I went to the Big City (Baton Rouge) today and felt extremely naked the entire trip to and from the city (including LSU campus) because I left my EDC behind with the exception of 1 knife.

I am developing a strong dislike of cities more and more all of the time!!! This is the price of "staying out of trouble"...

wildman800, cities are not so bad. However, when you do not frequent them, I can see discomfort when in one.

But leaving the EDC behind? Whatever for? I can see paring it down a bit for some places, but I still carry some things even when I get on a plane or wlak into a court.

Come up to NYC, spend a weekend, I'll have you feeling comfortable in no time. it would be a long shot, but maybe I can wrangle a ride for you on something running through Hellgate.

Oh, I'd love that - I live in Queens - did get a ride through the Sunnyside carwash once (GG1), and got to run the old Harold Tower a few times - always on a weekend. For some reason, the guy letting me do it didn't want a 13YO screwing up rush hour (30+ years ago)... I did get to sit in and watch a few Morning rush hours

I lived in NYC (St George, Staten Island) and worked out of Governors Island for 2 1/2 years. I sailed the LIS, East river, Hudson River up to Albany, Ny, Upper and Lower NY Harbors, Raritan Bay and River, Kill Van Kull, Newark Bay, and the Arthur Kill. That was all year round. I do miss going by Woody's Junkyard/Staten Island in the Arthur Kill. Icebreaking on the upper Hudson River (above Poughkeepsie) was always a fun thrill!!!!

It was a real surprise watching the twin towers falling down since my DW worked on the 17th floor of the North Tower while we lived in NYC. We used to meet in the basement (mini mall) for lunch and go raid the nearby bars after work.

1979 - 1981 was a truly great time to live in NYC. We had some truly great times there!!!

I think the Junkyard is dwindling. It was last I knew, but I have not been by it for a few years.

My favorite places to work were always the East and Hudson Rivers. Running Hellgate underpowered, pretty much what I was all the time, was fun, like a toboggan. Breaking ice in the Hudson was also fun, so long the engineer kept water flowing through the heat exchanger.

NYC is a much better now than in 1979-81, although for some it may not be as much fun. It is cleaner and safer.

Hell Gate was always a wild ride at max tide!!!!!

Absolutely.

Both the worst, that is hardest, and most fun time to run it. Until something goes wrong. I got very lucky once, after one of my mates messed up.

I find it easier to navigate in cities if I see them as a wilderness with diverse wildlife. Like all wildlife they all have their own behaviors and niches in the environment. Like valleys on either side of a ridge each has its own unique ecology.

Withing each zone you have herbivores and carnivores. Hunters and hunted, opportunists and scavengers. Many are cliff dwellers and some live underground. Some enjoy the sunlight while others are mostly nocturnal.

Like naturalists everywhere you have to mix blending in, so you don't disturb their natural behavior, with actively avoiding looking like one of the prey species to the more aggressive inhabitants.

I knew it was time to leave NYC when I realized how mean it was making me. The last straw was the day I was walking home after work and passed through a murder scene: gawkers, cops standing around a doorway bs-ing over something under a sheet, and scattered puddles of blood on the sidewalk that I had to dodge. The only thought that ran through my head was:

"Can't these (*&^%*%$#@ get out of my way?!"

Ten steps further up the block I stopped cold as I realized what I was becoming. I got out the map that night, and started making a list of other places to live.

"...cities are not so bad..."

We were in our nearest "big city" recently (not really all that big, but size is relative. Compared to where we are currently hanging out, anything over 20 people is big). Made the mistake of going into Super Wally World, on a weekend to boot. Huge crowds, unattended rugrats running wild all over the place, 90% of the people had a cell phone screwed into their ears, paying zero attention to the person/people they were with, almost everyone speaking in a foreign language. Not for me, thanks...