Fifth Avenue at 18th: The Jerk

Observations of the office cats Mies and Marcel...

Scene opens on casual and sunny office environement.
A cardboard box under the shadow of a desk is seen at stage left. A steel door to the hall is partially ajar at the rear center stage. A bank of windows with sun streaming in is at stage right. Center stage is open with a large square of sunlight brightly illuminating the office.

Mies is a bundle of fur sleeping in the small cardboard box under the desk. The box is barely able to contain his girth. It is obvious Mies had been there for hours and is quite comfortable.

Marcel enters through the office door and casually circles the office. He soon notices Mies in the box and approaches him with slow but intentional steps. Upon reaching the box, Marcel sits a few inches away and stares at Mies. They stare at each other for about a minute.

Suddenly, Marcel jumps on Mies. The office remains silent even though this animated tussle occurs in the shadows of the desk. Mies relinquishes his position in the box and Marcel gets in the box and bundles up.

Mies walks to center stage to the area of the floor lit by the afternoon sun and sits to absorb the warmth. Scratching sounds are heard in the shadows as Marcel tears away at the box. After a minute of this, the scratching stops and Marcel gets out of the box. With the same slow and intentional steps, he approaches Mies sitting in the sun and sits inches away from him. Mies turns his head to stare at Marcel. The stare continues for about a minute.

Marcel jumps Mies yet again. Mies is annoyed but again relinquishes his position in the sun. Marcel takes his spot sitting in the sunlight. Mies trudges to the office door, his back to the audience and sits staring at the door.

After a minute in the sun, Marcel slowly and intentionally walks up to Mies and sits directly in front of him so that he completely blocks his view of the door and is forced to stare at Marcel's face only inches away. After staring at each other for ten seconds, Mies looks away and gets up. Marcel's eyes remain locked on Mies as he walks out the open office door. Upon Mies' exit, Marcel turns to gaze at the audience.

End scene.

E90 and Lexington: The Boy

I typically dress down on days I need to be at construction sites. I mean, it's not like I look slovenly but it's my "clean and casual" day.

Anyways, I arranged to meet a friend for lunch at her apartment after visiting one of my construction sites. She was still making her way back to her apartment so I took the time to go to the grocery store and pick up a few small things to supplement our lunch. Laden with a few plastic grocery bags full of food, I walk into the lobby of her building to the man behind the desk to announce myself.

"I'm here to see Jane in apartment 555. She's expecting me."
The man at the front desk looks up, gives me a quick once over and says, "The service entrance is around the corner."

"I'm her friend...She's expecting me," I respond in an annoyed and staccato tone.

The man was apologetic and immediately phoned Jane's apartment. She hadn't arrived yet so he invited me to sit down in the reception area. I was keen on sitting in an area where I could see him directly and where all the residents coming in had a clear view of the casually dressed ethnic guy with the grocery bags who obviously looks like a delivery boy sitting on their plush velvet couch in the lobby.

Downtown F Train: The Lumberjack Knitter

Sometimes, I don't talk, I just observe. My eye gravitates towards things that are unexpected or in contrast to the situation and surroundings.

The F train wasn't full so I was able to get a seat for the two stops I needed to go. Everyone around me was in their standard early fall work garb. All a forgettable blur until I locked onto the lumberjack sitting across from me. Well, he probably wasn't one but he looked exactly like the wild guys I have met in small rural towns during my trips out West. Burly guy, full-beard, jeans, flannel jacket, sitting quietly on the orange seat and lit from above by fluorescent lights. After the initial shock, I started seeing other interesting details. The NY Mets jersey underneath his jacket, the latest trend in atheltic sneakers and...the knitting sack. He was knitting away at what appeared to be a child's sock. Judging by the speed and accuracy of the four needles being worked at the same time, he definitely knew what he was doing.

We all think we know someone just by looking at them. I hate that I do it myself. We can't get away from it. I find myself drawn to activities that no one would expect me to do just so people can't read me in one go. My creed is to foster contrast in myself. That way, I get to appreciate life from multiple points of view.

Prince and Elizabeth: Sedated

We were doing some window shopping on Prince Street when this large white labrador approached my girlfriend's leg and just started rubbing her face against her. We weren't sure what to make of it. It wasn't threatening but unusual behavior nonetheless. The owner, a tall woman who looked like she just walked off of a fashion shoot, quickly pulled back on the leash. The dog looked up at us in a sort of daze.

"I'm so sorry. My dog just had some minor surgery and she's still sedated."
The dog looked from side to side unable to focus on anything.
"Just a few minutes ago, she took someone's corn on the cob right out of their hand. I'm trying to get her home as fast as I can."

We just laughed and they were both on their way; the dog continuing to immerse herself in this new psychedelic world with her owner apologizing the entire way.

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We've all been drugged up but I'm sure few of us actually remember the experience. Check out this video to see if it sparks up any memories.

28th Street Station - C/E Train: Graffiti Transformed

New York has cleaned up quite a bit in the past few decades but you still can't walk a few steps without seeing something defaced. I've become pretty blase about it. However, these defaced posters really caught my eye. They are all located next to each other on the same wall. Someone cut out pieces from one and pasted them on the others. A simple idea but in doing so, the original message and meaning is changed and all due to whatever images were immediately at hand. I found it theoretically fascinating.





Art is everywhere. Pay attention!

Downtown A Train - E.B. White Here is New York

There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born there, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size, 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.

W110 and Broadway - Lobsters

I was chatting with my fishmonger when I noticed he got a brand new lobster tank. "Nice tank," I said. "If only I can afford the lobsters in them."

"I hate lobsters," he responded.

A few decades back, my fishmonger worked security in Florida. He had the night shift which ended at 5 or 6 in the morning. He worked right on the beach so he kept his scuba gear in his locker. After work, he would change out of his uniform into his scuba gear and walk right into the water. Having done this so many times, he knew the reef like the back of his hand. He went about picking lobsters from their favorite hiding places. He would emerge from the water an hour later with a dozen lobsters in his bag and head home to make breakfast that somehow incorporated lobster in it for his wife followed by lobster for dinner later that evening. The remaining lobsters he gave away. What he couldn't give away, he cooked and froze. This went on for years. Lobster omelets. Lobster salads. Lobster soups. Lobsters steamed, grilled, boiled, baked, roasted, broiled...

"I can't stand the stuff anymore."