On the Road

I am currently reading Molly's blog while barreling down the Mass Pike at the speed of 65 miles per hour! (that's 105 kilometers per hour, for all you metric fans out there.) I'm on a bus that has the internet. I don't claim to understand magic or technology-- but I am certainly impressed. I mean, I'm on a BUS!

In Molly's post recent post ("Weekend"), she writes about how it's interesting to see what foreign people think about Americans, based on the topics they raise in conversation. Like Molly, I also enjoy the opportunity to "represent". About 2 weeks ago, I was sitting on a bench by the waterfront downtown-- somewhere between Battery Park and the Ikea Ferry terminal, when a 10-man trombone & trumpet ensemble from the Netherlands sat down to eat their lunch on the benches all around me & my friend Aliza. They were all over 6 ft tall, about 40 years old, and they were wearing matching outfits: striped canvas shirts (orange), jeans, and wooden clogs (also orange). They immediately started chatting with us.

In NY, I usually don't strike up casual conversations with the strangers around me. I think the prevailing assumption around here is that people want their privacy and/or consider their down-time too rare and valuable to squander on a conversation with a stranger they might not enjoy talking to. (I mean, a lot of people don't even have time to talk to their friends.)

But, these Dutch guys were asking all these questions, like: "Are you a millionaire?" (I was lounging around in a park in the middle of the day wearing a nice dress, so they thought I was independently wealthy-- rather than unemployed.) Even better was the question: "Do you believe in the American Dream?"

I said: "you mean like, come to America get an education, work hard and you can be a success?" And the guy was like, "What is I mean is, is it your goal to make as much money as possible?" (I was like, "I'm sitting on a bench at 1:30pm on a Tuesday-- what do you think?" Then, to clarify, I said, "No.")

I just spent 24 hours in Boston reuniting with friends at a storytelling event and now I'm on my way back to Brooklyn. I'm simultaneously blogging about Molly's blog and instant messaging with Molly.

Here is a scintillating excerpt from our conversation:

Molly: yo g

hows life?

me: hey moll!

Molly: blogspot sucks

me: life is good!

why?

Molly: they have no online support

Miss you, Molly! I'm glad we can have conversations like this even when you're on another continent.