Born in Brooklyn to a Swiss father and Irish mother, the man has lived in New York his entire life. He recalls how Pa disapproved of raising his children in the city. Still, Ma told him she would primarily raise the children instead of him. Pa had been a watch repairer, and he and Ma raised the man with his three sisters. The man’s favorite sister, Nellie, had a scandalous acting career, but his other sisters’ lives were respectable.

When the man was young, he had wanted to be a police officer. He later began working with construction crews underground to build the subway. He had been proud to participate in the city’s growth, but his lover Eileen left him for another man around this time. Though initially angry, when the man saw Eileen and her family, he wished her the best. The man also remembers his friend, Louis Jordan, whose wife suffered from alcoholism. Now, she has recovered, and their house is gone.

The man has seen many odd sights in New York, like elephants marching down Eighth Avenue for the circus. His current wife, Martha, has never berated him for working in manual labor. Together, they invested a bit of money and are doing quite well. Although the man is very familiar with New York, he concedes there are still sections he’s never seen before. He thinks of all the odd people he’s met and the changes he’s seen done to the city. Now, in the hospital, he admires the view of the river he has on his bed. He ponders how there is no place quite like New York. He hopes that after its inevitable demise, the remnants of the city will return to the environment from whence it came. He believes there will never be a city like New York ever again.