An ode to Tennessee Williams
Friday, November 30, 2007
Last Wednesday night, I had a wonderful reminder that, in NYC, I can always depend on the kindness of strangers. Thank you Blanche Dubois.
I made the trek to Red Hook for a dinner party - my first (and possibly last) time to this part of Brooklyn and I'm sorry, but no, I do not see the charm even if there is a grand Fairway down the street. One of the major points of living in NYC is convenience and Red Hook may be many things but convenient is NOT one of them. As far as I'm concerned, if you're going to live in Red Hook, you might as well live in Los Angeles.
I will say that once there, I enjoyed a fabulous evening with wonderful friends and incredible food and far too much wine (not to mention a delicious Manhattan which I have taken up drinking in an homage to my hometown.) However, getting there was anything but easy. I'll happily take a subway somewhere (I love the subway but I'll save that for another day...) I'll even take two subways somewhere on occassion. But a subway, another subway and then a bus or a cab is asking a lot. A REAL lot.
That said, if it had simply been a simple subway ride, I wouldn't have been happily reminded of the fabulous kindness of New Yorkers. I got off my second subway and intended to take either the bus or a cab - whatever appeared first. Being that we were in Brooklyn, this was not necessarily a cab. I waited ten minutes by the bus stop and when a cab finally made an appearance, I hopped in. I gave the address where I was going, but instead of pulling away from the curb, the cabbie turned around and looked at me befuddled.
"You'll have to tell me how to get there."
I stared at him. That's the kind of thing a cab driver in LOS ANGELES SAYS. NOT NEW YORK CITY!
"Ummmm...I don't know how to get there. That's your job."
"Well, I don't know either."
I got out of the cab and went back to my spot on the sidewalk. Now I was fairly pissed. It was 7:15...I had gotten on the subway at 6. That's far too long to take to get anywhere in New York. But at that moment, I got reminded of just how awesome New Yorkers are. In a matter of seconds, I had three people who had noticed I'd gotten in and out of the cab and were asking me if I needed help, where I was going, etc. They were all equally as disgusted with the cab driver for me and as helpful as they could be in telling me that the bus should be there shortly.
One of the guys was going to the general area I was going to and we waited together for another 10 minutes before the bus arrived. He told me about Red Hook and agreed that it was ridiculously tedious to get to. I thought of how Kate had always refused to come to Park Slope from the West Village when I lived there many moons ago - a mere 25 minute ride (and one subway I might add.) I thought about how she should know just how much I loved her for trekking all the fuck the way out there on my one and only evening in NYC. And then the bus came.
It was only then that I looked at my single ride metro card and realized that for some ridiculous and unknown reason, I could not use this card for a bus transfer. I could literally only use it for a single ride. This hardly seemed reasonable given that if I had a regular metro card, my same $2 would have gotten me on a subway then a bus and if I needed to, another bus again (which apparently, is only necessary if you live in Red Hook.) But it was true. And there it was in front of me...the bus that I'd now waited over 25 minutes for.
"Oh shit." I said. Out loud.
My new friend looked over and asked what was wrong. I explained the ridiculous situation I had gotten myself into and said that it must be my punishment for no longer living in NYC and owning a weekly unlimited metro card. He smiled warmly, and offered me a ride.
"Really?" I said, simply delighted by the man standing next to me. The stranger. The kind, kind stranger.
"Of course," he said. "You have to get there somehow and you aren't waiting for another bus. Come on. I get off at the same stop so I'll tell you when to get off."
I practically floated onto the bus. I was overjoyed by the sweetness of this man. I smiled at him. I couldn't possibly explain to him the feeling that I had from his acts of kindness. I felt mildly overwhelmed. And touched. And...well...I felt at home. New Yorkers take care of each other - whether strangers or friends. They are happy to help.
I don't know whether Angelenos do or do not have this capacity. The reason I do not know this is that I so rarely have the opportunity to come into contact with Angeleno strangers...Everyone is so separated and to themselves and in...cars. It's one of the things I miss most about New York - that ability to be with people, to experience human nature, to feed off of energy on a daily basis. And in my short visit to NYC, I got a full dose on my trip to Red Hook.
I invited my new friend to come to dinner. He smiled and laughed. I was serious but he had a friend to meet at home. He told me when to get off and we parted ways into the unseasonably warm November evening. I jaunted down the road to Kate's apartment. All of my annoyance at having to take a two hour trip to Red Hook was gone. All due to the kindness of a stranger...
Posted byMeesh-elle my Belle at 3:50 PM
Labels: NYC
