GPS For Our Personal Lives

Tim and I had this long conversation about how different our lives were from normal suburban lives. People in the suburbs get in their cars and drive to work and one day isn't too different from the next. They just plug in their GPS and it tells them where to go. However, when we leave our apt, we have no idea what to expect. We have no GPS. We have no idea if the subways are running properly or if we would be hit by a brick by a homeless person on the street or be killed by a jumper as we walk to the corner. We laugh about it but this week was a little too close to home.

This week, I get a call from my mom that a guy jumped from a 9 story apt but failed committing suicide because he fell into a pile of garbage that was piled on the street as a result of the snow from last week. It turns out that it was our building and the apt below us. It freaked me out and I keep playing the NY Post coverage on-line. It's bad enough that my mother calls me about every bedbug incident in the city, that she has to tell me that there's a car bomber parked a block away from our apt. However, when she calls me about a jumper on the floor beneath us and I don't have a clue - I start to wonder - am I so desensitized or oblivious or is this just one of many Seinfeld moments living in NYC? Do I really need to be more aware and concerned?

I think this is why I love Bovina so much. Despite Burricanes, the worst I can imagine is deer getting into the garden or stepping on a frog. I don't want a life where I need GPS to guide me through the pitfalls. I want a normal life. 2011 is not getting off to a good start.