"The Settlers Give It Passion"

Thursday evening, while riding the 6 train from Grand Central Station to Union Square, I read this great quote in a "SubTalk" public service announcement poster:

“There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born here, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size and its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter — the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is the New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something. […] Commuters give the city its tidal restlessness; natives give it solidity and continuity; but the settlers give it passion."

-- E.B. White (1895 - 1985) in "Here is New York"

Hat-tip: swissmiss for the text. FYI: Eric Perry liked the quote, too.