Call me old-fashioned but I love New York – I’m not sure why I am saying this today but, hey, I’ve said it now. I woke up this morning thinking of the music of George Gershwin and the famous and romantic kissing photograph by Alfred Eisenstadt. I don’t know why but I did.

Call me old-fashioned, oh, you already did, but I am still a sucker for all that Manhattan romantic stuff and after many visits, I still think it might be my favourite city…well one of them at least – don’t get me started on lists.

From my very first visit I was hooked on that heady mix of romance and yes, danger – excitement is the word I was looking for – it thrilled me then and does to this day. I don’t know why I am saying this today but there you go.

New York was always in modern colour when I have been there and I know it has changed a lot over the years but there are too many vivid images in black and white for me not to carry a monochrome mental photograph album of the place somewhere just believe the surface of my subconscious.

Even when it wasn’t there, I saw edginess, possibilities and forbidden territories and I was always tempted to go just one street too far for a nice English boy.

I couldn’t go on the subway without a gruffily American accent playing an internal commentary in my brain, egging me on, challenging me to go too far – maybe because in New York, I thought I could be just anyone I wanted to be.

I could vanish into the crowd like nowhere else. Not always feeling safe but never feeling sorry to be there.

I was there this morning but don’t ask me why – I am there for a while almost every day…..

…even if no one notices.

There is nothing else for it, I feel Gershwin coming on – Gershwin, Woody Allen and Manhattan but if that isn’t enough wonderment for you, then after that, of course, Ella Fitzgerald singing Rodgers & Hart.

OK, do it again – just call me old-fashioned.

The post New York New York – always there in black and white. appeared first on Wolfie Wolfgang.

A few weeks ago, when I was feeling particularly nerdy and obsessive, I looked up the analysis of this website and found that I had readers in all the American states except one – Vermont. It spurred me into action and I started reading and writing about Vermont. One of the things that I found out was that it was a major producer of marble, the biggest in the States, and when I went on holiday to the Greek island of Paros, also a marble centre, I was equipped with a surprizingly wide range of information about marble cutting even though I never got round to writing about the Vermont marble industry…..maybe one day.

After a week of Vermont-related issues, Vermont readers came flooding in ( I now have eleven readers!) and, opening a bottle of virtual champagne, I can now celebrate having followers in every American state. So here’s a toast to the citizens of America…..thanks for tuning in.

I was in a similar mood of obsessive list-making yesterday so I have compiled a top 51 (well I included District of Columbia as a state) in order of numbers of readers. A big, nay gigantic, vote of thanks to the people of New York, California and Pensylvannia who top the poll overwhelmingly but I would also like to say a personal “hi!” to my one reader in North Dakota…thanks for being different!

Hmmm……I need to look into North Dakota.

So here is the list….and all you people included within it, you are more than statistics to me:

1. New York

2. California

3. Pennsylvania

4. North Carolina

5. Florida

6. Massachusetts

7. Oregon

8. New Jersey

9. Texas

10. Illinois

11. Virginia

12. Georgia

13. Arizona

14. Colorado

15. Maryland

16. Ohio

17. Tennessee

18. Michigan

19. Washington

20. Minnesota

21. Missouri

22. Connecticut

23. New Hampshire

24. Kansas

25. Indiana

26. Wisconsin

27. Vermont

28. Kentucky

29. Nebraska

30. New Mexico

31. Alabama

32. District of Columbia

33. Utah

34. Oklahoma

35. Nevada

36. Louisiana

37. South Carolina

38. Rhode Island

39. Idaho

40. Mississippi

41. Maine

42. Arkansas

43. Iowa

44. South Dakota

45. Hawaii

46. Montana

47. Delaware

48. Wyoming

49. West Virginia

50. Alaska

51. North Dakota

The United States comes second (after my homeland in the United Kingdom) in the top twenty out of 95 wolfiewolfgang-reading countries world-wide. I am with Thomas Paine though and think of us all as “Citizens of the World” and I feel honoured to have you all here.

1. United Kingdom

2. United States

3. Hungary

4. Germany

5. Canada

6. Denmark

7. Australia

8. France

9. India

10. Italy

11. Netherlands

12. Czech Republic

13. Austria

14. Sweden

15. Brazil

16. Poland

17. Ireland

18. Spain

19. Norway

20. Greece

So thanks everyone…..I will publish the whole list when I reach the magic 100 nations moment – just 5 to go. In the meanwhile here is a little song to celebrate:

The post I have at least one friend in every American State. appeared first on Wolfie Wolfgang.