A City of Extremes

.. NY continues.

NY is often referred to as the "City of Extremes". In my brief vist to the city I was able to experience both.

Incident 1: "Which way is the PATH station?"
If you have a basic idea of the NY city's layout (Street and Avenue), getting lost or loosing your sense of direction is something that’s very difficult.
Just finished our "Empire Estate" trip and we had to get to the PATH station that would take us back to NewJersy.
We knew the PATH terminus was nearby but did not know exactly where the entrance was. There was no one standing around so we decide to ask the people passing by. For 15 minutes no one even so much as slowed down to check what we wanted. People were just passing by totally oblivious to our existence. Later we spotted an NYPD officer who courteously guided us to our destination.

Incident 2: "Those are nice shoes"
I was sitting in the bus, on our way to the Liberty State Park where a Ferry would take us to the Ellis Island (Statue of Liberty Island).The lady sitting next to me was talking on the phone. This the conversation that I had with a total stranger

Lady: Excuse me, can I see your shoes.
Me: (a little awkwardly, not knowing how to respond pushed my foot out)
Lady: Those are nice shoes, I like them.
Me: (still unable to get hold of my bearings, blurted) What?
Lady: The shoes that you are wearing, those are nice sneakers.
Me: Thanks.
(she continued with her conversation on the phone, telling the person on phone about a pair of shoes she liked).
When I got down from the bus the raised brow on my face gave way to a smile...

It’s only in NY (and Mumbai :-) ) you'll find people who'll leave you totally bewildered by their absolute indifference, at same time a total stranger will pass a casual compliment and make your day......

(PS: I too think my shoes are cool .... the absurdly high price that I had paid for them when I got them in India, somehow now feels justified. :-). Next time when you feel like complimenting someone, throw caution to wind, go ahead and give them a compliment. Worst that you will get is a raised eyebrow, but it might also bring smile to a stranger’s face)