A reader writes:
See, this is why I don't care what you or anyone outside New York City says about the snobbishness of my hometown: it's just the greatest mix of people from everywhere on Earth, with all kinds of music, language, food, colors, faces - God, I love it.
This is why misfits move there from all over - especially from "Middle America." This is why almost a century ago gays started fleeing Oshkosh and Houston for NYC: bring your song with you and no matter if it's a weird song you can sing it. Whatever makes you "different" elsewhere is what makes you welcome in New York.
I haven't lived there in 10 years. But this made me miss my home.