Jeff Okean:  

Life I left NYC in 1999, after 30 years there. I'm now living in Juno, Florida, on the southeast coast near West Palm Beach; about a mile from the Ocean. Living near the sea and away from cold winters is a dream come true for me; as most days I can get in walk on the beach in before work, if I get up early enough. I miss many things about NYC, though: all the intelligent, fascinating, literate, beautiful people from all over the world, so many great restaurants, so many places to hear great live music, great wine and food shops, and walking to most every place I need. I had a blast there in the early seventies - I played bass in a few rock bands, did some modern dance, drove a taxi, was a lapiday and made my own jewelry. It was a wonderful time. Rents were very affordable compared to salaries; and anybody with a desire to work hard could have a comfortable life living in a nice (although sometimes a funky or ethnic) part of town. That all changed, though, when only the wealthiest people got control of the town, IMHO. Artists, musicians, dancers and the like couldn't afford lofts to work in, no matter where they were located. The investors, lawyers, doctors, trust-fund babies and wall-street types gobbled up all the nice large spaces; and the tone of everything changed. To me, the city lost its artistic soul somewhere around 1976. After being in Gestalt Therapy for a while, I studied Psychology. Got as far as getting into a PhD program; but doing school and work became no fun after a while, and I lost interest in the theoretical nature of that discipline. I was attracted to computer programming, as success was due more to results and based less on BS; however that profession lost its appeal to me, as more and more people from foreign countries poured into American IT. I had to put my dog Kuro down in '86, after being with him for about 13 years. He was my buddy though so many changes, and an anchor for my soul. I miss him. If any of you wer...Expand for more