Gotham Recap

NEW YORK, NY - Feb. 5, 2010 -- Ants have a better view.

From my apartment to my office is not quite far enough to take a bus. But it's a bit of a hike in icy weather. Generally I've been walking. It's almost a mile.

You see the darndest things when you walk. Even more than when you take a bicycle. Down on the ground, it's more like how an ant sees things, one small detail at a time. It's different. And I'm getting my stamina back so I can enjoy long brisk walks.

The Gothic church on 10th Avenue, standing alone among empty blocks. Why build a church there? And the answer is that at one time it was a residential area.

I let my eyes linger on details. Architecture. Cars. People. People's interactions with each other. I leave early enough that I don't have to zip along at warp speed. I can smell the roses. (Well, more accurately, the exhaust fumes. But you get my meaning.)

More than anything, I love the ethnic variety here. I've been going out with a Korean woman. Interesting cultural clash there. From Okie cracker to Asian reserve.

My office is just a block from the biggest camera store in town, B&H. And it's mainly run by Hassidic Jews.

And a walk down any street or a short bus ride will bring you within earshot of people from all over the world. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out what country they're from. My accuracy is pretty good if they're from a European country. I know most of those accents. But South African versus Australian is difficult. And the Asian languages totally baffle me.

I've considered doing lots of things that are media related and one that has come to mind is public relations. Actually, I have no interest in it although I know the drill and could do it well. But I really feel for those PR guys at Toyota who are basically apologists for their employer's screw-ups. First they lied about the stuck accelerator pedals, blaming the drivers as being inept. Now they admit it. And they have to be the bearer of more bad news now that there are other problems in the Toyota world.

The Toyota story yet to be done is what happened internally? Toyota had a stellar worldwide reputation for safety. But they have had one stumble after another which says to me that they were not stumbles at all. They were out-and-out systemic failures. And the challenge before its president Eiji Toyoda (豊田英二) is to allegorically replace an airplane wing while it is in the air. They don't have the luxury of shutting down the company and fixing what's wrong. Wonder if the bean-counters said, "Go ahead and cut some corners. Probably no one will notice. And we'll make a boatload more money."

On a personal note, I've reconnected with Andrew and Loretta, longtime friends that Lois and I had back 20-odd years ago. What a rewarding feeling! I called up last week to announce that I'm back and Loretta immediately said, "When are you coming to dinner?" And that was immediately followed by, "Are you seeing anyone?" (It was through her that I met the nice Korean lady.)

Andrew is throwing a Super Bowl party and I'm going. Yes, I know, the earth may shift on its axis after my years of protestation about sports. But it's not really a sporting event. It's a sociological phenomenon.

And I'm letting myself enjoy some of the free things that I somehow missed out on when I lived here. Barnes&Noble has some spectacular free events, mainly their authors promoting their books. They speak candidly about why they wrote what they did and open the floor to questions.

Speeches and lectures at the TV Academy has reconnected me with some colleagues from days gone by.

Some of the experimental theatre that I attend is a little rough but it's a different take on things and I enjoy getting shaken up.

Copyright 2010 James C. Lewis