New York State of Mind

I'm in NYC, arrived here yesterday, on 9/11, coincidentally.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I love the people here. On the subway platform yesterday I witnessed a street musician, a black man, helping an old white lady with directions. He had been setting up for his performance; he had a mike stand, and a plastic laundry basket lined with a blanket that had seen better days. He was in the middle of setting him self up, and this older woman, well dressed, was standing at the subway map, trying to figure out where to go.

I don't know if she asked him for help or if he volunteered, but when I looked at them again, he had his hand over hers, guiding her finger along the map to show her how the subway traveled. She asked a couple of questions, he answered, and she was on her way. You just don't see that anywhere else. Races mix here,  and old, and young, and black, and white, rich and poor. It's not like that where I live now. I miss it every time I come here.

I also miss people being real. I passed another scene while walking down the street. Two people, a man and a woman, came out of a store. They had been arguing, and continued the argument outside--they didn't know each other. The woman was cursing the man out, gesturing with her hands, and the man dismissed her with a wave of his, like she was some pesky fly. People tell it like it is in NYC, and if you don't like it, too bad. I love that. I miss it. I'm really glad I grew up here.