We're Not Slow ... Just More Relaxed

It's 8:49 a.m., and yes, I'm walking fast through the subway ... I have 11 minutes to get to work. But even if I had 20 minutes to get to work, I'd still be walking fast. I always walk fast. But today, someone decided to comment on my fast-paced strut.

Once inside the train, this guy says, "Have you always lived in New York City?"

I looked up at him in his business attire and said, "Nope, I've only been here for six months." Well, that wasn't enough subway chat for him, so he asked where I'm from. With an early-morning smile I told him I'm from Wisconsin.

He laughed and said, "I thought people from the Midwest were supposed to be slow."

As the doors opened for my stop, I said, "Oh yeah, and all we eat is cheese too." Idiot!

For the millionth time, people in the Midwest aren't slow ... they are just more relaxed over there. And, this is why.

Time is precious. But in NYC it's pretty much the most fragile thing you can find. Time is the luxury that everyone wants more of. Yet, there's plenty of moments where we wish it away.

This whole 'time' thing is taking me a while to get used to. Just like the guy on the subway, a lot of people here really do think Midwesterners are slow. I'll say it again, we're not. The difference is we don't have to sit on the subway for an hour to get groceries. And there's no one-hour line in Trader Joe's to pay for your two bags of groceries.

What I'm saying is, I used to be able to get more done while I was awake ... and I didn't have to rush. This is why there's such a thing as a "New York Minute." Us New Yorkers, old and new, have very little time to get everything done. So, the faster the better. And when things like getting groceries take forever, we have to make up for that time. Time to relax is hard to come by, and if you have more than two jobs, you've probably forgot what it even feels like.

Although I'm in love with this city and I'm never leaving, I do miss being more relaxed and having more available time.

Oh well ... it's a good thing I'm a fast walker.