Just got back from downtown. I was walking quickly across Michigan Ave., near the Water Tower, when I noticed a group of middle-aged women contemplating whether one can still cross when the light is blinking. One of them said something to the others, looking in my direction. I looked back, and, in case I hadn't heard her, she repeated to her friends, "She's from Chicago, we should follow her lead." Now, while I give Chicago credit for many things--my education, my ability to withstand ridiculously cold temperatures--my crossing ability is not one of them. While I don't usually talk to people I don't know on the street, I informed these women that I am, in fact, from New York.
What were you wearing?
ReplyDelete"While I don't usually talk to people I don't know on the street, I informed these women that I am, in fact, from New York."
ReplyDeleteWhile your crossing prowess and unwillingness to talk to strangers are indeed indicative of New York breeding, your newfound willingness to begin talking to random strangers on the street is a sign of that you are beginning to be corrupted by Midwestern values.
If you were to remain in the Midwest, you'd begin to also find your crossing prowess slowly deteriorating, until one day you would be completely unable to cross even a side street without following the lead of some New York transplant.