Luck and the Lower East Side

So I was walking to and from a show I reviewed on the Lower East Side last night.  It ended around 10:45 (and yes, it desperately needs to be edited down!) and I realized a few things.
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First, I love the Lower East Side.  I love the just-this-side-of-annoying-hipster vibe.  It is earthy and cool, without the pretension of Willimasburg.  And, I love being able to wander around at 11:00PM on my way back to the subway.
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Which brings me to the luck.  On the four sides of my family tree, I have (1) inbred Kentucky, (2) inbred Illinois, (3) inbred Mormon and (4) crazy Dutch.  Thank goodness I lucked out with the crazy Dutch in height, weight and hair (if you have seen the hillbilly side of the family you would know I mean hair in general - blond is just icing on the cake of that one).  I mean, most of my male relatives are under 5'8" - which isn't a bad thing, but makes wandering around the Lower East Side at 11PM more dicey.
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I don't feel like a big guy, but I am a skosh over 6 foot, and weight just the wrong side of 200.  While I may not feel big, there are easier targets in the Lower East Side if someone just wants to cause trouble.   I was walking outside of a loud bar yesterday, where the cool-but-annoying kids were outside smoking, drinking beers and generally being a pain to the passersby.  And I thought, if I was a woman or a smaller guy or myself 15 years ago, I would be nervous at best or, more likely, pretty scared. Now I just met their eyes and don't really give a shit.  7 times out of 10, I'll make fun of someone's shirt and we'll all have a good laugh.
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Sure, I inherited the bat-shit crazy along with the height and hair, but for the ability to wander this city at will... totally worth it.