Posted on 10/04/2001 1:48:44 PM PDT by sakic
I am a New Yorker
I do not live in the five boroughs or on the Island or Upstate. I may live hundreds or thousands of miles away. Or I may live just over the GW Bridge. But I am a New Yorker.
I am a New Yorker. Whatever took me out of New York: Business, family or hating the cold did not take New York out of me. My accent may have faded (a little) and my pace may have slowed. But I am a New Yorker.
I am a New Yorker. I was raised on Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Rockefeller Plaza. The Yankees and the Mets. Jones Beach or Rye Beach or one of the beaches on the sound. I know that "THE END" means Montauk. Because I am a New Yorker.
I am a New Yorker. When I go on vacation, I never look up. Skyscrapers are something I take for granted. The Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty are part of me. Taxis and noise and subways and "get outa heah" don't rattle me. Because I am a New Yorker.
I am a New Yorker. I was raised on cultural diversity before it was politically correct. I eat Greek food and Italian food, Jewish and Middle Eastern food and Chinese food because they are all American food to me. I don't get mad when people speak other languages in my presence because my relatives got to this country via Ellis Island and chose to stay. They were New Yorkers.
I am a New Yorker. People who have never been to New York have misunderstood me. My friends and family work in the industries, professions and businesses that benefit all Americans. My firefighters died trying to save New Yorkers and non-New Yorkers. They died trying to save Americans and non-Americans Because they were New Yorkers.
I am a New Yorker. I feel the pain of my fellow New Yorkers. I mourn the loss of my beautiful city. I feel and dread that New York will never be the same But then I remember:
I am a New Yorker.
And New Yorkers have:
Tenacity, strength and courage way above the norm. Compassion and caring for our fellow citizens. Love and pride in our city, in our state, in our country. Intelligence, experience and education par excellence. Ability, dedication and energy above and beyond. Faith--no matter what religion we practice.
Terrorists hit America in its heart. But America's heart still beats strong. Demolish the steel in our buildings, but it doesn't touch the steel in our souls. Hit us in the pocketbook; but we'll parlay what we have left into a fortune. End innocent lives leaving widows and orphans, but we'll take care of them. Because they are New Yorkers
Wherever we live, whatever we do, whoever we are there are New Yorkers in every state and every city of this nation. We will not abandon our city We will not abandon our brothers and sisters. We will not abandon the beauty, creativity and diversity that New York represents. Because we are New Yorkers. And we are proud to be New Yorkers.
"REMEMBER THE WTC"
I am a New Yorker. The defining moment in the history of my city was December 22, 1984.
See how good you New York Freepers are with that date.
You know what? The mayor doesn't think I have any right to see the WTC site! That's right. The area is roped off from view and although he has been to the site 100 times (he says) and although members of Congress have been encouraged to come see, I can't see the site myself. Furthermore, if I decide that I want to take a picture of what these "terrorists" did to my city, the mayor has ordered the police to confiscate my camera!
Then people wonder why this conservative is not a Rudy fan? Remember, even Hitler got the trains running on time.
It was Mussolini, and why would you want to go down there and rubber-neck anyway?
If you're a conservative, Hillary is a modest, honest woman.
YES!!
This is from an E-mail that I got forwarded from someone I know in New York.
I don't really like New York. They're way too liberal. They live in the heart of the Blue Zone. They elected Hillary for cripes sake!
I hate the Yankees. I hate the Mets and the Giants. I used to like the Jets when they had Joe Namath.
A month ago, I wouldn't have given you a plug nickel for New York. But now I'm angry, and I respect New Yorkers for how they've handled this crisis.
They may be jerks, but they're our jerks!
Oh, that explains the goofy accent.
Remember the graffiti that was scrawled on a retaining wall along the FDR Drive, during the week that Goetz was on the run in Vermont or New Hampshire?
"New York loves the Subway Vigilante -- DON'T TURN YOURSELF IN!"
I am an ex-New Yorker, with most of my family still living in the boroughs and working in Manhattan, all close to the WTC. They all didn't vote for Hillary. A friend's son is a NYC firemen who's been working in the ruins, coming home depressed, eating and going to bed with hardly a word said, knowing full well that it could have been him under that rubble, if he hadn't switched shifts on that dreadful day.
One day a few weeks ago, his mom got a call from his cell phone, which she answered with her heart plummeting to her shoes. "Mom, it's me," he said. "I'm alright, but I just wanted to tell you, I've got 'em all here; I'm looking at all of 'em -- which one do you want me to take out first?"
Puzzled, his mom said, "What are you talking about?" He answered: "We've got Hillary, and Daschel, and Gephardt right here -- which one first?"
She laughed and was grateful that some semblance of normalcy had returned to her son's life amid the horror.
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