"Memoir is about squeezing the reality you’ve experienced into the vocabulary you know." - what a great line and insight. Thanks for keeping us up to date on your journey - your book is amazing, and watching you become a part of the national conversation is heart warming.
“New York, despite its outward chaos, offers a sense of continuity and permanence, in a way that no place from my childhood ever did. It’s a city for visionaries, for those who see opportunities and seize them, or stumble into them.”
Yes, it does. I lived in over a dozen states, two countries, and went to 8 different schools by 8th grade. There was no continuity in my childhood either, but I’ve been in lower Manhattan for the last 30+ years.
NYC is different from everywhere else. It is welcoming somehow in its chaotic anonymity. There are amazing people from all over the planet who are united in their attraction to the energy of this place. The City (NYers know there is only one) calls a certain type of person to come and work here, work NY hours, do things in a NY minute, pay NY prices. It is truly a uniquely wonderful place, even though you are constantly surrounded by the most arrogant, condescending, closed-minded, doctrinaire liberals on the planet.
Rob thank you for your efforts of “putting yourself out there” with the experiences that you have lived and have worked to become through your writing. You are a later day John Steinbeck.
This post reminds me of how well written your memoir is. Thanks Rob. I’ll have to take my kids to New York soon. Interesting comparison and observation about NYC and California.
New York is a great place to visit for those who know how to avoid the dangers of the city - unnecessary dangers brought about by the bad government which regularly is voted in by the inhabitants, except when things get so bad there is a hiatus of sanity, as with the election of Mayor Giuliani. As for living there, it requires a very high income that allows one to avoid public transportation and live in minimally acceptable housing. A rather non-descript two bedroom apartment in decent part of the city can cost $2 million. I have a friend who lived there for many years and was a complete chauvinist about the city. Eventually, he got a job offer elsewhere that was too good to refuse, and moved away. He said regretfully, "I can't believe I lived there all those years," meaning that the quality of his life had been much worse there.
We used to visit NYC from Los Angeles every December to see what winter looked like. Great restaurants, theatre, museums, walking for miles. Then it started to fall apart. Haven't been in years and there is no reason to go. While thousands have escaped the insanity, those that remain only reinforce the thinking that New Yorkers are clueless about the real world. There are so many good places to live in the United States, and you chose one of the hell holes. What is that about?
Ever since moving here in 2008, I have felt it very much created a spiritual home for me! And I hope the city will offer you the same welcoming atmosphere as time passes! :)
I hope you enjoy your new home. It wouldn't be for me. But as your headline says, if it turns out not to be everything you hoped it would be, don't be afraid to start over.
"Memoir is about squeezing the reality you’ve experienced into the vocabulary you know." - what a great line and insight. Thanks for keeping us up to date on your journey - your book is amazing, and watching you become a part of the national conversation is heart warming.
Agreed.
“New York, despite its outward chaos, offers a sense of continuity and permanence, in a way that no place from my childhood ever did. It’s a city for visionaries, for those who see opportunities and seize them, or stumble into them.”
Yes, it does. I lived in over a dozen states, two countries, and went to 8 different schools by 8th grade. There was no continuity in my childhood either, but I’ve been in lower Manhattan for the last 30+ years.
NYC is different from everywhere else. It is welcoming somehow in its chaotic anonymity. There are amazing people from all over the planet who are united in their attraction to the energy of this place. The City (NYers know there is only one) calls a certain type of person to come and work here, work NY hours, do things in a NY minute, pay NY prices. It is truly a uniquely wonderful place, even though you are constantly surrounded by the most arrogant, condescending, closed-minded, doctrinaire liberals on the planet.
Rob thank you for your efforts of “putting yourself out there” with the experiences that you have lived and have worked to become through your writing. You are a later day John Steinbeck.
This post reminds me of how well written your memoir is. Thanks Rob. I’ll have to take my kids to New York soon. Interesting comparison and observation about NYC and California.
Welcome! The city is richer for having you in it!
I've been to NYT three times in my life. Each time was a memorable event where I repeated "love visiting but would not want to live there,"!
New York is a great place to visit for those who know how to avoid the dangers of the city - unnecessary dangers brought about by the bad government which regularly is voted in by the inhabitants, except when things get so bad there is a hiatus of sanity, as with the election of Mayor Giuliani. As for living there, it requires a very high income that allows one to avoid public transportation and live in minimally acceptable housing. A rather non-descript two bedroom apartment in decent part of the city can cost $2 million. I have a friend who lived there for many years and was a complete chauvinist about the city. Eventually, he got a job offer elsewhere that was too good to refuse, and moved away. He said regretfully, "I can't believe I lived there all those years," meaning that the quality of his life had been much worse there.
Good luck in NYC, Rob! It’s lucky to have you! I loved your memoir and enjoy following your career. You’re so insightful and inspiring.
We used to visit NYC from Los Angeles every December to see what winter looked like. Great restaurants, theatre, museums, walking for miles. Then it started to fall apart. Haven't been in years and there is no reason to go. While thousands have escaped the insanity, those that remain only reinforce the thinking that New Yorkers are clueless about the real world. There are so many good places to live in the United States, and you chose one of the hell holes. What is that about?
Cheers!
Very nice. Thank you.
Ever since moving here in 2008, I have felt it very much created a spiritual home for me! And I hope the city will offer you the same welcoming atmosphere as time passes! :)
I hope you enjoy your new home. It wouldn't be for me. But as your headline says, if it turns out not to be everything you hoped it would be, don't be afraid to start over.
I get it. I spent six weeks at acting school last summer and I'm moving there for good next year