432 Park Avenue (You Call It My Place)

I’ll start with a statement. I’m lucky. Not at cards. To have been born in Rome. I truly feel I am. Sometimes I wonder about the chance a human being have of being born in a place rather than an other. I live in one of the most important cities in the world. Rome is the city that once used to rule the world. It’s a harsch statement but it’s the truth. I know because I studied the history of my city, though  I didn’t do it properly when I was a student. When you are a kid you think there are millions of things to do better than studying. Unless you’re a very good boy, which I wasn’t.

However when you grow up the perspective changes and I found out a thirst for knowledge I didn’t have as a teenager. And I decided to study (better) the history of my city by myself. Now I’m not a tourist guide, but I can say I know a lot of things. History aside, Rome is a wonderful city and I’m happy to be a Roman in Rome. But even though you’re happy with your place in the world, when you travel you come to appreciate other cultures, different lifestyles, and beautiful cities. Like anyone I’ve always liked to fantasize about a new place where to live, and now I can tell you exactly where it is. And when I say exactly, I mean it. I know the address. Not only the city, not just wich neiborhood. I know the street and the house number. How cool is that?! It’s not. Because I can’t afford it.

First things first. I’m a big city guy. I don’t like the country. No offence my farmers friends, I agree with you the country is a beautiful, peaceful and lovely place. I just don’t belong there. I mean, trees, valleys, rivers, farms, horses, cows…it’s nice if I get to see them once in while, and obviously I don’t mind seeing nature amazenesses like it could be the sight of the Grand Canyon, the Alps or a beautiful Caribbean beach. But my very habitat are the big cities. I need people everywhere, cars, buildings, theaters, malls. Let’s just say I need to feel the vibes and the energy of a big city to keep me alive. And the city I like the most (Rome aside) is and ever will be, New York. You got me Americans fellows. Ever since I was a kid, I had this dream of seeing the city. I Don’t know about the rest of the world, but here in Italy, we fancy the U.S. a lot. I guess we watch too many American movies. It must have been the reason why as a kid, I spent a lot of time studying the map of the city, the places, the neiborhoods, having in mind the american movie scenes shot in the streets of New York. And I remember clearly wondering about how I would have been struck if I’d had (maybe one day), the chance to see a skyscraper. I couldn’t figure a bulding so tall, considering here in Rome the taller condo in the whole city didn’t reach the ten stories. A ninety story building?! WHAT?!

So I dreamd about New York, say for twenty years. And the day I eventually got there, you know what I felt? I just felt home. I remember clearly the feeling when the shuttle I took from JFK was nearing Manhattan and I could see its skyline taking shape on the horizon. I wasn’t in disbelief as I expected to be, but in some ways it was a better sensation. The feeling of being home was clear. Because of the tons of guides and maps I’d read and pictures I’d seen, I already knew how to move in the streets and where to go. Not that is complicated in Manhattan. You can reach anywhere from anywhere. So I always wondered about how cool would have been living in NYC. And on Park Avenue to be precise.

I remember a sit comedy I used to watch as a kid. The show was about a family that lived in an apartment on Park Avenue. The father was a rich guy, so I came to understand Park Avenue was a cool place to live in, right? I mean, if rich people live there it should be a cool place. Later on, I got that indeed was a cool place to live in, but I’m telling you, in Manhattan there’s no shortage of cool places to live in. What the hell, you’re in Manhattan, pick place, I’m sure it could be right. Still Park Avenue remains my pick, because in the meanwhile I’ve been twice in New York and decided that yes, I could get a loft here couldn’t I? Yeah, I think so. So the city was set and the location even. It would have been time though to choose the flat, or the loft or the condo. But I’ll be honest with you. I wasn’t really thinking hard about that. I figured once I had found a suitcase full of money (like it’s meant to be) I would have thought harder about picking a flat. But then, surfing the web as I do usually in the spare time, it was the address that came to me.

So here’s the thing. Some guy figured It would have been a great idea changing the New York skyline. How abot that?! I mean, why not?! They must have thought it was getting boring. “You know wath?! Let’s build a new skyscraper! Not a classic some Bank Company Building though, not even a new Insurance Company Building. Let’s build a condo! No offices, just apartments. The tallest residential tower in the western hemisphere, what you think?! Let’s do this!” And since they’re Americans, which means very good at building things, they made it. No way. I just found my place in the world. It’s going to be 432 Park Avenue. Click on the link if you want to check it out, and take a look at the view from the last floor to see the island from a 400 meters hight. Breathtaking. But I warn you, the penthouse is already sold. Not to me though. I still have to wait for that suitcase full of money. Make it two, I’m guessing one isn’t going to be enough.

John Reese