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Yesterday afternoon I spent some time at the nearest branch of the New York Public Library. It’s not exactly the coolest hangout in town, but they do have a free wifi connection. And other than the subway after midnight, it’s one of the best places to find unusual characters.
Yesterday, for example, I walked into the library behind an old old Chinese man. I say “old” twice because he was beyond ancient and walked with a sort of shuffling stride. He was wearing a beat-up trench coat and some sort of hat. On his left foot he wore one of those Nike sport sandals, the kind that some people like to wear with socks, and on the other foot he wore a dirty sneaker. In one hand he was carrying a faded plastic Duane Read bag, and in the other he was loosely carrying a wooden crutch.
I held the door open for him, and thought nothing of it. I sat down, got out my computer, and started to check my email when the old man sat down across from me. He had gotten the newspaper, and some papers, and started leafing through them. What hit me immediately was the stench. This man positively reeked of urine.
I worked fast, and keept my breathing as shallow as I could. I wanted out of there as soon as I could, so I tried to do all my online stuff as quickly as possible. The stench was almost unbearable, but I couldn’t just get up and leave. Here was this old man, who looked like somebody’s kooky old grandfather, sitting directly across from me. If I got up right when he sat down, it would be impolite.
My eyes were starting to tear from the stench before he finally got up to do something else. I felt sorry for him, some old guy who reeeealy needed a shower, but I have no system set-up do deal with random people I meet in the street. I don’t even know if it’s possible to have one. There are just too many freaking people in New York for one individual to deal with.