Friday, September 2, 2016

Mean Streets

Image result for new york 1970s eighth avenue

Way back in the storied 1970's in New York City, the town was very different. The Disneyification of Times Square was years away, The city was a dangerous and gritty place. Even so, to many that lived through that era, it is looked back upon as a sort of a golden era.

Squeegee men, pimps and hookers operated in the open. It was like running a gauntlet just to get to a theater and see a Broadway show, or a kung fu flick in a movie theater on 42nd Street with floors that were beyond sticky with who knows what.

One time, I was walking down Eighth Avenue near Times Square with a friend of mine. Stopping at a corner to wait for the light, a hooker approached us and, in the way of avoiding inadvertently propositioning a cop, called out to us, "Hey, are you guys dating?"

I answered in the only way I could. "No, we're just friends." With that the light changed, and the two of us continued on our way.

I think she hollered out to us something not very nice. 

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