Emerging from the Subway,
Posted on July 28, 2009
Filed Under New York Subways, Snapshot Post | Leave a Comment
you are sometimes immediately confronted with a statement. It’s the way it is.
Pretty cool.
Golem
Posted on July 22, 2009
Filed Under LIRR, Long Island, New York | Leave a Comment
While commuting home, I plopped down. Immediately, I felt constrained–next to me, a massive person took up all of his seat, and one-third of my own. But that’s not the weirdest thing.
At least 350, I thought to myself. A standard lumberjack plaid shirt, and scraggly hair covered most of his face. He also had this cane. Not just any cane, I’ll have you know. It was supporting his massive arm, and it looked vaguely tribal doing it. Twin supports twisted around each other, bearing whatever weight he can drop on top. A notched pattern added a surface texture and a folk-art feel. Cast any spells with that staff? I thought to myself. I’m very brave with my internal dialogue..
His hair and frame reminded me of a golem from Judaica. This mental image was corroborated with his otherworldly cane. The pair together made for a tight squeeze (or tighter, really) on the train home.
But at least the commute was interesting.
Man in White.
Posted on July 16, 2009
Filed Under Around the town, New York | 1 Comment
“What’s his story?” I asked D. while we waited for pizza during out lunch hour.
“Who?” D. asked.
“That guy. The old one,” I said. “In all white. He’s kind of like an aging unicorn, no?” The man (of a certain age) was dressed in white. White shirt. White pants. White belt. White shoes. I imagined that he had opened his closet, and thought, hey, it’s Tuesday. White Tuesday..
D. tilted his head to take a sidelong peek. “Not sure, but I’ll take a look when I can.”
“Look at his ring, when you do.”
His ring was one of the first eyecatching things I had noticed. While he was ahead of us in line, he had pushed his credit card forward on the counter, it kind of stood out on his ring finger. It was massive, extending from knuckle to knuckle in a swirling weave of gold, capped at both ends with a thin band. It effectively replaced a third of his finger.
“Ok, I’ll look. I did see his chain. Nice, right?”
It was hard to miss, when his disco shirt was unbuttoned to midchest. Flashes of John Basedow’s website, covers of romance novels, and now this guy. Moustachioed, euro-70s, and bald. I half expected strains of Disco Duck to play over the PA system. No such luck. He moved to the stool and burned the image of his fancy shoes in my brain. “Wow. Just wow.”
He had come into the pizza joint with two young girls. “His granddaughters, I presume,”
I murmured to D.
As they walked out, D. noted that the ring on his finger was on his right hand.
Ewww.
Vampire Weekend
Posted on July 8, 2009
Filed Under New York Subways | Leave a Comment
I suppose if you are going to look like one of the Lost Boys, you might as well groom yourself..ish?
If you were a vampire, I would assume any hangnails would be taken care of in a supernatural way. But since I had no presence of mind to show the cross or the means to fashion a garlic necklace, I’ll have to assume that this guy was just… gross..
In Another Country
Posted on July 2, 2009
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Who says the French have the lock on joie de vivre? Go to Venice. Take in the Sweet Life on the Grand Canal. Have a carafe of table wine, and feel the wind in your hair
(or fur!).
Palazzo Ducale Complaint Box
St Mark's Basilica
The Symbol of St. Mark, the winged lion, and a Doge genuflecting. Lions are better with wings. This is at the Doge’s Palace.
A little Night Music..
Fade to black with the dueling orchestras, a glass of prosecco and take it all in, while you can. Saint Mark’s Square at night is magical. There is truly no other place like it.
Men in Tights.
Posted on June 30, 2009
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Walking around a mall this past weekend, my wife and I saw what looked like a life-sized Ken doll. Aside from the slightly largish head/hair to body ratio, we couldn’t stop looking at his chest.
This we decided, was intentional.
His polo shirt was a size or three small. Additionally, it seemed like the portion beneath his pectoral muscles was taped up to keep the definition up, so to speak.
I immediately thought he looked like John Basedow, the bobble-headed fitness guru that appears in infomercials touting his Fitness Made Simple plan.
Then I realized, IT WAS JOHN BASEDOW. One of the rolling advertisement kiosks confirmed it for me. Holy crap! Blankish, vacant stare, 90’s hair, everything!
He was with a shorter brunette, who had a similar sheen of sell. I recognized her face on the FMS website–it turns out she is none other than Fran Capo. The world’s fastest talker. Hanging out with JB. At the mall.
A Lot of Look.
Posted on June 15, 2009
Filed Under New York Subways | 1 Comment
I noticed the Kate Spade bag hooked over his knee first. Odd. Then, I saw a scarf, herringbone jacket, fisherman’s cap, and a heart/peace sign pinned to it.
The book about “Spiritual Enlightenment” was a nice touch.
Shuttle Bus
Posted on April 30, 2009
Filed Under Saint Louis | 1 Comment
As a student at Washington University, we upperclassmen in the Art Major were sent offsite to another building owned by the school in the Loop/UCity area. To get there, one either had to wander through Greenway Path, notorious for its dangerousness (various crimes), or take the Lewis Center Shuttle Bus.
Shuttle Bus drivers are an interesting subset of transportation workers. Average joes mostly, laid back and able to move these larger vehicles safely through rush hour traffic in short distances and on time.
With one exception.
We didn't know his name, but he was instantly recognizable. He was a bald, stout gentleman with an odd scar on his head. Amongst art students, speculation raged about the cause of the scar. This speculation was only exacerbated by his oddish behavior; at times churlish for no reason, and changing from one extreme to the next.
As students sometimes are cruel, we named him "Lobotomy Man," though it made no reference to his actual behavior. Perhaps we art students were not any less superficial than most college kids. Sometimes he would leave an art student, carrying a drawing board, artbox, and backpack standing as he shut the door, exclaiming, "Sorry, you're too late!"
I think he enjoyed that. Maybe he did know about his name.
White Whale
Posted on April 29, 2009
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So this is how we started. An oddity, outsized amongst the normal commuters. Shock of blond, wavy hair. Roughly 6′8″. Otherwise, doing what we all do, reading the paper.. gunning for position to be the first out of the train, and finally, contrapostally positioned in the vestibule.. seen on the Metro North to Manhattan, on occasion. Curious about where he works, and what he does. Eastern european? Good ole’ American? Somethings are best left to the imagination. Among a sea of fish, a white whale to mark and wonder about. Next week, Taxi Justice.
Rejigger?
Posted on March 15, 2009
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Pardon our dust while we renovate. It is time for change, after all.