There's no place quite like NYC. On any given day, on any given street, at any given time, you can see anything, from the beautiful and unique, to the horrible and violent. New York certainly does have an edge about it, and folks who aren't from the area often feel as if the people in the city can be harsh or even mean-spirited, but you'll encounter that anywhere to be frank. Deep down, New Yorkers have as big a heart as any and when push comes to shove, they mean well. Most of the time, we're just in such a rush that we can't engage in conversations but instead must just grunt hellos such as:

"Hey"
"How you doin?"

and the like.

To jump back on topic, having encountered people from all over the world, I am often struck by the pace of the language that is spoken. New Yorkers and Long Islanders especially, are known to be quick talkers, and it becomes more evident with every encounter. I've noticed that in some cases, people from England actually embrace our fast talking and can quickly adapt their ears to understand how we speak and vice versa. I'm not sure as to how or why, perhaps it's due entirely to the people I've met, but it seems that the English have somehow mastered the melting pot technique when it comes to language.

Also, Jess, the reason you and I both keep seeing those darned commercials for the stadium is because it's beginning to become a real hot button issue. Building the stadium would displace literally thousands of families and would probably congest traffic even further since the construction would take several years and would not be an easily reached work place. The reasons TO build the stadium range mostly in the all but guaranteed revenue it would bring in, both for the sports games played there and also, on the off chance NY does get the Olympics, it would serve as our main stadium for all the opening and closing ceremonies.

In my honest opinion, I don't think NY needs the Olympics or should have it, I think either France or London would be better choices, but it seems like everything is falling into place for the Olympics to hit the Big Apple.

I think I've talked about everything except for the point of this thread, and for that, I apologize greatly.

Take care all.