THE WARNING IS ONLY ABOUT THE LATEST POST< NOT THE WHOLE BLOG.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Thinking about diversity in New York)

WARNING: IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE TO STRONG LANGUAGE READ NO FURTHER. I HAVE INCLUDED ACCOUNTS OF CONVERSATIONS THAT INCLUDE STRONG LANGUAGE.


I knew when I signed on to come to school in Brooklyn for the semester that I was in for the most diverse living experience of my life thus far. This was, in fact, the greatest draw of this city (or borrough I suppose). Even so, I have managed to feel surprised on a daily basis and even more so thanks to our daily interactions. I have Kyle to thank for this. He is one of those people that is not afraid to talk to strangers, in fact he revels in it. While I would most likely get on and off the train and go in and out of coffee shops and restaurants without MEETING anyone, Kyle manages to make many five minute acquaintances. To be honest I am envious. It's not as though I am intentionally aloof, it's more that I assume, right or wrong, that no one in passing really WANTS to make friends with me for a few short minutes. A couple of days ago we decided to go for a walk on the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights. There is a spectacular view of Manhattan from across the water that was unfortunately obstructed by a mass of grey and hovering clouds; the same clouds that we responsible for soaking us within minutes and ruining our outing altogether, or so it seemed. We sought refuge in Connecticut Muffins, the only alternative to Starbucks on the block. Many others had the same idea and the place was packed. The only seat we could find was on a couch, sharing a table with a twenty-something black couple opposite. Within about 30-seconds Kyle had engaged them in conversation, beginning by asking a simple question. And thus we passed several hours of the afternoon in conversation. They were high school teachers in a school in Bedford-Stuyvesant. After we parted ways, Kyle said "Darn, I was hoping they would give us their number."
"I don't think people do that in New York." I said.
"Why not?" He asked. I don't know, maybe they also don't want to impose themselves on strangers. At our rate though (or really I can't take much of the credit at all) we'll have a book full of friends by the end of the semester.

Although this is an admirable quality in general, there are times when I truly would not mind NOT engaging in conversation. Yesterday for example, the trains between Garden City and Brooklyn were down and we had to go to the next town over to catch the train on a different line. In the middle of the crowded station in the middle of the afternoon were a few men, nursing beers in brown paper sacks and stinking up the whole room with stale beer smell. One was alternating between swearing his loyalty to his old friends and beligerant cursing and swearing to no one in particular. He excused himself to the bathroom where he could be heard yelling, "I'm going to rip your heart out motherfucker!" He was decidedly not one of the people that I wanted to make even one minute friends with. He wandered in and out of the building and eventually escorted an older woman into the building and loudly read aloud the sign to her.
"You'll want to get on that train to Penn Station ma'am. It's 8 minutes late." She thanked him and as he walked away he said, "I love American people man! Honest people." At the door he turned back toward the room, pounded his fist against his chest and then thrust it into the air. At that moment he must have made eye contact with Kyle because he smiled and started toward us. Dear God no, I thought to myself. Does he just put off a welcoming aura? Did he smile at him encouragingly out of pity? How long would we have to endure this? I looked at the clock. There were at least five minutes still to wait for the train.
"Hey man," he said to Kyle. "I noticed you look at me at the door, and it seemed to me that you were thinking, 'hey, that guy's cool'. Is that what you were thinking?"
"Sure," Kyle said. The guy reeked from his pores, and he was swaying on his feet. I noticed he was missing most of his upper front teeth.
"I was serious about what I was saying. I love American people, honest people. I am a good American white male. But look around you man, most of these people have no fucking idea what's going on and I want to say, 'hello, are you listening to me?! I'm speaking the truth!' But they don't see it, and we have these idiots in congress that are just fucking us doggie-style and they have no idea." I looked around at all of the other people in the room. There was a diversity of ages and races, but for the most part they were minding their own business. How ironic that when I first saw this guy stumbling around and yelling in the station I thought to myself, that guy is out of it, and here he was telling us that he was the enlightened one and the rest of the people in the station were the ones out of touch with reality. As he spoke, he moved closer and closer, putting his arm around Kyle in a friendly embrace, spraying spittle as he got more and more excited. I felt relieved when the train finally came and we were let off the hook.

This morning, yet again, while we were in a coffee shop, Kyle overheard a pair of middle-age guys having a philosophical battle of the wits at the next table over.
"When I look at this, I experience is first as a cup. I don't break it down and think of it as carbon molecules. I experience it without thinking about it, and I think that's how we live our lives; we experience first and then think later," one guy was saying. I half-listened for a few more minutes, while also pondering other things. Apparently Kyle was listening as well.
"That one guy won't let the other guy get a word in edgewise," he said. So? Was my first thought. It wasn't our conversation afterall. But that isn't Kyle's style, and next thing I knew he was turned around asking, "can I say something?" Twenty-five minutes later, after we had all be roped into the conversation I looked down at my watch and realized we were late to meet Kyle's aunt. We bid our newly met philosophers goodbye and hit Atlantic Ave. headed for the BAM.
"Sometimes I feel like my life is like that movie, 'Waking Life'," he said. I guess it is when you allow yourself to actually create and engage in unexpected interactions. I have already realized that there certainly is a diversity of people in Brooklyn, and in more ways than I ever imagined.

Life in (or right outside) the Big Apple

So, it's been qiute awhile since my last post, which I have been told is somewhat disturbing considering the content of my last big story. Are you okay? People want to know. Is that why you haven't written? To be honest, it's been a bumpy road, sometimes I'm up, and sometimes I'm down (in bed kind of down). I've been to a few different kinds of doctors, and although nothing has been very conclusive (oh mysterious body) I have been trying to figure out things that I do and or eaot or drink that make me fee worse and not do and or eat those things. It seems to have cut down on the episodes, so I'm sticking with it and moving on with the next semester, which brings me to the next big news... New York here I come! I mean here I am! That's right, for the temporary time being I have become some kind of typical New Yorker. I am living in Garden City Long Island and taking a commuter train to downtown Brooklyn for classes and excitement/adventure. Okay, so I can't even pretend to be anything like a real New Yorker, but Kyle and I have decided to do our best to live it up this next semester, taking advantage of the rare and spectacular opportunities of our latest locale. This morning we said, "What shall we do this weekend? Shall it be the Brooklyn Museum and a picnic n Prospect Park, or the Met and a picnic in Central Park? Or Dinner and a show?" We're going for broke (hopefully not completely broke) since we've decided this is most likely a once in a lifetime opportunity. We are eventually looking to move into Brooklyn, so if anyone has any suggestions, let me know.