I do remember why I care for you!

© Walker Evans

Laura and I were driving through East New York the other night. As we were stopped at a light, a shiny black Escalade pulled up full of passengers. I looked over at the guy in the back seat, and a stiff-faced, I'm-a-bad-ass starring contest ensued; Neither of us twitched. All the while, this gentleman was smoking what I will call a "rolled cigarette." After what felt like three or four minutes (more like 15 seconds), I gave a smile and motioned for him to pass me some of the love. His face immediately broke into a smile and he began rolling with laughter as the car pulled away. We never caught up with them.

This morning, while on the "4" train to the Upper East Side during rush hour, Laura and I were crammed into the train like sardines. It had been a full year since I have felt that sensation. In that moment I mentioned to Laura about how so many of the people I met on my trip would find it beyond crazy to willingly rub up against sweaty strangers for 10-30 minutes, while being stuck inside a tin can in a tunnel ten feet underground. I then mentioned how I loved the subway during rush hour for those exact reasons, and that actually, "I get off on it!!"(I was joking of course). At the next stop, when most of the masses got off the train, Laura said that she saw the woman that had been forced to rub up against my backside for 10 minutes give a nice little smile in response to my bad humor.

Those moments make me happy. And they make this huge city and world seem just a little bit smaller. I love it. And I love being back. It took a few unlikely encounters to make me remember how much I love this city (it can be easy to forget). And I sit here wondering, did that moment mean something to them in some small way? Either way, I got a smile out of them. And that feels pretty good.