Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Old Timers

New Yorkers are a multifaceted breed, many coming here from around the country and around the world to live and work and transform their lives, turning themselves into New Yorkers.

Then there's the natives. Those of us born and bred here, and who never left. 

This charming piece is about a seventy year old man from Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn who has lived in the same neighborhood his whole life and is beloved by his neighbors. He seems to define old time New Yorkers, who have seen the city evolve over the years but who never sough to flee to the suburbs or Florida or anywhere else -- who stayed and persevered. 

They are the city's memory bank, the characters who give our city character. We're lucky to have them and we can learn a lot from them. They prove that New Yorkers can be just as provincial as anyone else -- that though this is a town like no other, it's also a town just like any other. It's a place called home.  

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