The Wonder Chronicles: 29

On NYC

New York State Department of Economic Development logo designed by Milton Glaser

This is part of a running series. Read the previous Wonder Chronicle: On Giants

Today is my 22nd anniversary with New York City. 

I woke up on Nov. 19, 2002 in their arms (I’ve assigned NYC they/them) after an 18-day solo road trip from Seattle. I’d left behind an ex-husband who lasted just two years. After one night, I knew that NYC and I would be together much longer.

Our meet-cute was years earlier but I was too young to think of lovers of any kind, let alone that a city could excite me more than many lovers I’ve had. I was 14 when I first met NYC during a family vacation in 1982. We did all the tourist things, including pre-Disneyfied Times Square, where I saw a woman pull her trousers down and take a shit, right there on the sidewalk.