cranky panky

it's official; the heat is bringing out the crazies in droves. not only have i encountered an uncharacteristically high number of homeless/crackhead/beggar people in the past few weeks (ok, like 2 or 3, but usually i might encounter an "aggressive" bum once every 6-10 months), but the population as a whole has gotten just a tad bit cranky.

after getting my hair did in midtown yesterday, i opted for the lexington avenue bus down to 23rd street over the 6 (i just hate that train at rush hour), and despite the best efforts of my ipod, somewhere around 42nd street i found myself the captive audience of a spontaneous spat that erupted between a crusty blue-collared retiree, and a woman of island decent in her early thirties.

i didn't really tune in until after the opening credits, but from what i gather, the man was set off by the woman talking on her cell phone at an unacceptably high volume. and, after she "politely" told him to buzz off, the war of words escalated:

"trash"
"just look in the mirror. it takes one to know one"
"yeah yeah"
"bigot. dat's what you are"
"that's right honey"
"God bless you"
"f*** god"
"oh, i knew you were one of t'ose"
"island trash!"
"dat's right. get it out"

the exchange went on from 42nd to 34th street when the man finally decided to get off the bus. it seemed apparent that he was the instigator, though i found it odd that everytime he was prepared to wave her off and turn back around in his seat, the woman felt it necessary to egg him on further.

but, perhaps the most fascinating part of all is how the rest of us managed to sit there reading the paper, staring out the window, listening to music--as new yorkers are so adept at doing--pretending that absolutely nothing extraordinary was happening at all.