Sometime we have let go of the old things we love to let in the new
Did you ever wonder why NYC’s, NYC? That is to say, how it became the biggest city in the world? Why not Boston, Philly, or DC?
In 1776, this massive fire occurred and pretty much wiped out the city as it was.
Afterward, the city made a decision in 1811 to set up the grid pattern we all know in NYC – doesn’t sound like much until you think that most everything past 14th street was forest.
Other places, like Boston, would have been like, “Well, there’s a tree where the road should go, and no one’s here anyway, so let’s just build a road around the tree.” But the plan said to cut down any tree and fill in any stream in the way of the streets – which most people thought of as insane and wasteful.
But cause they did that, the city grew in an orderly fashion and immigrants – like my folks – that couldn’t speak a lick of English could get around the city. So they came here.
Another one of my buddies called me today:
Me: What’s the dilly?
Him: Flipped the company. For $100M.
Me: Oh, NICE! Are you rich? More to the point, do you owe me money?
Him. “Yes,” and “no.”
Me: Wait – $100K or $100M?
Him: $100M.
Me: Do you need a manservant? I can be like Cato.
Him: That would be awesome. “I’m home!” WHAM!
He too had a hard life, as did Sheridan. Something about suffering makes y’want to succeed, to make things better.
Chris Rock once said that, “There’s something about being picked on that makes you work harder to make a reality where no body picks on you.”
It’s not true for everyone; some people that suffer stay broken. But the ones that get better – oftentimes – get a lot better. Bendy. The broken ones tend to get more broken.
If you’re the former, sing it with me – We don’t need no water, let the @#$@#$ burn…
Location: near Grand Central
Mood: ambitious
Music: she all fly But I can take the heat
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5 replies on “Let it burn”
Is your friend single? (Kidding!!) I love grid systems. Actually, I don't really care as long as I have a map. I still like paper maps over gps.
Ha, he is – he also happens to be a former pro model (you've absolutely seen him in magazines). He totally earned all his shiny, though.I like paper maps too – I wish I had a nice one to put up.
Ooooh, I wish I travelled in your circle…living vicariously though..right? I can dream. I feel like I should come to NY to meet you. LoL
[…] The next morning, we ordered some breakfast and then went out for a walk. Downtown is really completely different from rest of the city in that it’s streets are a lot like Boston or Philly because of this massive fire in 1776. […]
[…] We all have these fires in our lives, don’t we? And we face that choice to let it leave us broken, unchanged, or better. […]