I know they were tourists because a lot of snapshots were being taken in front of the Great Lawn, the large field where sunbathers gather at the first hint of warm sunlight but is now caked in sludgy snow, and I did not hear English once. New York is diverse, so the varied languages are no anomaly- the tour books and maps and photo snapping, however...
New York magazine featured a great story about Andy and Kate Spade, the original creators of the oft-bootlegged brand, Kate Spade.
a far cry from my first (albeit faux) Kate Spade: a fake zebra print bag purchased in Chinatown in 7th grade by a friend. Yeesh."The Spades are from the Midwest. They like to get together with their old friends and stay up late. They like things to be classic and they like the color Kelly green. They came to the city, but they didn't set about erasing the people they were before they got here, and they still have that outsider's endless thrill of how cool is this art gallery? How great is this weird smelly record store?" Amy Larocca
My group of friends and acquaintances up here is comprised mostly of fellow Southerners. and we all left for a reason: something about life in the South didn't satisfy us. This is not to say we will never return or that we regret our upbringings, but we were seeking something else, even if we cannot articulate it. But the day I find New York commonplace, devoid of magic and glitz, that's the day I pack it up.
I relish being an outsider here. That's why I will take pictures of the tourists, if they ask in broken English, in front of the mannequins at Macy's or lounging near the Great Lawn (within reason):
Gosh, it is pretty great, isn't it?
