New York is both the quintessential American city and also one of the continent's most cosmopolitan of cities. Its residents, to an outsider, seem subject to continuous sturm und drang, and the only constant appears to be the need to keep moving. A resident - is she an All American or a international transplant stirred into the melting pot? - is momentarily held captive in the middle of the boulevard by a dangerous rush of traffic (and certainly not by the "Don't Walk" sign).