Why is it hotter here than Texas?

Flying in to LGA tonight, I thought about how sometimes it looks like a map. For some reason, it surprises me. Makes what I’m looking at seem more distant. Less real. I didn’t think the same thing would happen at night, but I was wrong. While looking down waiting for some familiar shapes to trigger the map overlay in my head, I saw an explosion. It startled me until the next explosion flowered into a purple ball. Fireworks somewhere in Jersey. The red orange flashes of thunderstorms in the distance distracting me for a moment, I spotted the Verrazano, and took it from there. Downtown Brooklyn. The Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg bridges just where they should be. Ground zero was directly below, and out of view, but then I saw the Empire State building. Times Square is out of control. I think I could actually read some of the billboards. It’s a matter of time before they start making signs just for overhead traffic. Central Park. 59th St bridge. I get a little lost beyond that point, but Yankee Stadium was obvious. We circled around, and landed hard. I love those approaches that are over water. Diving down into the river, suddenly hitting land.
The BQE was stopped cold, so we took Northern Blvd. Saw more of this city that I need to explore. Made a note to go back.