E D I T O R ’ S N O T E
AMERICANWAY
JULY 1 2009
10
uniform. Andover his earswere
headphones, always on and al-
ways loud.
He absorbed the sights of the
city while quintessential New
Yorkmusicpumped throughhis
head. The mix tape was scored
accordingly as the timing of
his steps and the cadence of his
movements became habitual.
New Yorkers are creatures of
habit, so the young man made
certain to have the proper mix
of music cued up to see him
throughhis routine.
The tape began with Benny
Carter, oneofHarlem’smost in-
fluential jazzmusicians.Hissax-
ophone did the talking in “Tell
All Your Dreams toMe.” Deep-
rooted jazz gave way to some
NewYorkpunk,whichhadbeen
intentionally chosen to coincide
with the chaotic scene on the
subway at rush hour. Bleecker
Street’s own prodigal sons, the
Ramones, put the young man
on high alert with their an-
them “IWannaBe Sedated.” All
those interestingpeople that the
youngman encountered on the
train took onwhole new perso-
nas as theRamones spedup the
tempo.
By the end of the day and the
time the young man punched
out from job number two, the
city had morphed into an en-
tirelydifferentkindofmetropo-
lis, so the young man cued up
a track to illustrate the sounds
emerging from the shadows.
He reserved the tape’s last song,
Billy Joel’s “New York State of
Mind,” as his nightly send-off
into the heart of Manhattan.
That was the youngman’s rou-
tine for years.
The young man has since
grown older. His satchel has
been replaced with a briefcase,
his
Daily News
has been re-
placed with the digital
Daily
News
, andhis headphones have
been replacedwith an iPod. Yet
one element of his younger life
remains consistent: Whenever
traveling inNewYork, the now
older man puts on that endur-
ing Billy Joel ballad and roams
the streets of the Big Apple as
though in a time warp. Such is
the essence of the Piano Man
and the indelible imprinthehas
left onbothmusic andpeople.
We are pleased to feature
BillyJoel on the coverof
Ameri-
canWay
.Masterentertainment
writer RobertWilonskymet up
with Joel on tour in San An-
tonio recently, and the singu-
lar rock star gave tremendous
insight into his career — past,
present, and future. The story
(page 26) reads like a timeless
allegory of an ageless entertain-
er, and it servesasananchor for
this travel- and history-steeped
issue.
Writer Jack Boulware revis-
its the 1940s Roswell incident
(page 20), while Jeannette
Coopermanmaps out a host of
fun day trips that are only one
hour away from an airport near
you (page 32). And no issue
running over theFourthof July
would be complete without a
patrioticflag story, deferentially
told by writer Jim Morrison
(page22).
Billy Joel and his tour mate
Sir Elton Johnwill be inWash-
ington,D.C.,onJuly11and then
in Columbus, Ohio, on July 14.
Take that Greyhound on the
HudsonRiver lineandsee them
live. (Actually, it’d be better if
you flew there.) You just might
see theolderman there too.
Onceupona time,whencell phonesweremerely toys for the
nouveau richeandApplewas just afledglingcomputer com-
pany, a youngman walked the streets of New York City as
if each stepwas scripted. Everymorning, he’d leave his tiny
rented roomand take the1 train from the96thStreet station
down to23rdStreet. Inhishandwas a copyof the
NewYork
DailyNews
.¶Onhisbackwasasatchelwithhiseveningwork
StateofMind
AdamPitluk
Editor
Want to signup for free e-mail
notificationofAdam’s columnor
to seepast columns?Go to
/
whatsnew
.
Almost Famous?
You may not be a
rock star like Billy
Joel, but
American
Way
will give five
lucky winners the
Billy Joel treatment.
Enter our eighth
annual RoadWarrior contest, Fame and
Fortune, betweennowandAugust 31 for
achancetowin.Thisyear,ourgrand-prize
winner will receive two million Hilton
HHonors bonus points and one million
American Airlines AAdvantage bonus
miles. His or her picturewill also be fea-
turedon thecoverof
AmericanWay
. Our
second-prize winner will receive a Bose
Lifestyle 48 DVD home-entertainment
system, a BoseWavemusic system, one
pair of Bose QuietComfort 3 Acoustic
Noise Cancelling headphones, and a five-
night vacation for two in an oceanfront
bungalow at theHiltonPapagayoResort
& Spa in Costa Rica that includes one
complimentary spa treatment for the
winner and a guest. Three third-prize
winners will receive a three-night vaca-
tion for two in an ocean-view bungalow,
and all five winners will get a Verizon
BlackBerryStorm cell phoneanda$100
Verizon gift card. Visit
waymag.com/roadwarrior for details.
