Ahoy,
Central Park in my backyard is definitely one of the perks of living in NYC I miss. The closest large park is Balboa Park, which is about half a mile away. Being close to a park is great but it's no Central Park. There are not nearly enough trees and not nearly enough shade. The road to get to the park is like running alongside a freeway. After having been able to run for 6 miles straight through Central Park without stopping for the past few months, I was definitely not used to having to stop for traffic at crosswalks. As far as distance goes, there is plenty, but goodness! it was so boring! There is a golf course, so it was lots of lawn, not much variation in the landscape to my right, and traffic to my left. I don't like running when it's hot and boring. Actually, I don't like running ever, but hot and boring enhances the not liking.
The weirdest thing to me was that people kept saying 'hi' or asking how I was doing. Not even people that were just walking, people running too. I saw maybe 20 to 30 people on the trail and most of them said something. In Central Park, I see hundreds of people and not once have I ever said anything or anyone ever said anything to me (sincerely, that is, but that's a whole 'nother story). I've been told to live in NYC, but leave before I get hard. I think this is just indicative of how much human interaction people in each city get. LA and NY are the biggest cities in the States, but it's amazing how different they are. LA breeds its population to sit in cars all day. It's possible to get in and out of your house without ever encountering another soul. But in NY, the streets and subways are filled with people that have invaded each others' personal space. Of course people in LA have the capacity to greet other people, they haven't been bombarded by them all day, every day already. I had heard about this social phenomenon before in movies and classes, but it's interesting to be able to experience and observe it.
deadeningly amused,
JT
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