When subway blogger Nathan Ashker hit our radar screen six months ago, we were fairly enthralled by his “A Straphanger Emerges” blog. He had lovely pix, a clean design, and ambitious prose that hinted at–well, fairly bellowed–a young writer-type seeing the Big City with fresh eyes and an unjaundiced world view. A far cry from our world-weary rants, in other words.
I happily added young Nathan to the Trainjotting blog roll.
Well, it’s been about two months since Nathan’s last post, “A Cauldron of Cultures.”
The city’s cultural diversity is both beautiful and miraculous in its ability to successfully function, he wrote. What makes it all work? The subway, where individuals from every background, from all over the city come together in a common effort of reaching their destinations. Living in New York is constantly stimulating, forcing its inhabitants to always reassess their place in society and re-evaluate perceived notions about people and cultures.
Maybe something happened to young Nathan. Maybe the city spit him out, like so many wide-eyed arrivistes before him. I don’t know.
But Nathan, one thing you learn in New York is that you have to produce if you want to stay on the big ol’ radar screen that is New York.
I am thusly eliminating you from my blogroll.
Ouch. Submerged I have not. Yet, posted I have not. Life moves too quickly sometimes, and recently this has been the case. I hope “Straphanger Emerges” will resurrect its self soon. Dear Joe, you write of me as a wide-eyed-city-smitten-novice who got eaten up and spit out by big ol’ nyc… you are sorely wrong my friend. All the best, and hopefully we’ll speak soon on the blogosphere.