My Opinion Over Yours

Now that I’ve returned from a quick trip to New York I wonder how boring and mundane this week will seem in comparison. Either way this feeling is not a negative one; if anything it frames the good times that passed. Before I left I wondered if I would come across anything that would be entertaining to relate here. I have to admit there was no single event or activity that can justify its own passage. The main result of my trip was several realizations, so I guess my trip in the end served some cosmic life altering purpose, if only a minute one. Among these mini-epiphanies were the revelations that I should think of certain people differently, not be afraid of trying to hold an interesting conversation with strangers, Brazilian steak houses can feed you for a week in a single sitting, and that I can no longer be considered a tourist when visiting New York.

That last one came to me when my sister did a really nice thing and acquired tickets to see the sunset from the top of the Rockefeller Plaza. The observatory deck of the Rockefeller building was recently opened after not being open to the public for 40 years. As you can imagine this has become another hotspot for tourists, although I doubt there are more than three spots that aren’t hot with tourists in all of Manhattan. Still, every once in a while you need to brave the tourist frenzy and experience some of the things that make the city a very unique place. While it would be very “New Yorker” like to avoid doing the things that tourists do it wouldn’t be prudent to turn down to the opportunity to experience something rare and stimulating.

I feel like I’m trying to justify myself. Screw that, it was an amazing view and I’m happy that my sister made it happen. The thing I wanted to talk about was how I could have done without all the tourists that accompanied us. From being cut in line, pushed, shoved, guffawed, and otherwise irritated by foreign tourists I was left wondering how it is that Americans have earned such a prolific reputation as the rudest people on the planet. Most likely this belief stems from the fact that all tourists are rude and since Americans probably have the means to travel more than most nations and do so that people just come to think that Americans are extremely rude when the case is that tourists are rude no matter where they come from. It makes sense for them to be rude also. They don’t need to worry about dealing with any of their surroundings after their brief stay and can move along merrily with their slash and burn tactics when it comes to their fellow man. Either way just remember tourists are shitty to deal with, but hey at least they’re paying a part of your taxes, so just take their money and try not spit at them.

In the end there is at least one person who wasn’t too happy I also visited NY. I don’t know him, but I know it’s a “him”. He doesn’t know who I am either or that it’s me he should be hate. You see I was getting off the elevator and I noticed that one of the doors on my sister’s floor had the keys hanging from the lock. Seeing the opportunity to be cast in the starring role of “The Good Samaritan of Park Avenue, I immediately tried to do something to help the dude out. At first I thought it would be easy and I knocked on the door. No one answered so I knocked some more and rang the dinky sounding doorbell. My sister said she knew him and that I should just open the door to get his attention.

When I opened the door I figured that there was no one inside or that he was doing what I was about to do (take a nap) b/c all of the lights off. So I threw the keys into the apartment and said “Hey you left your keys hanging in the lock.” I quickly closed the door so as to add to the weird dream I thought I was inducing in his slumbering mind.

A few minutes later after I had finished congratulating myself on being such a great guy I heard something that turned everything around. I was in the bathroom and I could hear people in the hallway. I could make out someone say “Awww fuck, where are my keys!” To much chagrin it seems as though the neighbor wasn’t inside when I did my act of kindness. Yeah, that’s right; I locked him out of his own apartment.

All This has reminded me of a lesson I learned a while ago. I used to save lessons I learned into my phone for quick reference but forgot about them after a while. The next lesson I’ll put in will probably be to not forget the lessons I’ve learned.

The lesson this story is referring to is that you should not touch other people’s things even if it helps them out. I learned this a couple years back when I noticed I had parked next to a friend’s car and that his doors were unlocked. No I don’t usually check if car doors are unlocked, even though I probably should, especially if it’s a cool new car I haven’t sat in yet. This instance was different b/c this friend had just moved out of his apartment and still had a lot of stuff in his car, like a computer and such. I thought I was doing a good thing by locking his car, but then thought about it again and decided to leave it unlocked in case he had left it like that on purpose. Either way I figured I would see him soon enough and let him know.

When I did let him know I realized that I should have never touched his car at all or mentioned the fact that his car was unlocked. The guy went off on me asking me who did I think I was to be going through his car (which I didn’t do) and if I had planned on stealing anything before realizing it was his car (no, but after he said that I felt as though I should). I don’t even think he was drunk, which would have partially excused his behavior. He went on for about 15 minutes with his yelling at and berating of yours truly.

Perhaps the real lesson was that when it comes to locks don’t help someone out. Let the lock be. Don’t touch it, don’t bring it up, and definitely don’t do anything that could be considered kind or helpful.

Outside of locking the guy out of his apartment I think I had a positive effect on the people of New York and they are all better off for having me in their presence. Yes, like anything else most won’t realize it but the fortunate ones who do will look forward to my return in, umm, well, I haven’t decided that yet but it should be soon.

Here’s for ending that story with a load of crap.

I also like to say that today is one of those days that remind me how life is all about balance. When the day started I received a call from my mother to inform that my cousin’s wife was pregnant with triplets. Making this news even better was the struggle they had gone through to get to this point. It made me extremely happy to hear that he had been blessed with three children after wanting one for so long. I haven’t felt this happy for someone else in a while. Now I just pray that he’ll soon have three healthy babies to cherish.

Not too long ago though my sister called me and let me know that a friend of her and her fiancé had passed away. He played on the same rugby team as my soon-to-be brother in law. During one of their games it seems he was impacted in a way that caused him to collapse and go into a coma. It was later found that he had a hole in his heart, and that the impact had perhaps just spurred what was inevitable. Sadly there will be no recovery for him.

Even though I never knew or met him he has reminded me that life is all about balance. The fact that life is precious and should never be taken for granted is something that I am also reminded of, but in today’s world we are constantly reminded of that fact. Now I pray that his family and friends can take something meaningful away from his passing and that w/e positive outcome there is from all this is what resonates most in their lives.


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