WaterWorld

By GeorgeLouis at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org

Like a lot of urban myths, the idea that New York (once "New Amsterdam") is a horrible cesspool of evil people takes a lot of work, through popular t.v. shows that are eager to sell this gritty vision of our fair Gotham as a grim reality to viewers too scared to see the truth for themselves. Of course, we also rank #14 in the U.S. for churches per capita, but that doesn't sell as many tickets to the show, does it? Not that our lives are dull, it's just that (like other areas around the globe), popular culture about us can be intentionally misleading.

I lived in one of the most prosperous neighborhoods in the world, and I felt lucky to be there when I did. Prospect Park is Frederick Law Olmsted's vision for a less manicured space outside of Manhattan that would give the grounds an air of discovery upon certain vistas, lending it an experience more similar to hiking in nature, rather than being in the middle of one of the world's largest cities (Brooklyn), now a borough of New York City, which was once a city of its own.

The same can be said about any of the outdoor spaces we have in the surrounding area. Brooklyn and Queens (boroughs both) are part of the land mass that becomes Long Island. The ocean is so important to us, that our SUNY Maritime College (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_University_of_New_York_Maritime_College) is in the Bronx, another borough. Water is everywhere around us, strange as that picture may seem to someone whose best ideas about us are formed through fictionalized t.v. shows, so much so, that Long Islanders define towns as either being on the North Shore or the South Shore.

As I've written before, we also have an old, active, thriving beach culture that's as separate from California Dreamin' as their beaches are to their t.v. shows, too. In the midst of all this natural beauty, it makes alternate versions a hard sell, but careers are built on such quibbling points, and lost on them, too. Because we are an island nation in New York, our lives are almost totally defined by water. There are 2,000 bridges and tunnels in the city of New York (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_bridges_and_tunnels_in_New_York_City), which is utterly incomprehensible to feel through the flat screen of a t.v set. You have to smell the ocean breeze as it blows inland, watching the water rise to a gushing flood that flushes out the sewers within a half an hour, to realize the power that is this great driving force of nature.

It's made us respect the water we need everyday, because we come from it. We're made of it, after all (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_water). It's essential to who we are, because it is the stuff of life itself. We cannot live without. It is in this spirit (inclusive to all life on Planet Earth), that I'm asking you today to participate in its preservation through your careful consumption, and the designation of our precious waterways to national parkland status or designated UNESCO heritage sites, because you have to ask yourself this: when was the last time you beat a tidal wave? I already know the answer, and so do you. Honor water as you honor life itself.

https://events.attend.com/f/1383773128\
http://en.unesco.org/ 
http://water.org/ 

I Come From the Water

Toadies

I come from the water
I crawled upon the shore
I left my brothers there
I got what I came for

I sucked that hot air in
And rolled upon the sand
Emerged beneath the sun
To be a man.

I come from the water
I come from the water
That weren't no easy thing
It's more than nature
It's like my destiny

I stood upon these legs
And held my head up high
Emerged beneath the sun
To start a new life

I Come From the water

Life in the desert
Just to be together
The sand forever
The same forever
It moves beneath me
It pulls my body
My pulse beats hotter
So far from the water

I love to see the sun
In spite of all it's done
I pray for shade and rain
I pray to live again
I come from the water

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