This book is about my early beginnings in New York City. It talks about the people I met, the challenges I faced, and the difficulty I had establishing myself in this place. I thought I was going to take the city by storm, but it seems to have swept me away instead. Though I try to understand my mind at the time, I can only come as close as my recollection of it. The real story is told by the letters and journals I wrote at that time. Alas, this serves as simply a snapshot description of that experience.