Tired of Life?

"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford." — Samuel Johnson

Now that's a strong assertion, but I think many New Yorkers feel the same way. Certainly there are things that one would not find here, but for most city dwellers those things are either of no interest or are compromises they are willing to make. And there are ways to satisfy many exurban or country experiences here. Want a walk through rustling leaves in the autumn? Take a stroll through Central Park's Ramble. Yearning for the beach? There is always Brighton or Rockaway. Aquatic nature? Try the Jamaica Bay wildlife refuge. Of course, Central Park is not Vermont and Rockaway is not Cape Cod. And for those requiring extreme sports and dramatic natural landscapes, perhaps they are best living out west. For we have no real mountains to scale, only buildings.
But for those of us who want to be immersed in culture and a soup of human diversity and intellectual stimulation, living out of the city is untenable.
I was reminded of the Johnson quote while enjoying the vista in the photo and realizing I had seen this same panorama so many times but did not tire of it. For if I tire of this grouping of Manhattan icons, so beautifully lit at dusk on a late summer's eve, perhaps I have tired of life itself ...