11.18.2004
are you an arab?
this past week i've made a conscious effort to bring my camera with me when i step out of the house just in case something catches my eye. tonight, i decided to bring it with me to go park my car. i've done this at least 10 times since i purchased the camera but tonight was the first time in a while.
i park my car and began the 10 minute walk home. as i walk through the funeral home parking lot, i decide to take a picture of the parking meters and the fence behind them. no biggie. i take a few more steps and then a picture of some utility box or something which comes out shitty. oh well. at the intersection of peninsula and hempstead (the only major one on the walk) i cross over peninsula with the light. waiting to cross hempstead, i snap a picture of the white line on the ground before me (another shitty picture). when the light changes, i cross hempstead and now i'm home free walkwise. i've never taken a picture of the "merrick road - next signal" sign that i pass everyday, so i change that and continue on my walk. as i pass the condos on my right, i see a ups truck back up and stop in the condo parking lot. here's where i seal my fate, apparently. liking the way the back of the truck looks with its lights appearing to just hang there in the night against the dark back door, i say hey, this might make an interesting photo and i snap a picture.
i start walking again and make it maybe 4 steps before a man who is crossing in the middle of peninsula (a 6 lane street) calls out to me. he's wearing headphones and when he gets close enough, I notice that he smells a little like alcohol.
"hey buddy," he says, somewhat perturbed.
i stop.
“who do you work for?”
“huh?”
“who are you taking pictures for?”
“nobody.”
“i’ve been watching you and so has that cop over there.”
“over where?”
he points to the parking lot where the ups truck was. i turn around and see no police car.
“why were you taking pictures of the intersection and the ups truck?”
i pause. “because I thought they might look cool.”
“you’re a terrorist.”
“what?” i ask, completely caught off-guard.
“i lost a sister in the world trade center. you’re a terrorist.”
i laugh nervously. wrong move.
“don’t pull that silly little laugh shit with me,” he says.
“sir, i’m sorry you lost your sister but i’m not a terrorist,” i say as i begin walking again. he starts walking right beside me.
“why are you taking pictures then?” he asks again.
“i got a camera a couple of months ago and…”
“why are you taking pictures?”
“i thought they might look cool. people with cameras take pictures.”
“why don’t you go in that dark parking lot over there and take some pictures?”
“what? where?”
“behind the condos. go take some pictures there and we’ll show you how we handle terrorists around here.”
“but i’m not a terrorist."
"why are you taking pictures?"
"do I look like a terrorist to you?” i immediately feel wrong for pulling this card but i’m at a loss for words and officially freaked out by his we'll-show-you-how-we-handle-terrorists comment.
“did the people on the planes look like terrorists to everyone else?”
good point, i say to myself.
“my sister died in the world trade center,” he tells me again. “did you lose anyone in the world trade center?”
“no, i didn’t.”
“then why are you taking pictures?”
“umm…”
“what nationality are you? you jewish?” he asks.
“uh, no. i’m uh…nationality? i was born here. my parents were born here.”
“are you an arab? ”
“no.”
i pick up my pace. this is a bad situation and i gotta get out of it.
“how did it feel to kill 3,000 people?”
“sir, i’ve never killed anyone” are the last words out of my mouth as i watch the distance between our shadows grow.
for the next 20 or so seconds he’s silent as i mull what just occurred over and over. was i out of line? the ups truck picture was probably not the best idea, steve. i'm fearing that any second i'm gonna hear him start running after me and he's gonna stab me or punch me in the head. he's that angry.
then i hear him saying something about terrorists again but i don’t turn around. i’m not even sure if he’s talking to me. perhaps he has flagged down a policeperson and is catching the cop up on the pow-wow we just had. part of me actually hopes this is the case. it can't be a crime to take picures, can it?
when i turn onto my street, i jog to my door because although i sense that he’s far behind me, i’m not positive and i don’t want him to see where i live.
very, very weird experience. it happened five minutes before i began this post so i'm still kinda shaky. he probably lives around here too. what happens if i see him again?
this past week i've made a conscious effort to bring my camera with me when i step out of the house just in case something catches my eye. tonight, i decided to bring it with me to go park my car. i've done this at least 10 times since i purchased the camera but tonight was the first time in a while.
i park my car and began the 10 minute walk home. as i walk through the funeral home parking lot, i decide to take a picture of the parking meters and the fence behind them. no biggie. i take a few more steps and then a picture of some utility box or something which comes out shitty. oh well. at the intersection of peninsula and hempstead (the only major one on the walk) i cross over peninsula with the light. waiting to cross hempstead, i snap a picture of the white line on the ground before me (another shitty picture). when the light changes, i cross hempstead and now i'm home free walkwise. i've never taken a picture of the "merrick road - next signal" sign that i pass everyday, so i change that and continue on my walk. as i pass the condos on my right, i see a ups truck back up and stop in the condo parking lot. here's where i seal my fate, apparently. liking the way the back of the truck looks with its lights appearing to just hang there in the night against the dark back door, i say hey, this might make an interesting photo and i snap a picture.
i start walking again and make it maybe 4 steps before a man who is crossing in the middle of peninsula (a 6 lane street) calls out to me. he's wearing headphones and when he gets close enough, I notice that he smells a little like alcohol.
"hey buddy," he says, somewhat perturbed.
i stop.
“who do you work for?”
“huh?”
“who are you taking pictures for?”
“nobody.”
“i’ve been watching you and so has that cop over there.”
