I heart New York

I originally posted this last Sept. 11 on my old blog. Some revisions have been made.

Since 9-11, I've taken four trips to New York City -- one a few weeks after the attacks. I'd never been there before.

I've been propositioned by a Greek hooker in Times Square.

I've taken a nap on the Great Lawn of Central Park.

I've watched "High Noon" on a big screen, with 3,000 or more other people, in Bryant Park, right next to the New York Public Library.

I've eaten the most amazing gyros sandwich in Greenwich Village.

I've been challenged to a chess game in Washington Square Park.

I've (unwisely) walked, slightly inebriated, down an empty and boarded-up stretch of Broadway long after dark.

I've probably deserved to be mugged for doing that.

I've heard Zadie Smith give a reading at Joe's Pub.

I've paid $17 for a mediocre cheeseburger.

I've perused the musty-smelling rare book room of The Strand.

I've spent nights in a hotel room that, judging by the large and never-cleaned stain on the carpet, might've been the scene of a 1977 mob hit.

I've walked miles and miles, one time covering my feet so badly with blisters that I could barely walk off the plane when I returned home.

I've seen the Yankees win a penant with a walkoff homerun by Bernie Williams -- and even tough the opponent that night was Minnesota, the crowd still responded with wild chants of "Boston sucks! Boston sucks!" (Ironically, this was the same year Boston would win the World Series.)

I've bought cheap touristy crap from a streetside kiosk.

I've bought the best-ever slice of sausage pizza from a corner shop.

I've accidentally stumbled into a Korean pride festival, complete with Korean boy band.

I've flirted with a young woman on the subway.

I've been in midtown Manhattan on Halloween night.

I've seen Shakespeare in the park.

I've been served lime-flavored coffee in the home of a friendly Puerto Rican family.

And yes, I've seen the still-smoking ruins of the World Trade Center. It changed me; it continues to change my entire life.

But I've also been changed — enriched — by a million other experiences and memories. The 9-11 attacks loom large for me, but they do not dominate my experience of New York City, which is full of life.