What 50 Million Gets You

Rocketboom, daily with Joanne Colan. On a Casual Friday, Friday July 18, 2008 Joanne takes a look at The New York City Waterfalls, a public art installation by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olafur_Eliasson. To the tune of $50,000,000- yeah 50 million of the city's economic development corporation monies has been spent on nothing better than waterfalls. New York City's development corporation estimates that it will bring in $55 million in tourist dollars to the area in revenue.

WHAT? Eliasson was commissioned by The Public Art Fund http://www.publicartfund.org/ and New York City to create four man-made waterfalls, ranging in a height from 90—120 ft., in New York Harbor. The installation runs from June 26 through October 13, 2008Now I don't know about you, but there is no way in God's green Earth that this is indicative of the vibrant cultural life that I perceive in New york City.

Admittedly, I have never been to New York City. There, I've admitted it. I have travelled through 80% of the USA from the shores of California to the waves of Maine to the Seas of Florida and have avoided NYC like the plague. I was driving all alone on my way to vacation in New England before kids, and was within 15 miles of the turn whose exit said, "15 miles to Manhattan." No way, just not for me.

I don't like cities, never have. The idea of being stuck in a mass of a million people has no appeal, even though the temptation of getting whatever food you desire at any hour does sound delightful. I've done Boston, San Francisco, Miami, Toronto, Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Denver, and a whole host of cities that have left me with varying impressions. Most good, but not enough to want me pick up my coat tail and move to them. Maybe it is the fact that NYC is an island that has no quick escape. I recall the 911 images of people wandering about to get as far away as possible on that fate full day. Sans Vegas, which is really just a conglomerate of this and that, cities are not for me. Ummmmm, wait a minute, the escape thing couldn't be the reason either. I have been on many an island from festive Aruba, one shack Cat Island in the Bahamas, Block Island in Rhode Island, to Kelly's Island in Ohio, etc., and they all suited me just fine. So I wonder what is it about NYC?

I do love the arts and would love to see Ellis Island where my grandmother came ashore from Italy. Just pisses me off that the Statue of Liberty was given as a gift from the French and that France very often never supports the policies of the USA. If I recall, I think France still owess a debt from WWII, both emotionally and financially. (Probably been forgiven by now anyways} Aside from the thought of the delicacies of little Italy where many of my friends have eaten, I just have no desire to go to the city that never sleeps and see a waste of $50 million dollars sucking up filthy river water and most likely killing fish in the up sweep of the waterfalls. I am not big on the recycling thing but for that kind of money, one would expect that the water could have been processed to recycle the energy into electricity. Shhhh, don't tell Al Gore I said that.

In a weird turn, my daughter killed a fly with the swatter today and I commented that just like a New York Minute, {from the Eagles song} one minute of one day the fly is buzzing about and the next he is not. There is no tomorrow for him and one day there won't be any tomorrow for you or me. That, while expecting tomorrow will come, we need take advantage of today. Rather profound things to say to little kids I thought after saying it aloud. My youngest daughter said something like, "Well, that's how things work in life mom."

I think I need to take my kids there and I think I need to take me there. Someday after the waterfalls have gone and been forgotten would be my guess.