“over where?”
he points to the parking lot where the ups truck was. i turn around and see no police car.
“why were you taking pictures of the intersection and the ups truck?”
i pause. “because I thought they might look cool.”
“you’re a terrorist.”
“what?” i ask, completely caught off-guard.
“i lost a sister in the world trade center. you’re a terrorist.”
i laugh nervously. wrong move.
“don’t pull that silly little laugh shit with me,” he says.
“sir, i’m sorry you lost your sister but i’m not a terrorist,” i say as i begin walking again. he starts walking right beside me.
“why are you taking pictures then?” he asks again.
“i got a camera a couple of months ago and…”
“why are you taking pictures?”
“i thought they might look cool. people with cameras take pictures.”
“why don’t you go in that dark parking lot over there and take some pictures?”
“what? where?”
“behind the condos. go take some pictures there and we’ll show you how we handle terrorists around here.”
“but i’m not a terrorist."
"why are you taking pictures?"
"do I look like a terrorist to you?” i immediately feel wrong for pulling this card but i’m at a loss for words and officially freaked out by his we'll-show-you-how-we-handle-terrorists comment.
“did the people on the planes look like terrorists to everyone else?”
good point, i say to myself.
“my sister died in the world trade center,” he tells me again. “did you lose anyone in the world trade center?”
“no, i didn’t.”
“then why are you taking pictures?”
“umm…”
“what nationality are you? you jewish?” he asks.
“uh, no. i’m uh…nationality? i was born here. my parents were born here.”
“are you an arab? ”
“no.”
i pick up my pace. this is a bad situation and i gotta get out of it.
“how did it feel to kill 3,000 people?”
“sir, i’ve never killed anyone” are the last words out of my mouth as i watch the distance between our shadows grow.
for the next 20 or so seconds he’s silent as i mull what just occurred over and over. was i out of line? the ups truck picture was probably not the best idea, steve. i'm fearing that any second i'm gonna hear him start running after me and he's gonna stab me or punch me in the head. he's that angry.
then i hear him saying something about terrorists again but i don’t turn around. i’m not even sure if he’s talking to me. perhaps he has flagged down a policeperson and is catching the cop up on the pow-wow we just had. part of me actually hopes this is the case. it can't be a crime to take picures, can it?
when i turn onto my street, i jog to my door because although i sense that he’s far behind me, i’m not positive and i don’t want him to see where i live.
very, very weird experience. it happened five minutes before i began this post so i'm still kinda shaky. he probably lives around here too. what happens if i see him again?
11.16.2004
you're not from around these here parts, is ya?
it just happened again.
i lived in massachusetts for 27 years and in the last 7 months, i've been asked for long island directions more times than i ever was asked for directions in massachusetts. at least once a week, i'll either be called over to a car as i'm walking (don't worry mom - i'm careful not to get too close. "is that a three muskateers bar, sir? those are my favorite!") or someone will pull alongside me as i'm waiting in traffic and make the "roll down your window i gotta ask you something please" motion to me. it' s kinda funny because i do have roll windows. ever notice how the motion has not evolved in tandem with the automobile window? imagine if it had. i'm not sure i'd understand why some dude was staring at me while pointing his finger downwards furiously. anyway...
so yeah. i've been asked for directions to the airport, to the hospital, to the nearest bombshelter. well, not to the nearest bombshelter, but i'm sure that's coming soon. i always feel so stupid when i get asked where something is and i have no clue. of course, i really shouldn't feel stupid but it's hard not to when there's a whole car depending on you having top-notch knowledge of the whereabouts of any spot in the greater long island area.
i just had quiznos for lunch and it was gloriously tasty.
sign varitek!
it just happened again.
i lived in massachusetts for 27 years and in the last 7 months, i've been asked for long island directions more times than i ever was asked for directions in massachusetts. at least once a week, i'll either be called over to a car as i'm walking (don't worry mom - i'm careful not to get too close. "is that a three muskateers bar, sir? those are my favorite!") or someone will pull alongside me as i'm waiting in traffic and make the "roll down your window i gotta ask you something please" motion to me. it' s kinda funny because i do have roll windows. ever notice how the motion has not evolved in tandem with the automobile window? imagine if it had. i'm not sure i'd understand why some dude was staring at me while pointing his finger downwards furiously. anyway...
so yeah. i've been asked for directions to the airport, to the hospital, to the nearest bombshelter. well, not to the nearest bombshelter, but i'm sure that's coming soon. i always feel so stupid when i get asked where something is and i have no clue. of course, i really shouldn't feel stupid but it's hard not to when there's a whole car depending on you having top-notch knowledge of the whereabouts of any spot in the greater long island area.
i just had quiznos for lunch and it was gloriously tasty.
sign varitek!
11.14.2004
o.r.d.i.b.p.
odb collapsed and died at a studio in manhattan today. sad news. he was one of the most entertaining mc's ever, without a doubt. once i heard (the story lead off the 11pm news), i listened to return to the 36 chambers and damn, what an album. if you wanna hear him at the top of his crazyass game, i recommend you check it out.
i have such a severe case of writer's block that a simple post like this took 20 minutes and 79 backspace punches.
odb collapsed and died at a studio in manhattan today. sad news. he was one of the most entertaining mc's ever, without a doubt. once i heard (the story lead off the 11pm news), i listened to return to the 36 chambers and damn, what an album. if you wanna hear him at the top of his crazyass game, i recommend you check it out.
i have such a severe case of writer's block that a simple post like this took 20 minutes and 79 backspace punches.
