When I was about 10 years old, my father took me to New York City for the first time. Throughout his life, he had a great deal of business in New York, and since it was on the company dime, the accommodations were always of the Central Park South variety. On that first trip, and on several others, it was the two of us – just me and my dad.

Those trips gave me indelible memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I remember my first New York City restaurant experience (Sea Horse Grill, Rockefeller Center), my first Broadway show (A Chorus Line), and my first New York everything. I was in love with this town from Hello, and I knew from a very young age that this is where I was going to live. This town was a knock-out to me (still is) and had a distinct vibe that we didn’t have at home. A town without an inferiority complex. There were cool impressions of New York on televisions and in movies, but I owe all those important first real-life impressions of NYC to my dad.

These days, “Uncle George” (that’s me) gets to pay it forward and show NYC to my nieces and nephews when they come to visit.