New York City — they say if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. Everyone is trying to make a living, trying to get by somehow. Whether it's the young kids on the subway selling their CDs or the people telling their sob stories to anyone who wants to listen, everyone is asking for financial help. But when you live in New York City and you ride the subways as often as I do, being a soft touch can get to be really expensive. It is impossible for me to support everyone who asks for my help. So I've started blocking them out.
Now and then I do have to make an exception. On my way home from dinner out one night, I saw a guy in his mid-20s or so standing on the platform. He was holding a stapled packet of paper titled "Roxanne's Heart." I didn't pay any attention to him. I put on my iPod headphones and started reading a book for my English class. This was (and still is) my way of saying "Don't talk to me. I don't have money for you." It usually works. Not this time though. While I was waiting for my subway to arrive, the young man approached me. He informed me that he was an aspiring writer, recently out of college, and he was selling a copy of his most recent short story for a mere $3. I asked him if it was any good. I think it's important for a writer to have confidence in their work. He told me it was great — so I gave him a $5 bill and insisted he keep the change. In any other situation, I would have refused his offer. But I always feel compelled to support my fellow writers, even in the fiction genre.
I picked up the story from him at the 96th Street subway stop and I was finished with it by the time I walked into my dorm on 116th. Not a long story, only 11 pages or so, but quite captivating; a tragic tale of ill-fated lovers and a pesky husband. My favorite discovery in my purchase was definitely the last page, though. The author had included a virtual "back cover," complete with a personal bio, readers' reviews and contact information. He was quite the business man. I felt my money was well spent.
***
As much as I loved supporting the aspiring writer, my friend Jen had quite the opposite experience with a totally different sort of money-hungry subway rider. Her hard-earned money fell into the wrong hands one night on our way downtown to see a show. It was around 5 o'clock, the beginning of rush hour, and Jen and I were stuck like the proverbial sardines in a packed subway car. Normally we would have waited for the next subway, but we were crunched for time. Our show was set to start at 7 p.m. and we still needed dinner.
We got off the subway at Times Square 42nd street. Right away Jen knew something was wrong; her bag felt unusually light. As she reached in to her purse and began shuffling around, the look on her face told me something was horribly wrong. She couldn't find her wallet, and we both knew what had happened — she'd been pick-pocketed. Her brand-new purse she bought a week earlier during a shopping trip to SoHo didn't have the proper closure for riding on packed subways. Anyone standing near her could have easily reached into her purse and snatched the wallet. After calling our theater teacher to tell him we'd be late, we went back into the subway station to file a police report. We had to wait quite a while for the officers to arrive, but it was certainly worth it. Our interaction with the NYPD was the most amusing part of the night. A few highlights:
• The cops consistently corrected Jen when she kept exclaiming "I've been robbed!" Their response? "Actually ma'am, you're a victim of grand larceny." It makes sense, but at the time it wasn't amusing.
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• One of the cops asked Jen if she knew all of her "numbers" (Social Security, driver's license, etc.) by heart. She told them that the only one she had memorized was her Social Security number. I told him I knew all of mine by heart, and I proceeded to prove it by reciting them all. Another cop standing by, who looked eerily like my father, sarcastically interrupted me: "Well, I know my birthday. How do you like that?"
• While Jen was telling the officers the story of what happened and who she thought may have taken her wallet, she remembered a guy had "accidentally" bumped into her and then apologized right away. The two cops looked at each other knowingly, then turned back to Jen and informed her: "'I'm sorry' on the subway actually means 'Thanks for your wallet.'" I thought it hysterical; Jen was not amused.
***
There were tons of celebrity sightings these past two weeks, but I think I cheated. My volunteering at the Tribeca Film Festival certainly gave me an advantage. That said, here's a few: Liam Neeson, James Gandolfini, Robert DeNiro, Elisha Cuthbert, Star Jones, David Hasselhoff, Natasha Richardson, Rosie Perez, Kristen Johnston, Sir Ian McKellen, Tim Daly, Kenneth Cole, Delta Burke, Joel Silver, Holly Hunter, Ashanti, Irv Gotti, Chad Michael Murray, Sophia Bush, Jared Padalecki, Kelly Osbourne, Alan Cumming, Lizzie Grubman, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Anna Wintour, Robert Downey Jr., David Allan Grier and the Muppets.
If you don't recognize all of the names, you can look them up on www.IMDB.com. This Web site, the International Movie Database, is heaven for movie buffs and celebrity stalkers, alike.
And, yes, I did see Paris Hilton. My quest is over. I can head into final exams with a happy heart.
Grace Kallis is a graduate of Aragon High School. She is currently attending Barnard College in New York City. Her column, Graceland, appears every other Tuesday. If you have some news you'd like to send Grace's way, e-mail her at gk2143@barnard.edu.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.