Thursday, September 29, 1983
The Pendulum
Page 5
Other Opinion
Loukia
Louka
Louka takes bite out of ‘big apple’
When I told a few people
here that I was going to New
York for a recent weekend, I
got quite a few raised eyeb
rows.
“New York? For just the
weekend?”they inquired.
Distant Greatness
Even before my plane land
ed, New York’s vastness
seemed overwhelming.
Meeting my flight was an old
friend, who lives in the north
western part of Manhattan. I
have always found it beyond
my understanding that some
one who spent four years at
Elon could adjust to something
as grandiose as New York.
“You just get used to it like any
thing else you do. At first it was
hard, but you have to want to
get used to it,” he explained.
If you don’t have a car, or
can’t afford a taxi, the two ma
jor forms of transportation in
the city are buses and subwap.
I’m convinced, after my brief
' stay, that even if I was born and
raised in New York, I would
still be unable to decipher the
I subway route,
r There are an endless number
I of terminals, levels, trains,
[ numbers and destinations. My
i most interesting conclusions
came from taking the subway
out to Greenwich Village,
where my friends and I did
II some frolicking Saturday after
noon.
Manhattan Subways
The Manhattan subway sys
tem is the oldest of the subway
systems in NY. When the ter
minals were built, they began
in Manhattan and then ex
tended to the burroughs of NY.
Today’s Manhattan terminals
are in poor condition. I shud
der to think of what will hap
pen if repairs to the trains and
structures aren’t made before
a major breakdown occurs.
One incident that occurred
in the beginning of our outing
was something that visitors to
NY always hear about. The
three of us were standing in
front of a token window in one
station. I had just finished
breaking a $20 bill for some
tokens, which are used to get on
the subway. I was walking away
from the token booth, with a
fistfull of dollars and change
clanging in my pockets, when a
young woman approached me
asking for seven cents to ride
the subway.
O.K. I know that’s not a grand
sum of money, but I could feel
my knees turn to water as I re
membered tales of knifings
over such incidents. The lady
was serious in her request;
almost as though she expected
me to do her bidding.
Stunned into silence, I
glanced over at my friends and
unabashedly asked “What
should I do?” in an unusually
high voice.
So, there I was, holding $16
dollars, inches from this girl’s
face. None of us moved for what
seemed an eternity. Somehow,
we were out of there, the scene
gone, waiting for the train
downstairs.
No Hand Outs
“You’ve got to walk away
from that kind of thing. The
open hand policy is outrageous
here,” he said.
After we finished discussing
this issue, the young woman
stalked up to us. She threw a
handful of pennies (probably
70) over the railing and blatant
ly informed us that she couldn’t
believe my refusal. The girl
went on to say that she hoped
the same thing will soon hap
pen to one of us, and if she ever
sees any of us again, she will
remember the incident.
I’m told that New Yorkers
have to constantly fight for
their own personal space and
in doing so, they become
aggressive and impersonal as
they fight to maintain their
identity.
You can see it on the sub
ways. For one, the youth of NY
take out their frustrations by
smearing graffiti all over sub
ways.
These indecipherable
slashes and curves in black,
red and purple cover the sub
way maps in the cars with out
rageous expressions of hatred.
As I looked around, my
friend casually asked, “See
anyone you know?”
National Roll Call
The subway riders seemed
like roll call at the U.N. At one
point, a tall black man dressed
in long flowing white robes
cautiously made his way
through the car, carrying a
knapsack full of newspapers
and a tin cup.
Hairworks
104 Main St.
Gibsonville, N.C.
Men s and Women’s
Hoirstyling
Call 449-4911 for appointment
9-7 Tues. - Ffl.
9 -12 Sat.
Good Luck To
The Fightin’ Christions
Finally, we got to the city and
headed out to Greenwich Vil
lage, known for its defiant
youth.
Greenwich Village is a vast
maze of specialty shops and
outdoor cafes, crammed into
every block. Street vendors are
periodically situated along the
sidewalks selling jewelry and
handmade items.
San Gennaro Festival
The San Gennaro festival
was also on hand. This annual
event is held in Greenwich Vil
lage and Chinatown, for 11
days, to commemorate an Ita
lian patron saint. Within an
area of about two miles, there
were endless food stands serv
ing shishkabobs, gyros sand
wiches and other specialties.
At game stands people win
giant stuffed animals that
make it even harder for them to
get around. This is not to men
tion plenty of good music and
great pina coladas served right
out of a coconut.
I really should have stayed
an extra day or two. NY really
doesn’t sleep; there was always
something to see or do. Prob
ably the most fascinating
aspect of my visit was the peo
ple. I’ve described them as
different, for various reasons,
but they know how to have a
good time inside the “press
ure” of big-city living.
Luxury Two-Bedroom Townhouses
Bath-and-a-half, modern kitchen with disposal,
washer/dryer connection.
Air conditioning, carpeting, drapes, pool.
Cable television available
Rents from $292.
Model Open .\Ionday-Friday 10-6: Saturday. 10-5
321-C Atwood Drive 226-4202
\
ft
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