New York Stories

New York is the favorite whipping boy for the hatemongers of the right. Ann Coulter waxes wistful that Tim McVeigh didn't bomb the New York Times building instead of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahome City. The city is reviled for its Democratic voters, its diversity, its general philosophy of "Do what thou wilt, harm none."

But when you think about how these hatemongers are still freaking out about the 9/11 attacks, when REAL New Yorkers go about their business every day even they are far more at risk than anyone in the flyover states; when you think about those who helped others out of the burning buildings, and when you think about what New Yorkers do for each other on a day to day basis, it gives lie to the whole "New York is Sodom" meme.

And this week has been a bonanza to show the heartland what New Yorkers are made of.

Exhibit A-- Wesley Autrey:

Wesley Autrey probably has enough new nicknames to fill a top 10 list: "subway superman," "hero of Harlem" and "subway savior," to name a few.

Whatever the number, Autrey's dramatic move to rescue a young man in a subway track earned him a spot on David Letterman's "Late Show," capping a day spent basking in his newfound celebrity.

But Autrey has said since the rescue Tuesday that he doesn't consider himself a hero, and he told Letterman's audience it was just "something that all New Yorkers should do."

"How are you going to walk by someone who's ill and just look - 'Oh, well, I'm busy, I've got to go to work'?" Autrey said in an interview broadcast Thursday night.

And if a black man jumping on a live subway track to save a white kid doesn't give you enough warm fuzzies, there's this:

Exhibit B -- Julio Gonzalez and Pedro Nevarez:

The two men first saw the baby from across the Bronx street, dangling from a fire escape four stories above the sidewalk. His grip was growing weaker by the second. The two men saw only one choice: run over and try to catch him.

They positioned themselves below, arms out. The little boy fell. He glanced off a branch of a tree that was brushing against the fire escape. Then he bounced off the chest of one of the men, who was knocked off balance and could not grab him.

But he landed safely in the arms of the other man, who managed to hold on tight.

And so yesterday, the two men — longtime friends who had been looking over a used Honda that one was thinking of selling and the other was thinking of buying — became the second and third good Samaritans of the new year, not even a week old.

Yesterday a woman was elected Speaker of the House for the first time in history, and the new year is not even a week old yet and there are already two New York Stories about ordinary people accomplishing astounding feats of rescue.

It's almost enough to give you some hope.