Got the Jay-Z Song in my head.

"Empire State of Mind." Not to be confused with Billy Joel's more bluesy "New York State of Mind."

I am a New Yorker.

Ok. I've lived in Maryland for almost as long as I've lived in New York. But, it's in my skin. It's my identity.

I grew up downstate, went to college in Western NY, got my first job in rural NY, kept getting jobs in the Southern Tier, lived and worked in the Catskills and there you have it.

When I, on rare occasions, drive through NY to visit old friends I feel like I've got an internal compass at work. I don't feel panicky when I make a wrong turn and get lost. I'm OK in NY.

And, that's not even Manhattan.

I love Manhattan. It's a place where I could walk forever. The grid design of the roads is easy to manage. But, I so much enjoy the history of the island when it was still wilderness. It had forest, streams and sandy river beds. It's the one place where man manipulated the landscape for his own comfort. That's above ground Manhattan..where walking around is energizing. The pace is quick. The strides are long.

Anyway...the verse, and Alicia Keyes singing, "In New York" keeps rumbling through my mind.

Be cool.