New New York.

A week in New York City can seem like a month in other places. The scale, speed, noise, glitz, splash, money that is really evident in the place is more than almost anywhere I know. I always have a hard time adjusting to all of that, at first, but thanks to being able to see some of the city from a different viewpoint helps me get back to the Earth I know.

My step daughther graduated from Columbia University in the leafy north west of uptown Manhattan. She first worked on Wall Street and is now "in between assignments" ahead of graduate school, another job, finding a new apartment, figuring out relationships, hanging out with her parental units. So, I am getting to know a little "de Loisaida" area (aka the lower East Side of NYC). "De Village" is not my home, but it's hers as she finds herself in new, interesting places to eat in Greenwich Village's little corners. She has discovered budgeting big time. The walk is a very important part of life for many New Yorkers. It's not so smart to own a car, and a good 20 block walk is good for you and your pocket book.

She is discovering that food stamps are a good option for people with no income and no other gifts coming in. No shame in taking what the state offers. It's not the same as lying on the side walk with a pan and plea. It's honest social support. I know the joys of getting unemployment benefits when I left school and university, and look at me now.

But the time in NYC is not about social issues, but about having fun and watching tennis. That we are doing. I am having my creative juices stimulated by all I see, but cannot put that out in public because I am nowhere near a computer most of the day. My BlackBerry is a possibility, but I am having too much fun watching all the other people use their BBs during tennis matches.

I am struck by the momentous moment that is about to fully unfold today, as Senator Barack Obama stands up as the first black nominee for president for a major political party. I have been looking forward to that moment for many months. Some Americans have been looking forward to it for decades. I'll let that piece of history unfold and think about how, we, as black non-Americans, fit into the new picture. How the poor and the rich in the US and its neighbourhood may be affected by this in coming years.

But, for today, I am going to see if I can find some interesting tennis to watch. I am going to love the Subway. I am going to love Starbucks. I am going to love privilege--if I get a hook up for great courtside tickets, and drinks and snacks with the hoity-toities. I am going to love sunblock. I am going to love marketing and merchandising and selling and American Express and their mini TV that allows me to watch six matches at a time, all for free--really. I am going to love giveaways, and maybe a chance to bump into a top ten player. I am going to love bumping into friends randomly. I am going to love sending messages to my friends all over the world about the tennis, and getting messages from them about what is going on in America--really--while they watch the Democratic Convention, that I cannot see. I am going to love meeting new people, from Connecticut, from France, from everywhere. I am going to enjoy another day of life.