Pointedly ironic

My favorite sign in New York, on 34th between Fifth and Sixth.

Can't make this shit up.

Street go boom!

So, I was working right next door to the steam explosion in Manhattan yesterday. It was my first day on the gig. I've heard of hazing the new guy, but this is silly.

I was on the fifth floor. There was a noise like a jet engine, which the bunch of us noticed at about the same time, which led to several simultaneous cries "what is that?" I looked out the window to see a huge geyser coming out of the middle of the street and people running like hell down the street to get away. The first thing to go through my head was, "shit, someone bombed the subway." Of course, the bunch of us all gather near the window, looking down--nothing dangerous about pressing your face up to glass when something large is exploding near by. For second it looked like one of the buildings next door had come down. In hindsight it was just the mud mixed in with the steam, which looks remarkably like the pulverized concrete dust which was everywhere on 9/11. I think it was about then my heart moved up into my throat and decided to stay there for a while.

Someone with a clue started yelling to evacuate the floor, which we did, which led to one of those weird scenes which reminded me more of 9/11: hundreds of people calmly going down the emergency stairs, all with the same question ("what's happening?") and the same answer ("I don't know"). Out on the street it quickly became clear that this wasn't a terrorist thing: there was no smell of something destroyed like there was on 9/11, there was no debris raining down on us and you could hear the steam continuing to force its was out, like the neighbor's leaf blower turned up to eleven. The studio manager made an executive decision that the building was closed for the rest of the day, which was my signal to walk downtown and hook up with my best friend. After all the excitement, It took a few hours for me to calm down. In the end I got today off as well.

Can't wait to see what they have in store for the new guy tomorrow.

Took this as I was walking home:



All in all a very 21st century accident: the street was filled with people taking pictures on their cel phones.

The Loneliest Street Lamp

No, not the title of a maudlin children's story, but an abused street lamp on the Henry Hudson Parkway across the street from Fort Tryon Park. The bike path runs along the uptown lanes, above the downtown lanes. I think this lamp used to be a flashing yellow to warn people about the park entrance. It isn't anymore. I don't know if that's because NYDOT decided the park entrance doesn't need a warning signal, or if they just don't care anymore.

Also, I'm working on another short story, I yam, I yam.