**Note to my wonderful readers: Thanks to a snafu with my new cable/Internet provider here in NY, I won’t have TV or Web service in my home for another two weeks. Will try to blog every day like usual if I can from Starbucks or whereever I can find Wi-Fi, but there may be a few days where Wide World of Stuff isn’t new. I know, you’re crushed.
If you’re a big fan of the great 1980s baseball movie “Major League,” I think you’ll love this as much as I did.
Remember the scene where the Cleveland Indians start winning, and they film that American Express commercial where they’re all standing at home plate? It was great. Well, the minor-league team called the Vancouver Canadians have spoofed it with their own local commerical. And it’s fantastic.
**So I’m starting to get settled in to my new digs in Queens, N.Y. Arrived Thursday night, moved in Friday (my new landlord baked me a plate of biscotti, I think we’re going to get along just fine), and besides my anger at Time Warner cable (see above), I’m getting used to my new environment.
Then I went food shopping last night. Bought most of the same food and beverages that I bought in Florida. And holy mother of God, the sticker shock hit me like a punch in the face.
My milk is like $1.50 more, pasta is more, juice is more, everything is more.
So, you know, I’m glad I don’t have a job anymore. Yes, I grew up here and lived here for 18 years, but I’ve been living in other places for most of the last 18 years, so it’s a little bit of a culture shock for me.
Couple other quick “return to NY” thoughts:
1, People are definitely not as friendly on the street and in stores as they are in the South. Said hello to there people, got not much back.
2. Also, the level of honking car horns cannot be quantified. You’d go months without hearing a car horn in Daytona Beach. Here? Five or six honkings an hour.
3. Already, I’ve been told there are seven restaurants in my neighborhood I must eat at. New Yorkers, we’re like that: It’s not enough that we like a place, we demand you try it and you like it.
**Finally, meant to write about this last week but kept forgetting. A week later in New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo is still getting all kinds of credit for getting the gay marriage law passed, and rightfully so.
But of course, just giving the man credit isn’t enough. My fellow Democrats are falling over themselves to make Cuomo into the next major star of the party. I’ve read blogs and heard things on Twitter that talk about him being the nominee in 2016, the man who can get things done with the GOP, etc.
To which I say … easy. The man’s been governor for six months. He’s done some good things, absolutely. But there’s still a whole lot we don’t know about his governing style, and how he’ll be on other issues.
So everybody just calm down, and let’s see if Cuomo can keep this going.
