Andrew J. Lederer

in new jersey.

with her fist clanging like a bell-knocker into my gonads.

it kinda made me nostalgic. (see here and here for background.)

the ringing happened in newark, which my friend and i explored after accidentally taking the path train (the subway that runs between new york and new jersey) in the wrong direction. newark is cool (if that's a legit way to describe it) because, unlike many or most other depressed american cities, it seems to have made little or no recovery in recent years.

walking along its main street, looking at its underutilized buildings from the 19th and early 20th century felt like taking a time machine to the '70s. loud music blaring (this particularly bothered my friend), the sense that no one had money or prospects, the neglected look of things . . .

frankly -- i liked it.

y'see, one is hard-pressed to find an american city these days that is visually unbesmirched by unremarkable new skyscrapers and economic "success". newark is a survivor -- it may be covered by a coat of social and economic torpor but it's architecturally intact -- a real american city from the glory days of industrial america.

sure, i want the people there to get jobs. but not to the extent that anyone wants to build something out there.

hey, i've done okay without a job.