Facing the skyline of New York and enjoying the light of sunrise as it envelopes the Empire State Building, I am reminded of one great and universal truth...
"You would not be crying if you did not put your fingers up your butt."
Sorry about that, I just got interrupted and noise is an everpresent phenomenon in the city. There is the background noise of the subway, the roar of the bus, people speaking in many languages and neighbors yelling. In this case, our neighbors, a couple with a problem grandchild, have hit the proverbial ball out of the park. Yes, I heard Grandma yelling that through our rather thick walls. What can I say when I see them in the hallway now? Grandpa yells about the vagaries of respect and elders. Grandkid yells that he hates them and he can't stand it here.
That afternoon you see your neighbors in the elevator. You talk about the weather. You mention the parking woes of the day. Worse yet, Grandkid is there and he asks me about my new Gameboy that he sees as I try to hide it as quickly as possible. Stay calm, stay focused, don't offer to let him try it...
There is an unwritten, unspoken rule in the city: With people living so close, eating so close in restaurants and generally "up in each others business" at all times, you do not comment, judge or ask too many questions. In restaurants, tables are frequently within a foot of each other. Conversations are brutally apparent. At the next table over, a couple may be talking about their dating life/crazy friends/canabalistic tendencies, but you do not look over, raise your eyebrow or comment in any way. Rather, you make a mental note of their conversations, continue with yours and then discuss and laugh when you are safely at home and... no one can hear you?
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