Sex Madness in the Motor City

Ew. Syphilis is on the rise in Detroit. More fun facts: Did you know there are only one million people in Detroit? I've totally lost my perspective on how big that is. I mean, I always thought Detroit was bigger than (Greater) Cincinnati, but it's not. It used to be, though. Still, New York has nearly eight million people. That's just crazy. Brooklyn by itself is bigger than both Detroit and Cincinnati combined.

A couple of months ago, I was standing in line for the Wonder Wheel at Coney Island with my niece. She looked at the teeming mass of humanity around her, and asked me how you ever met anyone in a city this big. It's funny, a lot of people find it curious that you can be lonely while surrounded by so many people, but she went right for the heart of the matter. It's overwhelming, all these people that you don't know. It's more frustrating when you are alone, because you think, gee, there are people coming out of the woodwork around here, what's my problem? It's misleading. Let's do some (very rough) calculations. There are 8 million people in New York. Let's say there are 3 million adult males, give or take. Say 1.5 million of them are single. Maybe 2 million, as this is New York. Also, since this is New York, let's throw Kinsey out the window and say that 1 million of them are gay. That leaves 1 million. Cross out those that live in Staten Island, Queens and The Bronx. Sorry, I refuse to do the commute. What's left? 500,000? About 250,000 of them are "That Guy." Thankfully this isn't Detroit, so I don't have to discount the ones with syphilis, but the 100,000 who live with their parents and/or are under the age of 28 can just pick up their coats at the door. 150,000 single, straight, old-enough, non-That Guy, self-sufficient guys in New York for me to meet. Still, there's the common interest factor. The physical attraction factor. The not-being-intimidated-by-my-strong-personality factor. The good taste in music factor. Hell, I require most of this stuff from just my friends. There are so many people in New York, every strange subculture is able to support itself, which draws people into these niche existences, where they rarely explore and find new things to do, so I'm looking at the same crowd every place I go. And sure, there's the dating and the sex, but the last time I had that feeling, the one that lights up the heart-shaped neon sign over my head, it was kind of abruptly removed.

Hmm, wasn't I talking about syphilis in Detroit? Must be the romantic in me.

I still haven't noticed myself touching the monitor, but the smudges prove me wrong.