People Watching

Yesterday's rant on NY food not only made me hungry, it reminded me of another big difference between NY and LA - the People Watching.

New York is a pedestrian city. Everyone walks, or crams into buses, squeezes into a subway car - New Yorkers are forced to interact. The People Watching is fantastic. It's in the odds - come in contact with a million people a day and you are bound to come across some characters.

Most days I carry a journal with me on the off chance I witness something awesome or inspiration strikes. The following list was compiled during the years I communted on the NYC subway...

Adam's Top Ten Things Overheard on the NYC Subway: (completely true)

10. The left one looks real, but you can tell the right is fake, right?
9. Yeah, that's easy for you to say - you didn't tattoo his name on your ass.
8. I swear to God I could just shoot someone (said 2 days after the L.I. Railroad Massacre)
7. I just puked three times in my mouth.
6. How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
5. No way man, I clocked her block good. She's probably still layin' there.
4. I told my shrink, women, they like throw themselves at me. I mean look at me? I'd fuck me.
3. These panties are killing me. (It was an old man)
2. I'm going to grab a Shasta and kill myself and I'll probably never see you again.

and the number one thing over heard on the NYC Subway (this one said directly to me)...

1. Look at me one more time and I'm gonna stab you in the mother fucking eye.

I moved to LA and now I spend 4 hours a day in my car. It's a lonely communter city. At first it drove me crazy - traffic, you can't sleep - two years ago I didn't even own a car! But then I guess I got used to it.

About 4 months ago I was back in NYC for the first time since moving out here. I looked forward to riding the subway. I looked forward to coming in contact with New Yorkers - my people!

Five minutes in that 100 degree, sweaty subway with some strange guy rubbing up against me and I thought...

"I would love to be in my car right now."