WHY A NEW YAWK LIFE????
I often get asked why I wrote this show. Here is some insight into that.
I was born and raised in New York City. Certainly one of the most interesting, dynamic, diverse and overwhelming cities on this planet we all share. I had some very interesting and unique experiences growing up there. Some were due to my own circumstances and wild imagination. Others were unique to the city. People have been drawn to New York City from all over the globe for as long as there has been a way for people to travel there. My own ancestry was from Ireland and Czechoslovakia. It is an intense place to live. A very intense place.
But in 1994 I had had enough. I just couldn’t take it anymore. The daily grind and rat race had gotten the best of me. I truly started to hate New York City. I hated what I had become in order to survive there. Even though NYC was always a tough place, it’s heart was always visible. During the “crack epidemic” in the 80’s things started to shift. New York had the feel of an out of control wild west saloon with no sheriff in town. People started being rude to each other as a form of survival. Sadly I had to get out of this city I had loved and lived in my whole life for my own sanity.
My sister had moved to Santa Barbara, California from Portland, Oregon in 1989. I visited there often. Spending hours at the shores of the Pacific, finding my soul and praying for guidance. In December of 1993 while there on vacation, I went on a job interview. I got the job and in March of 1994, I left New York City for good. An angry young man hating my hometown and glad to get out.
Then on the morning of September 11, 2001, I was awakened by a never-ending ringing telephone. The emotional minefield that I experienced that day still lives with me. It made me realize that I truly did LOVE New York City. I felt like I had abandoned a friend and went through months of guilt over not being there to help during my city’s time of greatest need.
This show grew out of the stories I had been telling folks to celebrate my own personal stories of New Yawk. I started writing them down and after urging from many friends who were artists I decided to create "A NEW YAWK LIFE".
It is my story of the love/hate relationship that I have with the greatest city in the world!!!!
I hope you enjoy it.
Sincerely,
Jovial