It amazes me how many women choose to walk barefoot on NYC sidewalks after a night of wearing heels. I see it happen with more frequency after 2am. What I find astonishing is that many of those women get mad when someone tells them that they should be wearing their shoes. In front of the bar alone you have people who smoke and spit. People walk dogs who urinate and poop on the sidewalk, not to mention God knows what other bodily fluids and liquids might be on the sidewalk. It is one of the least sanitary places to put bare skin on. Ladies, carry flats if your heels become too much to bear. Last thing you want to do us catch something on your bare feet because you chose to walk barefoot in NYC.
Is Mother Nature trying to tell us something? Between last Wednesday's minor earthquake here in NYC and the impending arrival of Hurricane Irene, we have an unprecedented one-two punch of nature's fury. The last time that I remember a hurricane causing this kind of panic in the NYC area was either Hurricane Gloria in 1985 and/or Hurricane Bob in 1991. Luckily for me, I don't read into these natural events as being a sign of something to come. But is it? Could it just be that it's a coincidence that these natural occurrences have happened at the same time? Will it be as bad as the media and politicians are making it seem to be?
I mean the NYC Public Transit system is slated to be shut down at noon on Saturday night. The only time I can remember the entire system being shut down is during the last two transit strikes. Even during the blackouts and on 9/11 there was service (with the buses). Is it a "knee jerk" reaction? I believe it could be especially with the Mayor of NYC Michael Bloomberg. His public approval rating dropped significantly after this past winter's blizzard and lack of a coordinated effort by the City in snow clean-up. Maybe it's better to err on the side of caution. I guess we'll just wait and see what happens. May everyone be safe during the next few days.
I have to admit that I get a kick out of the new Anti-Campaign that New York City through the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has going on the trains. On a various of sites of which I will link to at the bottom of the post, people are ranting about how the Bloomberg administration is trying to act as a "nanny" over the citizens of NYC, how the victim is made to be the bad guy instead of the bars and stores that sell the alcohol, how the ads make gender generalizations and other arguments against the ads. While I think that the ads are somewhat hypocritical since the city and state (in theory) would stand to gain more in revenues due to taxation of excessive alcohol sales, I believe that they are fairly accurate. Why do I think that? I see it in practice five nights a week.
I see people come into the bar looking clean and sober and see their de-evolution due to drinking. You know what, its quite a depressing sight. I'm not saying that the person who has one, two or even three drinks in a responsible manner fits that mold. Far from it, but I do see the people that the ads are depicting on a nightly basis, shuffling to and from bars and restaurants like the zombies in a George Romero flick. While some might say that we are the enablers, my staff and I do our best to keep an eye out for those patrons who might be reaching what we believe to be their limit. By working the door we also try our best to keep out those people who we believe have had too much to drink. And as some of the articles that I posted show, people don't like to be told what to do.
I compare it to the legislation regarding seatbelts, helmets for motorcyclists and smoking in bars. While said legislation was enacted to make our lives safer it came with the protest of those it was meant to protect. Take the smoking ban for an example. I remember working in the bars in NYC and being surrounded for hours by a haze of smoke. While I thought the law was pushed on smokers, I would hate to have to go back to working in that environment. Even smokers admit that bars are better now that they don't have to smell and breath in all that second-hand smoke (well, they are less apt to saying that smoking on the streets during the Winter). Back to the booze.
I think there is an added dimension to the whole alcohol argument. The Noble Experiment known as Prohibition came and went in this country from 1919-1933 and in my opinion it failed miserably. There are many reasons why it failed, but I think the main reason was that many people saw drinking as a harmless vice and they were not going to be told when and where they could have a drink. First hand I know drinking is not a harmless vice. People that get excessively drunk put themselves in positions that they normally would not to. I believe that alcohol unleashes the inner person for either good or bad. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of these Bible Thumping Carrie Nation Prohibitionists. I partake of a drink or two every once in a while. Heck, I've got as drunk as those who I turn away at work. But I personally know how excessive drinking can be harmful. From a father who was seriously injured in an accident while riding in a car with a group of drunk co-workers to having to endure the insults and the occasional confrontation with a drunk I have seen it and will continue to see what excessive drinking can do.
