A friend of mine (former colleague from IBM) from Nashville called me last week just to see how things were going in NYC.  After some small talk, she really ticked me off.  She said I was losing my Southern accent.  Those are fighting words.  Don’t get me wrong, I love being in NY but I will always be somewhat of a fish out of water.  I will always be a Southerner, no matter how long we’re here.  I’m very proud of my Southern roots and Southern heritage.  My “thing” here, is that I’m from the South and I won’t give that up.  She went on to soften it and say my I had just lost a little of my “twang”.  I think I need a nice long trip to Polk County, TN.  To spend a long afternoon in Reliance at the Webb Brother’s store sitting on the front porch talking Trout fishing.  That will bring the “twang” back in a hurry.

Then she asked me a question that I initially downplayed but has stuck with me all week.  She asked me what I missed most since I’ve been in NYC for the last 10 months.  Of course, I miss Laura so much, and the kids.  I miss my parents and friends.  But everyone knows those things.  She wanted to know what I missed most about living in the South.  Food came to mind, I miss good biscuits, even though Jacob’s Pickles on the Upper West Side rivals any biscuit I’ve ever had below the Mason Dixon line.  I miss good barbecue, but Hill Country in Chelsea fills that void nicely.  I also miss Saturday’s with the college football atmosphere, specifically UGA.  But I’ve even found a place that is the UGA HQ on Saturday’s where 100’s of UGA fans congregate and cheer on the Dawgs.  It’s just like being in Athens.  After a lot of thought, it struck me.  The things I really miss most are fairly simple, Mountains, Stars and Crickets.  There is nothing like living near the Smokey Mountains.  There are mountains in NY, but they’re different, not as pretty as the mountains in TN.  As far as Stars go, with all the lights in NYC, you just can’t see them….ever.  I miss them.  At night, the sound of Crickets always puts me out like a light.  No Crickets here in the City, at least not enough to hear.  Now there are other things I miss, like nice soft accents.  However, I have enough Southern expats around to make it tolerable.  My secretary is even from Louisiana and can turn on the “twang” with the best of them.  I also miss open space in restaurants, fried food, parking spaces (even though I don’t drive) and reasonable prices.  But all in all, I wouldn’t trade this adventure for anything and when Laura joins me in a few weeks (yes, just a few weeks) life will be amazing again.

Enough about that, there are just a couple of other things I want to share in this update.  First, if you’re ever in NYC and find your way to the Upper West Side, you have to make a trip to the French Roast Cafe.  The French Roast is “old NY” at it’s finest.  They have the best humus I’ve ever had.  Great food, great coffee and a beautiful place.  Dining on the sidewalk on a beautiful fall afternoon is truly special.  It rivals Cafe Lola (from “You’ve got Mail”) which is just two blocks away as my favorite cafe’s in the City.

The last thing I want to mention is the subject of “pointing” or “repointing” in the CIty.  If you’re ever in NYC, you will inevitably see scaffolding around the base of many of the buildings.  In fact, when I moved in my apartment on West End Avenue last January, scaffolding completely surrounded the building and it’s still there.  Apparently, every 5 years, each building has to go through a repointing process where they test and replace the mortar between EVERY BRICK.  This process can take 1 – 2 years.  This really frustrates business owners and people who live on the 2nd or 3rd floor of buildings since it destroys their view.  But it does keep the City safe and looking beautiful.  One interesting fact as far as views go, when skyscrapers are built, they have the option to buy the air rights from other surrounding buildings.  Basically, they buy the air above all the buildings nearby to protect their views.  These air rights can cost multiple millions of dollars but they guarantee views for the owners of the buildings.  I love the idea and makes for good neighbors.  Well, thanks for reading and be blessed!