The Pride of the Cities (Henry)
A New Yorker sat at a roof-garden table, enjoying the cool breeze and the stars above. He was content, as his family was out of town and he had the evening to himself.
A man from Topaz City, Nevada, stumbled into the garden, looking lonely and desperate for human companionship.
The New Yorker, feeling reckless, decided to break his usual conventions and invited the stranger to join him at his table.
The two men began to chat, with the New Yorker trying to impress the man from Topaz City with the wonders of New York City. However, the man from Topaz City seemed more interested in talking about his own town and its various features, such as the ladies wearing short skirts for climbing, the town marshal, and the number of stage robbers shot in the area.
Topaz City is one of the finest towns in the world.
The New Yorker continued to try to steer the conversation back to New York, mentioning the city's architecture, hotels, and police department. But the man from Topaz City kept interrupting with stories about Topaz City, such as the town's assessor, the number of pickpockets caught, and a girl who slept for forty days and nights without waking up.
As the evening wore on, the two men continued to drink and talk, with the New Yorker becoming increasingly frustrated with the man from Topaz City's lack of interest in New York's wonders. Finally, as they left the roof-garden, the New Yorker tried one last time to impress the man from Topaz City by pointing out the noise of the city.
In the way of noise New York is far ahead of any other.
However, the man from Topaz City countered with a story about a noisy event in his town, leaving the New Yorker unable to claim victory in the battle of city pride.