Since ariving in New York I have actually begun to see some cliches of the city play out in real life. The first occured in the hour and a half that I had spent here last July, coincidentally my first time in the city. Along with my friend Janira we stumbled upon a random street where the fire hydrant had been jacked open to perform as the neighborhood sprinkler.
It couldn't have come at a better time. I had left Chicago that morning in a sweltering heat to arrive in New York to find it waiting for me. Walking through the streets people were bombarded with a choking humidity. When it seemed as though the humidity we actually smother us, we suddenly found ourselves at the corner of a street where we saw children of all ages running and playing in the water. It was perfect. It was New York. It was two things that just seemed to go together. Ultimately, it was the fulfillment of a cliche that I had.
I found another New York moment the night the football Giants won the Super Bowl. A drunk fan was wandering up the sidewalk shouting, "Giants! WOO HOO!," to no one in particular. He passed me, rounded the corner, and found a fellow New Yorker.
"Hey buddy; your muh-tha."
My most recent New York moment was while I was out walking around checking out some local graffiti. I had returned to photograph one of the pieces I had days before discovered. While staring at the dual-layered tag and portrait interpretations my attention was grabbed by a near collision in the street. By the time I wheeled around the two cars had screethed to a halt in the middle of the intersection. An older man and a younger woman were driving, one with a New York accent and the other with a thicker, foreign influenced New York accent.
What struck me most suprisingly about it being a New York moment was that they were both in such a hurry that a near accident occured yet both seemed to have the time to shout pleasantries to one another.
Funny how some cliches actually are true...
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