1987

Howdy folks. I just moved to New York 10 days ago, and the question I keep getting is: How long have you been here? People seem astonished that I've only been here 10 days, that there may have been a life before living in New York.

But there is something to that. As much as I liked living in Richmond, Virginia, no one gets up in the morning saying, "I gotta move to Richmond." Accordingly, New York City is just the opposite; people dream about moving to New York all the time (I've heard that if you can make here, well, you can make it just about anywhere).

So the place does have an energy about it that Richmond doesn't (uh, duh?!), but so do a lot of other places—Washington, Seattle, Austin, Chicago , etc. As I read that over, it sounds painfully obvious, and is more a commentary on Richmond than New York; I suspect people know that New York City has an energy of its own. So what I'm trying to say is, I'm glad I'm here.

Note my new address.

296 Union St., Brooklyn, NY11231; jsilverman@pace.edu