphia: 1682, New York was originally New Amsterdam and was founded in 1624) the comparisons continue. Both were capitals of the United States, New York in 1785 - 1790, Philadelphia from 1790 - 1800.
But you will notice a pattern. Whether we like to admit it or not the City of Brotherly Love has a bigger, older brother. Outside of the United States, Philadelphia is considerably less well known than the city of 5 boroughs. This has led to some unfortunately named editorials.
The phrase "the City" is generally only used by those outside of it regardless of which metropolis it refers to. It is by-and-large a suburban revision of the phrase "in town". Natives tend to refer to it by name or refer to certain areas within it. In my little world, Philadelphia is often crossed, entered, passed through, etc. and so "going" there seems like an odd turn of phrase and so I would say rather that I went up to New York. We parked at 30th Street Station.
Let me first state that these 2 cities are only 80 miles apart. This increases to approximately 100 miles on usable roads. As a result, the trip is well traveled and various modes of transportation can be used. I, however, have chosen to travel by rail nearly every time I have made the trip. I recommend this to everyone for a number of reasons. 1) Driving in New York can be challenging. I will not dwell on this, but I think many would consider that an understatement. 2) The trip can be made in 70 minutes via rail. If anyone has ever accomplished this while driving, it qualifies as reckless endangerment. 3) There is a train leaving every hour if not more frequently. 4) Have you ever ridden on any train Amtrak runs through the Northeast corridor? Just do it, at least once.
Once there, I attempted to act appropriately. Walking and cabs are the modes of transportation. We, of course, spent the night. New York, in my limited experience, has adapted to the night unlike its younger brother. I am certain that a "day trip" to New York is possible. I will never make one. Although I usually do not have a hotel room, I never leave before dawn.
And so, once again, I breezed in and out of New York. I was merely one of thousands to do it this weekend and 1 of millions to do it this year.
Like all of my trips to the Big Apple it was memorable. This time I actually slept in the city that doesn't.
I say "the city" and mean a metropolis of roughly 2,000,000 people covering 140 square miles founded at the point where the Delaware River and Schuylkill River are closest to one another. The city was named after a far more ancient city which in turn got its name from the ancient Greeks.
Directly to the east of this city is the state of New Jersey. Here, the phrase "the city" morphs. Roughly 80 miles northeast (as the crow files) of my city in another. A city of 300 square miles and over 8,000,000. Most of this distance lies within the state of New Jersey and 100's of thousands of people commute from New Jersey to both these cities. As a result of this proximity and our shared neighbor, numerous comparisons have been made between the 2 municipalities. As both also trace their founding back to the 17th century (Philadelphia: 1682, New York was originally New Amsterdam and was founded in 1624) the comparisons continue. Both were capitals of the United States, New York in 1785 - 1790, Philadelphia from 1790 - 1800.
But you will notice a pattern. Whether we like to admit it or not the City of Brotherly Love has a bigger, older brother. Outside of the United States, Philadelphia is considerably less well known than the city of 5 boroughs. This has led to some unfortunately named editorials.
The phrase "the City" is generally only used by those outside of it regardless of which metropolis it refers to. It is by-and-large a suburban revision of the phrase "in town". Natives tend to refer to it by name or refer to certain areas within it. In my little world, Philadelphia is often crossed, entered, passed through, etc. and so "going" there seems like an odd turn of phrase and so I would say rather that I went up to New York. We parked at 30th Street Station.
Let me first state that these 2 cities are only 80 miles apart. This increases to approximately 100 miles on usable roads. As a result, the trip is well traveled and various modes of transportation can be used. I, however, have chosen to travel by rail nearly every time I have made the trip. I recommend this to everyone for a number of reasons. 1) Driving in New York can be challenging. I will not dwell on this, but I think many would consider that an understatement. 2) The trip can be made in 70 minutes via rail. If anyone has ever accomplished this while driving, it qualifies as reckless endangerment. 3) There is a train leaving every hour if not more frequently. 4) Have you ever ridden on any train Amtrak runs through the Northeast corridor? Just do it, at least once.
Once there, I attempted to act appropriately. Walking and cabs are the modes of transportation. We, of course, spent the night. New York, in my limited experience, has adapted to the night unlike its younger brother. I am certain that a "day trip" to New York is possible. I will never make one. Although I usually do not have a hotel room, I never leave before dawn.
And so, once again, I breezed in and out of New York. I was merely one of thousands to do it this weekend and 1 of millions to do it this year.
Like all of my trips to the Big Apple it was memorable. This time I actually slept in the city that doesn't.
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