Confessions of a Philistine, Part Deux

I've never been to New York City. To be honest, I've never had much of a desire to go. My friend Eric called me insane yesterday upon hearing this. Whatever. Here's the thing: I'm a city guy -- I live in one and love it -- and have no doubt that I'll probably like NYC whenever I do make the trek. (Tentative plans are being made to venture to the Big Apple to see the Cubs play the Yankees in June, part of the big 40th birthday extravaganza.) However, I can't stand the New York attitude: "We're the best city in the world, we're the center of the universe, there's no place like New York, you can get anything you want at 4 a.m.," etc. It's like how Super Bowl hype makes me almost want to skip the game entirely; the NYC-centric garbage spewed by many of its current and former residents makes me wants to puke, in a figurative sense. (I don't literally ever want to vomit, really.) And reports I've gotten from people who've lived there and didn't like it or have merely visited -- it's dirty, the people are assholes, etc. -- haven't exactly piqued my interest.

This isn't a Second City vs. NYC thing, either. I've hated NYC arrogance for years before I ever moved back here. But I'm keeping as open of a mind as possible. As I said, I love any big-city vibe and am looking forward to the trip, if it happens. And I know a few NYC proponents who are very nice. Something still tells me I'll be grateful to be back in Sweet Home Chicago afterward.