Who is to blame. Can blame really be placed? Sure you can blame the bar who serves the drinks. I'll admit, there are bartenders and bar managers who can be negligent in serving drinks for the sake of profits. At the same token, a patron who is turned away or cut off from drinking more can often times find somewhere else to do or resort to buying alcohol in a deli or grocery store. In a perfect and idealized world I think all sides involved would act "responsibly". Last I look we don't live in a perfect world.
Will the ads on the trains have any effect on the people the ads are targeting? Who knows. If it causes just one person to maybe re-evaluate their drinking then I guess the ads work. I'll get off of my soapbox now.
For all of you out there in the NYC tri-state area who were hoping for a white Christmas, you're wish almost came true. The cold white stuff came en-masse the day after and it is here to stay for a while.
Starting during the morning of the 26th and mercifully coming to an end sometime during the early part of the 27th, NYC received over a foot and a half of snow. Guess who was on the move during the festivities. Yup, yours truly, the humble narrator. See, as a bar worker for a bar that NEVER closes, there's really no snow days. Sure, I could have called out but why should I lose out on making money. In my line of work, no work=no pay. So in the middle of the storm I bundled up and went on my merry way. As you can see in the video that follows this paragraph my trip down was a bit intense but somewhat manageable. Heck, I got downtown in such a speedy fashion that I was able to make a detour at Best Buy in Union Square. For the record, the place was busy...and the economy is bad, but I digress.
Throughout the night we were visited by many poor souls who for one reason or another were thrust outside in the snow and came to our oasis-like doors for some warmth and nourishment of the liquid kind. In and out they came and the snow continued to fall at a steady pace. As the hours ticked on by, Mike and I wondered how bad our respective commutes would be. He was going to the Upper West Side while those of you who have read this blog before know that I live in the Bronx, over a mile from the subway. That little tidbit will loom large later on. As you will see from the next video, getting downstairs to get the train would prove to be hazardous to the most hardiest of souls. Lo and behold, I made it down unscathed and was told by a mysterious oracle that my very moves were being watched. Interesting indeed.
As I mentioned in the last video, my ride on my favorite Philly Iron Horse #6 would indeed be the proverbial quiet before the storm. Having arrived at the Morrison-Soundview Station at 4:57am, I figured that I could catch either the Bx27 or the Bx4 buses. To my surprise, Lady Fate threw me a curveball. There were no buses. AT ALL. To make matters worse, there were no cabs to be seen. So after 25 minutes I gave up hope of relying on automotive transportation and started hoofing the over one and a half miles to my humble abode. Videos #3 and 4 brings my epic journey to a close. Odysseus had nothing on me. A man-eating Cyclops? Bah!!! Amateurish. Try walking the mean streets of the Bronx at 6am with the wind whipping snow and ice from every conceivable direction. That my friends is EPIC!!!!!! LOL.
Anyway, have a laugh at my adventures. I know I can now especially since I'm writing this while on the train heading back down to work after having walked another mile since the buses STILL aren't running and I am anticipating another mile walk home at around 5am. Thanks to the lord for giving me the strong legs and the strength that I use to plow my way through the snow. Until my next adventure folks. Stay tuned
Is it me, or does the new media campaign to lure Lebron James to New York City sound desperate. With it's new Website C'Mon Lebron, the city, led my Mayor Bloomberg is practically begging and pleading with Lebron to come sign with the Knicks. How pitiful is that. Last I saw, the city I lived in was called New York City, not Whiny City.
I mean c'mon (pun intended), this is New York F'N City. We don't need to have our politicians and celebrities shilling to get ANY athlete to sign with any of our professional teams. It comes off as despaerate and cheap. Let the teams do the wining and dining.
one could make the argument that the “C’mon LeBron” onslaught in New York is only the latest example of the city’s puzzling descent into boosterish antics that are perhaps better suited to less sophisticated towns.
The Retiring of Baseballism
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My activity on this blogpage has been somewhat limited as of late. Life has
a way of doing that. I can write about Baseball all day or do things like
work,...
A Cocktail By One Name But Includes Something Else
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The custom of ordering a specific spirit in one's cocktail is something we
do as second nature. But a court case came up in the New York Supreme Court
in 1...
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