Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Settlers

"There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born here, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size and its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter — the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is the New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. [...] Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness; natives give it solidity and continuity; but the settlers give it passion."

--E.B. White, Here is New York

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

...I would be more impressed if you hadn't just pulled the same part of the essay that is currently on 1/3 of the subways in New York.
If you want, you're more than welcome to borrow my copy of Empire City to read the whole thing...

I <3 E.B. White.