A blog whilst I intern at MAD Magazine

There’s always something to do in New York City. And unfortunately, there’s always some weirdo close by while you do whatever it is you’re doing, even in the morning.

During the summer Tai Chi classes are taught free of cost in a local park. I am currently an invisible-belt level Tai Chi practitioner. Basically this means that I bought a Tai Chi instructional DVD a while back, watched it once, and perform the moves I remember when I have some time. I’m not really looking for street fighter cred. I’m just looking to calm down a bit.

These Tai Chi classes start at 7:30 am. That seemed like a nice harmless hour. Why not get the day started out right with some one-legged rooster stances? The class was outside and consisted of around thirty people, most of them old. I welcome such company. You would too if you had to walk through clouds of smoke and obscenities just to get to and from your train stop.

One person in particular, who was not part of the class, was milling uncomfortably near all our bags. This made me nervous because my bag had my laptop in it and, for some reason, I fear that criminals and weirdos have x-ray vision and can see the valuable contents within the vessels I lug around. I’ve developed a defense: pretend like there’s nothing of value on my person. I imagine that I’m hauling around shredded junk mail and ketchup packets. This fakes the bad guys out.

So this guy starts getting angry with the entire group for practicing Tai Chi. He begins challenging us as a group to do more push ups than him. Then, without accepting the challenge, he proceeded to do several sets of push ups. While mildly impressive, the effort was altogether unnecessary. Then he challenged us to beat him at karate which, according to him, he was an expert in. In fact, at one point he said, “I’m as good as Bruce Lee! I AM Bruce Lee!” The louder he yelled the less everyone paid attention to him. Strange, but one would think that meeting a resurrected Bruce Lee would illicit more fanfare…

It is important to not respond to crazies. It is more important is to not look at them. Eye contact is the gateway to a one-way insane conversation and/or berating. Yet I really wanted to look at this guy. He was performing various karate kicks that looked like they would be humorous. Then he would switch to doing push ups, followed by getting up close to some old guy to challenge him to a fist fight, then go back to random roundhouse punches and kicks. Then, of course, he would return to push ups and the cycle repeated.

What’s funny is that 95% of the class were novices – ungainly and stiff in their movements. Not only were we not skilled in any discipline that involves physical beatings, we could barely touch our toes. Did he really see us as a threat? Perhaps. But after many unmet challenges, he decided to leave. Poor guy.

Was this guy crazy? He did push ups like a sane person. And he dressed like a sane, albeit not very fashionable person. Where did he go? Who knows. Unfortunately we just cared that he was out of our midst. I’m pretty sure he went to harass some chess players or maybe even “called-out” some mahjong tournament participants. Maybe he is now wrangling with the ghost of Bruce Lee. Hey, in this city anything can happen.

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A blog whilst I intern at MAD Magazine

This pic will make sense later on. Trust me. Keep reading.

During the day, the pace of New York City’s pedestrians is hurried. Folks briskly weave through each other like a giant human tapestry. Rarely does anyone stop on the sidewalk and, if they do, they “excuse” themselves near to a building to conduct any possible traffic-stalling business.

It’s easy to think that it takes a superhuman to exist in such a realm. But I looked closer. Within the sea of people dashing to and fro, I spot slower individuals – sometimes with a handicap. One such woman has grabbed my attention. She walks with crutches and has corrective shoes. She moves slower but she does move and she doesn’t seem to let the city and it’s antsy inhabitants get to her.

I have not spoken with this woman yet but I’ve seen her a few times. The times I have seen her, I have not seen a scowl on her face – a scowl I’ve noticed on the faces of a good percentage of New Yorkers. Navigating the streets are difficult enough when one is able-bodied. This woman seems to navigate the streets to the best of her ability which seems as good as anyone else.

“Get going or get outta the way!” Is this what we call civil?

Why do I bring this up? Whether she knows it or not, she has had a profound effect on me. At times I can be ungrateful for the blessings God has bestowed upon me. I’ve been given a good life. And I need to remember that every time I feel like moaning and groaning about any particular event that didn’t go my way.

Have I had a better life than this woman? No one can claim one’s life better or worse, we all have ups and downs. When I was younger I had a few surgeries on my hips that forced me to use crutches for a number of weeks before and after the procedures. I remember how difficult it was to do some of the simplest tasks and how helpless I felt when I couldn’t move around at all. That’s no comparison to what this woman accomplishes every day but it does give me a tiny bit of insight, albeit very tiny.

Singing in the rain is like smiling in the sunshine.

Walking to the train station I got rained on. The sour looks on some of the folks faces made me smile. I didn’t smile because they were angry or that they looked funny, but because, if getting a little wet was the worst part of their day, they must have a great life.

I’m working on smiling more. I’m working on being more grateful. And I’m working on loving everyone. And I find that, in doing so, life gets a whole lot better.

I ♥ LC?

In other news, I purchased some postcards to send to my friends and family back home. A couple of the cards are the I ♥ NY variety. Believe it or not I paused before purchasing these iconic items. I questioned whether I, in fact, did love New York. In response to a friend’s emailed question as to how New York was treating me, I responded that we (the city and I) are coexisting and that  there is an understanding that he relationship may not be permanent. We are, however, enjoying each others company during our time together. New York is an absolutely fantastic city – probably the best city on earth – but it’s not quite the love of my life. It’s not her, it’s me.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very much enjoying my stay. Just today I got to see Emeril Legasse cooking live with Geoge Stephanopoulos on the corner of Broadway and 44th. The meal smelled great but I heard one person mention to another that it was pork chops so I moved along before anyone offered me any. Love ‘em but they’re not kosher. But I digress.

I ♥ U

So I decided to purchase a few of the I ♥ NY postcards anyway. Why not? But as I did so, the thought came to me that I do love Las Cruces. Really, I do. The whole city feels like home. I wondered if there was anything wrong with me for loving a small New Mexico town more than the Big Apple. Then as I walked out the door to head back to the train I saw the sign in the picture to the left here. What are the odds?

Mere coincidence? Maybe. But you have to admit that it is a weird coincidence.

I’ll take in all that New York has to offer while I’m here. I’ll have a good time. I’ll experience every sight, smell, sound, etc. with full attention and appreciation. But I do love Las Cruces. I love the food. I love the weather. I love my friends and family and my dogs. I love home. And Las Cruces is a great place to call home, even in a place like New York.

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