Jonathan Franzen's Freedom pays homage to JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, with the coming of age of their protagonists in the city. The best Woody Allen movies are those that are shot in his city, Manhattan. There is no separating Jerry Sinefeld from his city as well.
I love New York because all my siblings and my husband have called it home. I have stayed with my bachelor brothers for a few weeks, and have rented a furnished apartment with my first child, for a month, in October. I remember celebrating Halloween with him. He was predictably dressed as a fireman. He knew how to hail yellow cabs with a Farsi "Taxi biya!"
Today, when we watch the sun set at the beach in Dubai, I simplify geography for my kids and tell them that the sun is rising in NewYork and that their cousins are waking up.
My youngest identifies NY so much with his cousins, that he even looked out for them in the film Smurfs, which played in their city.
I have recently read Jonathan Safran Foer's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close": I could only identify the narrator with my eldest nephew because they share the same voice, the demeanor and the inquisitiveness of a young NewYorker. The kid scurries through NewYork looking for the keyhole that would match a mysterious key he found in his father's closet. (A highly recommended book to read before Tom Hanks stars in the film in December!)
My sister's younger son, who is turning 3 today, is an all time natural NewYorker. It won't be long before he will hail a cab himself to go to the best restaurants, the museums, the boutiques, the shows, the investment banks, the law firms, the hotels, the gyms and the universities.
I always refer to the guys of Gossip Girl when I think of them. I also know that there will always be a reason and a pretext for me to go to NYC, because I am related to four true NewYorkers!
Happy Birthday Z! You put the cool in NYC!
ReplyDeleteThis posting was heartwarming as always, and celebrated my little Z, with a beautiful twist about New York. Indeed, my kids are being raised as New Yorkers, something I probably wouldn't have guessed I would be doing 10 years ago. Although I do remember, as a 10 year old nerd, dreaming of living in a skyscraper in New York City, with only white furniture (it was the 80s!), and working as a lawyer. In many ways, my dream did come true, minus the white furniture (thank God), but plus two beautiful little boys and a husband I adore. Of course, I have also "retired" from the practice of law, but for a little while I did live that New York lawyer life, and....it wasn't that glamorous! I much more enjoy being a mommy, a wife, a cook, a driver, a subway fixture, a spinner, an exercise junkie, and a volunteer at my children's respective schools....I also can't wait to bring my neighborhood's businesses to Dubai!!! A little piece of the Flatiron district in Dubai.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post pinktaxiblogger. It warmed my heart and you should always know you have a home in NYC right here with us!
Happy Birthday Z3.You are a cool New Yorker together with your older bro and two boy cousins.Our best wishes that you become one day the best Mayor of the Big Apple.
ReplyDelete