new-york

I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York's skyline. Particularly when one can't see the details. Just the shapes. The shapes and the thought that made them. The sky over New York and the will of man made visible. What other religion do we need? And then people tell me about pilgrimages to some dank pesthole in a jungle where they go to do homage to a crumbling temple, to a leering stone monster with a pot belly, created by some leprous savage. Is it beauty and genius they want to see? Do they seek a sense of the sublime? Let them come to New York, stand on the shore of the Hudson, look and kneel. When I see the city from my window - no, I don't feel how small I am - but I feel that if a war came to threaten this, I would throw myself into space, over the city, and protect these buildings with my body.

The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world.

The rhythm of a New York summer is passionate and powerful, evoking a rapid calypso, with July being the musical climax.

Last summer had meant lots of Sam Adams Summer Ale by herself on hot weekend days when it seemed like just her and the Dominican Day parade.

She was so cool, as she knew, ankles crossed at the puckered hem of granite gray sweatpants, and she also knew I was watching from the open doorof the B train__atching her pose in apparent comfort at the girder of this city thoroughfare.

He smiled that smile again. How could something so lazy do such busy things to her body?

Faith had no idea if he meant liquor, sex or a game of twister but she was up for all three.

He thought there was chemistry? Faith had always hated chemistry at school but if she__ known a sexy Australian was going to seduce her with it in the future she may have paid more attention.

He was a Crosby, Stills and Nash song. He loved the one he was with. He was casual with a capital C.

I__ going to drag you down to the basement, kneel at your feet, rip your jeans down and I__ going to make you come so hard with my tongue the whole damn pub will think you__e being murdered.

Faith was certain they were breaking several telecommunications laws. Laws that in some states might well count as pornography and probably carried a mandatory prison sentence. Faith was a law abiding citizen. She prided herself on that. She didn__ litter, she didn__ cheat on her taxes and she gave up her seat for little old ladies and gentlemen on the bus. She__ never even jaywalked. And she lived in New York for Christ__ sake! But then his hand reached down and fondled his balls.

He looked down at her and their gazes meshed for long moments. __ was wrong before. You__e definitely the best part._ Faith__ breath stuttered in her lungs. Nobody had ever said anything so damn romantic to her in her life. She__ been told she was gorgeous and beautiful and sexy by men who__ been keen to get her into bed but she__ never been told she was the best part of anybody__ anything.

That was the wonderful thing about New York: Years of bad blood could be wiped out with a single gesture of friendliness.

When one good thing happened to you, other good things seemed to follow.

But that was the problem with New York: No matter how succesful you thought you were, there was always someone who was richer, more successful, more famous.. The idea of it was sometimes enough to make you want to give up.

Beware what you consume, lest you appetite grow by what it feeds on.

It's bewildering to me how you can just start chatting with a complete stranger on Facebook, and - next thing you know - it seems as if there's some intense connection with the person - or at least you feel that closeness and hope it's mutual

Paradoxically, the more Michael kept me at a distance, the more I trusted him - perhaps because he was always willing to help me with tips and introductions even though he wanted absolutely nothing from me (and never reciprocated my nosiness with personal questions of his own with me).