I AM A NEW YORKER

email | Unknown

[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"

[sakic]

What's the problem with his personality?

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hmmm, that's a tough question.

[nopardons]

I bet you woudn't say that, if you heard ALL of them. Oh, and just what kind of an accent do YOU have ?

[Sir Gawain]

What? I don't have an accent. I talk normal. Yeah I used normal as an adverb.

[Revolting cat!]

Okay, how do you say 'Ich bin ein poppy seed bagel' in Portuguese? Or should it be 'ein pizza by the slice' or even 'ein ruben sandwich'?

[DrCarl]

Complete nonsense, everything you said. One is not allowed to see the site from any distance and there is NO good reason for that. You can't steal or get in the way or get hurt if you are within view but a block away. Don't comment if you don't have any idea what you're saying.

By the way, the valiant people who are working at the site are all being paid for their efforts. Meanwhile, the city is investigating to see what part the Mafia might have in hauling the debris away.

[nopardons]

Look, trying to bait and goad, over such a ridiculous topic, is juvenile. Of coure you have an accent; everyone has one who speaks to someone from someplace else. You really don't care at all about accents or the article of this thread.. All you want to do is denigrate New Yorkers for sport. The Taliban would love you.

[sakic]

Sirgawain just enjoys typing for the hell of it. He has nothing to say.

[gremu]

Apologies to those not voting for Hillary.

[nopardons]

I do know what I am talking about. The Mafia story is two week old news, but you seemed to need to hear about it. There have been people, who have been blocks and blocks away, who went for a look see, and then burgled the empty apartments. Then, there are the people who stole thousands upon thousands of dollars worth of watches from Tourneau.

Of course the people working on site , are for the most part being paid, and pad well for their work. Did youexpect that they would do it for free ? Some of it was done for free, by ou of state and in state volunteers , but that was during the first week only. They weren't there to gape and gawk at the carnage. There have been some of those, and the police asked for that to stop.

Why exactly do YOU or anyone else have the " right " to go to the scene of war and destruction ? You don't, and yes, gawkers are a distraction and a bother, even a block away from ground zero. There is also the problem of gawkers getting injured in some way, or claiming that they were and suing the city.

It would appear that you just don't like Rudy. I don't like some of the things that he has done either ; however ,I believe that he has done the right things about this atrocity and its aftermath. Can you imagine how David Dinkens would have handled this mess ?

[malakhi]

Its the site of a terrorism attack, not a tourist attraction. Stay out of the way, and let the crews do their job.

[Big Bunyip]

Well, Doc, i live here, too. For the first week, we had friends staying with us who had been driven out of Battery City. Three people we know are dead, and two other people in our building are gone, too. I see the posters everywhere, like you -- outside penn Station, on random hoardings, in supermarket windows. There's not a minute that passes without my heart yearning for blood.

But to go down to Ground Zero? No, I don't need that to fuel the fires of my hate, not when they're still digging bodies out of the rubble and I might get in the way, or make the recovery crews think they are nothiong better than a tourist attraction.

I'm cherishing this slow fury, Doc, fanning it, literally aching to see some other town suffer as our town has done, to see them pay for all that has been taken from us.

If the milk of human kindness begins to reassert itself a few months from now, I'll still be able to go downtown to remind myself of why a lot of people have yet to die for these massacres. After all, there are 160 MILLION tons of debris to be hauled away. There will still time to gape.

Baghdad would make a nice target, but, in the meantime, I don't need the sight of our own shattered southern tip to remind me of what saddam's capital should look like (after we do the limbering up in afghanistan). It might inspire pity for those I want dead, and there is no room for that now.

I want to cherish the memory of those who were pictured hanging out the WTC windows. I want every penny I pay in taxes to celebrate death and vengeance.

As for Rudy, if you prefer that dithering incompent he replaced, you're wecome to him. Same for Ferrer or Green. Either one will be the death of us. Rudy might not meet your standards, but he's fair, honest, upright and pushes harder than he's pushed. Eight years now, he'll make a great president. If Bush doesn't deliver, if Bush wimps out, make that four years from now. Go to bed, and beg your God for the terrible venegeance to which we are entitled.

[Sir Gawain]

Life's too short not to have a sense of humor. You should try finding one. Here, this might help:

[Victoria Delsoul]

FYI!

[sakic]

Do you know the correct pronunciation of Houston?

It's House-ton because that's how we pronounce a street by that name here in NY and a street in NY is more important than a city in Texas.

[William Wallace]

:-)