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    Is Time Expanding on the Upper West Side?

    March 16, 2025 | 9:56 AM
    in ABSURDITY, ART, COLUMNS
    28

    By Gary Martin

    I’m not alone here, am I? Don’t we all do this???

    * * *

    Gary B. Martin is an illustrator and animator who has lived on the Upper West Side for more than 30 years. His illustrations appear in the Rag on Sundays, chronicling life in the neighborhood, New York City, and the Universe. See them all here. For a broader range of Gary’s work, including animations and other motion graphics, please visit www.martoons.com

    Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here. And you can Support the Rag here.

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    Please limit comments to 150 words and keep them civil and relevant to the article at hand. Comments are closed after six days. Our primary goal is to create a safe and respectful space where a broad spectrum of voices can be heard. We welcome diverse viewpoints and encourage readers to engage critically with one another’s ideas, but never at the expense of civility. Disagreement is expected—even encouraged—but it must be expressed with care and consideration. Comments that take cheap shots, escalate conflict, or veer into ideological warfare detract from the constructive spirit we aim to cultivate. A detailed statement on comments and WSR policy can be read here.

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    28 Comments
    Neal Leibowitz
    Neal Leibowitz
    1 year ago

    But 15 years ago was an other day. You appear to be talking to a young person; how did that happen?

    5
    Reply
    nancy
    nancy
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Neal Leibowitz

    Hilarious.

    1
    Reply
    Amy
    Amy
    1 year ago

    haha! You’re not the only one!😂 My sense of time is flexible . . . !
    Great Martoon, as always!👏🥰

    2
    Reply
    Eric
    Eric
    1 year ago

    The memories of my neighborhood are too entrenched to completely forget, I remember more than 40 years ago when a Saturday night involved dinner at the Back Porch, a trip to Shakespeare’s on 80th, Zabars (then open until 10, with less space) and waiting for the NYT to hit the newsstand. I was not alone; Broadway between 79 and 81 was busy all night. All gone, except happily in my memory.

    8
    Reply
    Life-long Upper West Sider
    Life-long Upper West Sider
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Eric

    And the wait at the fish counter on Saturday nights was endless, with some people searching the floor for tickets that had been dropped, in order to shorten their wait.But still, it was fun, because strangers talked to each other! This was before David Zabar revolutionized and shortened the wait time by introducing pre-packaged salmon and many other items in a case opposite the counter.

    0
    Reply
    Judy Orich
    Judy Orich
    1 year ago

    With the current headlines what they are ,15 years ago is more soothing to recollect ! Until it all starts to blend …….. enjoy spring fever.

    5
    Reply
    Rosie
    Rosie
    1 year ago

    Funny, but true..

    1
    Reply
    David
    David
    1 year ago

    You are not alone.

    2
    Reply
    Comare
    Comare
    1 year ago

    Yup! I canrelate WHOLEHEARTEDLY! Fabulous Martoon. Thank you. It brought a big smile to my face 😊

    3
    Reply
    Peter Birkenhead
    Peter Birkenhead
    1 year ago

    I feel attacked.

    2
    Reply
    Arline Shenker
    Arline Shenker
    1 year ago

    So gosh darn creative

    2
    Reply
    Lewis S
    Lewis S
    1 year ago

    As they say in the down south
    I live down the road a piece of means miles down the road and where??

    2
    Reply
    Ken
    Ken
    1 year ago

    That’s exactly how I feel!

    2
    Reply
    Nina
    Nina
    1 year ago

    Or twenty years ago!

    2
    Reply
    ecm
    ecm
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Nina

    Often 50 years ago feels like yesterday to me. Other times, it feels more like 50 years ago.

    3
    Reply
    Terry
    Terry
    1 year ago

    Yes, the other day could be way, way back for me!

    2
    Reply
    Steevie
    Steevie
    1 year ago

    Because of the internet nothing is really gone. Whether it was a month ago or 40 years ago, it is simple to look up.

    1
    Reply
    Sharon
    Sharon
    1 year ago

    See you ‘later’, when I say it, means anytime between 1 minute and 100 years.
    So I totally get ‘the other day’ too
    Thank you Gary!

    2
    Reply
    Debfrombrooklyn
    Debfrombrooklyn
    1 year ago

    Yes! This is absolutely true!

    2
    Reply
    Joe Chiplock
    Joe Chiplock
    1 year ago

    Why it was just the other day I met the man of my dreams…oh, wait, that was 33 years ago? Well…. it still feels fresh as the other day…. Thanks for making all the happy memories new again.

    3
    Reply
    Ellen White
    Ellen White
    1 year ago

    👍🏼👍🏼❤️

    2
    Reply
    Sarah
    Sarah
    1 year ago

    Seems about right. Though for me it’s more like “everything since Mar 2020 is ‘the other day’, everything before it is ‘a million years ago.'”

    4
    Reply
    Mark
    Mark
    1 year ago

    I am currently in London, and just found out that the cash from my most recent trip here is no longer accepted for cash transactions. Because it’s 21 years old and they’ve changed their cash system several times since then. #smh

    3
    Reply
    Lori
    Lori
    1 year ago

    Lol, so true…

    2
    Reply
    Ian Alterman
    Ian Alterman
    1 year ago

    According to the Simple English Dictionary: “The expression ‘the other day’ is not used for yesterday. Generally, it means anything from 3 days to about 2 weeks ago.”

    If one is referring to a time more than 2 weeks ago, the proper phrases would be “in the past” or “in the recent past.”

    2
    Reply
    Eljay
    Eljay
    1 year ago

    Time is an artificial construct (is what I keep telling my creditors).

    3
    Reply
    Steevie
    Steevie
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Eljay

    But jail is a real construct.

    0
    Reply
    Joanne
    Joanne
    1 year ago

    This is too funny! It’s true, because life is flying by so quickly that 15 years ago seems like yesterday!

    1
    Reply

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