It’s part of human nature to
sometimes boast and brag,
to let the egos shine. Even
if not personally involved,
many will take pride, attach
themselves to the famous or
fantastical mankind achieve-
ments from their particular
culture, country, home
town, state or region, group,
family or clan.
The Egyptians, for instance,
love their millennia-old
pyramids. The French extol
the stature and magnificence
of their Eiffel Tower, San Fran-
ciscans boast over the broad
expanse of their Golden Gate
Bridge.
And of course, New Yorkers
have their Yankees. And once
they had the tallest man-made
structure on the planet, The
Empire State building. “Why,
do you know we completed
that magnificent structure in
1931, a mere year and a half
under construction,” the
boisterous businessman from
Manhattan told the St. Louis cab
driver who was taking him from
the airport to his downtown hotel.
“Nothing like good old New York,”
his “Better than Thou” passenger
went on.
The cabbie snickered to himself
thinking, this guy was thirty years
away from even being born back
then. What irked him most was
the boasting that “his Yankees”
were far and away the best team
in Major League Baseball.
Cabbie stewed quietly, knowing
his Cardinals beat the Yanks 3
times out of 5 in head-on World
Series competition. But this was
his customer, and if he wanted a
good tip, he would keep to himself
on that issue.
As they made their way into the
downtown area, the New Yorker
noticed a gleaming, sky-rocketing,
stainless steel, arch structure on the
Mississippi Riverfront. “My God,”
he gasped with amazement as they
passed, “What in world is that?
The cabbie with his nonchalant
cool and calm, St. Louis attitude
replied, “ Huh, beats the hell out
of me. That wasn’t there yesterday.”
-30-
Chris Hanch 7-28-2023
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