move-on-with-your-hot-and-handsome-new-boyfriend, or... moments-when-you-feel-like-singing-Classic Pinoy-karaoke-songs-like-Anak by Freddie Aguilar-to-your-heart's-content). Ok, that's overdoing it.
And then, there's the "New York moment" - a unique breed of "moments" that can never happen anywhere else, but where? I already said it. New York City.
I had one just hours ago, and I can't help but write about it as soon as I got back to my apartment.
After a long school week of pure Mercury retrograde, homesickness and three quizzes (not to mention a tricky Statistics test -- factorials, normal distribution, standard normal, n choose x (what the...?) et. al), I went out with my cousin Ted and a friend, Clarissa. We were deciding whether to watch a The Aviator at West 42nd or have dinner somewhere? But the idea of going to Serendipity popped up ( It's located at 60th between 2nd and 3rd). We were coming from 45th and 5th and were thinking of cabbing it, but we decided to just walk. The weather was cooperative and so, we headed 15 blocks north.
(That's not the New York moment, yet.)
Walking along Park Ave., right across the Waldorf Astoria, we were all just yakking about shallow stuff, talking about funny incidents or showbiz or jologisms and stuff like that.
(Here goes.)
Out of nowhere, this man, an NYPD police officer- police uniform-clad, probably his early 30s, all smiles - came up to me -- and handed me a rose. A long-stemmed pink rose.
(There.)
What a surprise! :)
In the middle of our yakking, I paused..., and was stunned... and I forget if I was even able to say a gentle "Thank You". Did I?
I think I smiled?... Oh yeah, I did. And I walked on...
In my mind, I thought "Wait a minute... what just happened?", then TJ and Clarissa (witnesses) were screaming in kilig and declared, "It's a perfect New York moment!". My lips widened to the corners of my face, and I agreed. It indeed was a perfect ending for my tough school week. Oh, and it is a New York moment. A good one.
So there. When we got to Serendipity and binged on 3 kinds of desserts (all huge and about 2,000 calories each, of course!), we talked about serendipitous and unexpected moments; wondering what happened to that nice policeman who carried a pink rose in the middle of the city and happened to be right where we were walking into. Did he have a dozen and gave each of the first 12 women who walked by? Was he just gay and loved flowers? Did he follow us and bought a rose along the way? Who knows? There are millions of versions.
In this city, you never really know who, how, when, or why you will stumble upon a person or stranger-- a celebrity, a homeless guy, an old friend, or a policeman, at that. And when you do, that stumbling could make or break your day or week. (especially during a Mercury Retrograde)
I still have the pink rose with me, and it's sitting in a tall ice-tea glass half-filled with lukewarm water. It's nice.
That's just how it is here in New York City.
You collect New York moments, remember them, forget them, smile, and walk on...
P.S. I didn't bring my camera with me, but TJ had his, so I'll post a picture of the rose next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment