N'Yawk

This morning, I read a lovely description of something that's fairly pedestrian -- seeing someone well-known in New York City -- here. It's worth reading.

It reminded me of an episode that occurred when I was in high school. I went to school on the east side of the Bronx, at a private denominational school. As part of a writing project, I thought I would create something about the United Nations, which at the time still felt like a magical place to me. I wrote to their public affairs office, and they agreed to let me come down and talk with some of their interpreters. (Now, I imagine, like so many other things, that just doesn't happen.) As it turned out, the day that I went down, access to the UN was blocked off for some dignitary, with police and blockade barriers. Crowds of people moved through the barrier chutes, but across the street, the UN was quiet and apparently vacant. I told a cop that I had an appointment there, and he directed me to another one, who called across, found that I actually did, and gestured for the barrier to be opened so that I could cross the street. Odd feeling, doing that; I was the only person out there, and I felt as if people were watching me, thinking who the heck is that? I spent the day with the interpreters, saw their offices, ate with them, walked around on the floor of the vacant General Assembly forum, looking up at the rows of empty delegate seats, and then later went into one of the little booths that they used when the assembly was in session, peering down, seeing the chamber from their view. I asked what they did if they felt a sneeze or cough coming on while they were working, and the interpreter stared at me. "We .... don't." Ah.

Neat.