Thirty Two Thousand Cities

There was another interview after Ted and Rocky, and I'd like to come back to that, but first I gotta tell you about Willie. I didn't interview him per se, he's someone I met at work. 

So the office manager says someone's here to make an appointment and I come out to the lobby and meet Willie. We're standing next to the newly erected Christmas tree. Willie's wearing a blue baseball cap with yellow lining that reads NYC parks and rec. He looks to be about 60, but the main thing you notice about Willie is how fast he talks.

He says he likes to help people and he knows this Mexican lady who doesn't speak any English but he does so that's why he's here to set up an appointment for her. It's really nice of him to help, I say, but I speak Spanish so she can come in herself. I give him some of our cards so he can share them with any immigrants he might know. He's happy about that, but he's not done talking.

Willie tells me, apropos of nothing, that he was a transit cop for years in NYC working in the Bronx (so that's where that accent's from). He got shot a couple of times and stabbed once on the job. He shows me the scars on his wrist where he was shot and says he got stabbed in the leg. Luckily, he doesn't show me that scar. Now he's retired and he moved up here. He's bored so he volunteers at the Lunch Box (that's the soup kitchen in the Family Partnership on N. Hamilton).

Willie tells me he wants to move back to NYC. Poughkeepsie's boring, he tells me, there's nothing to do in Poughkeepsie. That's not my experience at all so I say, there's plenty to do in Poughkeepsie. Like what? he asks. Depends, I say, I really like outdoor activities so for me I like to take hikes in the wooded trails behind Vassar farm. I was going to mention the Walkway Over the Hudson and the Morse Home too, but he stops me. He doesn't know where Vassar Farm is. Right across the street from Vassar, I tell him. Vassar hospital? No Vassar College. He was not aware of Vassar College's existence, let alone what's across from it.

He says it doesn't matter, Poughkeepsie's still boring. I press the issue. What do you like to do? I ask. He twists up an eyebrow like a question mark. Do you dance? Do you like theater? Good food? What are you into? No, I don't like none of that stuff, he says, you know how people are into bowling or baseball or whatever? All that stuff's stupid.

And that's when it hits me. The issue isn't Poughkeepsie. There are places to go dancing, places to see shows, amazing restaurants, art exhibits, places to go hiking, a music scene, cool bars and who knows what else that I haven't discovered yet. The problem is that even though Willie walks the same streets as me, he doesn't see the same city.

Everybody has a world inside their heads. The same city can be entirely different from each set of eyes. For Willie, Poughkeepsie is boring. For me, I don't have enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do here. But I wonder, how many people are there living their lives in Poughkeepsie, maybe who were born and raised here, who have no idea about the city around them, who don't take advantage of the parks and other public spaces, who don't have enough money to enjoy the restaurant or bars, and who just don't see this place like I do. With each of these interviews I see a different Poughkeepsie, a different city in every head.

I'm happy that Willie's helping people and I hope that one day he will find the city that I live and work in. My Poughkeepsie.