my • fishing • shipping lanes (plantations) Port (Chicago irrigation camping, • trade • drug manuf., • slavery aka the 3. projects hiking etc • communications • manufacturing largest city of • gambling • mining, microelectronics nation) (Vegas) lumbering, in the 19th farmes • arts (Santa grazing etc century produced a Fe) • Hollywood manufacturers bundance • Silicon and clothing, harvest of Valley
carts, the shouts of hawkers blended with music from street entertainers, the awe-inspiring range of faces and styles and accents, the gorgeous architectural wonders...And the cars. Jesus Christ. The frenetic flow of tightly packed cars was unlike anything I'd ever seen anywhere. There was always an ambulance, patrol car, or fire engine trying to part the flood of yellow taxis with the electronic wail of ear-splitting sirens. I was in awe of the lumbering garbage trucks that navigated tiny one-way streets and the package delivery drivers who braved the bumper-to-bumper traffic while facing rigid deadlines. Real New Yorkers cruised right through it all, their love for the city as comfortable and familiar as a favorite pair of shoes. They didn't view the steam billowing from potholes and vents in the sidewalks with romantic delight and they didn't blink an eye when the ground vibrated beneath