(Originally
published 11/10/19)
I have a
friend who is a therapy aficionado. He has spent many years on the proverbial couch
“getting in touch with good stuff.” I remember him once saying that he was “on
the outside looking in” during a session. The image that sprang to my untrained
mind was Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present wiping away a
winter window’s condensation and peering into the Cratchit family’s living
room.
Yesterday,
I witnessed a lunatic literally “on the outside looking in.” He was a fellow
subway rider for several stops, making everyone nervous with his beady eyes and
muttering, which were benign but borderline menacing. The man did not appear
homeless nor did he panhandle. He just seemed out there. This oddball
became fixated on a passenger with an adorable yellow Labrador puppy at his
side. Along with increasingly creepy commentary, he made a series of weird and
wild faces at the dog. The pup’s master was not amused. For he had finally
calmed his young pooch down, enough at least to ride in an earsplitting and
hectic New York City subway car. And then along comes this peculiar straphanger
and it was back to square one.
Happily,
the lunatic exited the train in short order. When the doors closed, I—among
others, including a young canine—heaved a huge sigh of relief. However, having
crossed over into the realm of sinister, the man refused to go quietly. Before
the train pulled away, he supplied us with a parting volley of bizarre facial
contortions through a window.
And here
he is officially "on the outside looking in."
Now for a
completely different head: Patrick Stewart's.
Here's
Patrick Stewart's head defiled at another station. In 1993, I saw him perform a
one-man A Christmas Carol on Broadway sometime during the first week in
January. Critics lauded the show, but I found it a real snoozer.
Sorry I
missed this one.
Sad to
report that it is not my grandfather's Little Italy anymore. As for the
"Mommy's 'Little Meatball'" tee, I hope the Cuomo brothers do not see
that. Somebody is liable to get thrown down a flight of stairs.
The same
could be said for the Joey Pepperoni's Pizza logo.
Good luck
with this, I say...
Because
this is all around me...
And
this...
Well, this
was an off-year election with a lot of local matters decided. Congratulations
are, nonetheless, in order.
Prescriptions
filled while you eat. That is a new one.
Channeling
Nipsey Russell here.
Credit
where credit is due. Why not?
After you
bet your bottom dollar, what else have you got?
Had to
Google this one. Blackbear is an American musician and "Anonymous," an album of
his.
I ask you:
Do you judge a book by its cover? Do first impressions create lasting ones?
If you
know where to look, you can get the most bang for your buck in New York City.
This guy might not be number one at anything, but you can find him and his dollar frankfurters at Union Square.
Time to go
home and see what that indefatigable subway station vandal has left for me this
week.
(Photos from the
personal collection of Nicholas Nigro)
