Several years ago I had a chance to visit New York City for the first time and on my own. It would be a short trip: I would only be getting one night in the city. Afterwards I would have to head out of town to see some friends.
Flew in to Newark, took the public transit bus to the HI New York City hostel and grabbed a bed in a shared room. On the odd chance she’d be free I called an old friend as soon as I got into town. Unfortunately she had plans that she couldn’t break for the evening.
Being a short trip I had list of a few things I wanted to check out. Central Park, which was near the hostel. Taking the train was also on the list so I rode it to Harlem. Walked around for a while without any real destination in mind until I realized I wasn’t seeing any one else on the side walks. Couldn’t tell you if I was in a dangerous neighborhood or not but I got a gut feeling I was not where I should be. Turned around until I got back to more populated areas.
Walked down central park west soaking in the scenery. It was nice and sunny but a little chilly. I grabbed something to eat in a small diner. It was now around 8 pm and I was walking along Broadway. Tomorrow morning I would be heading out of town to see friends.
I was walking along Broadway soaking it all in when I heard some Quebec French being spoken by a couple sitting at the rear of a Van. I slowed down so I could have a better look at the people speaking a language familiar to me. As I got nearer I saw that the couple was sitting on plastic lawn chairs. The van had its back doors open and they had a bunch of bound pine tree’s sitting beside them.
As I approached, I noticed the woman was rolling some hashish along with some tobacco into a small joint. I took a breath and approached them in French:
“Excuse me, I was just walking by when I heard both of you speaking. I couldn’t help but notice what you were rolling. Would there be any chance you might sell me a little bit of Hash? I completely understand if you don’t want to sell hash to a Stranger”. I explained I was just in town for the night and would love to be able to wander around New York after having smoked a little.
Her first question to me was “Are you a cop”? I laughed and answered “How many cops do you know speak French with a Canadian accent?”. They agreed to sell me a joint (I don’t even remember how much I paid) and explained that they were just in New York to sell pine trees for Christmas. They said that there was some money to be made doing so If you could find a way to haul them to NY. I thanked them for selling me the joint and wished them a good night.
I remember walking down Broadway, away from the more popular tourist intersections when I lit my joint. I was surrounded by crowds of strangers. I had the joint turned towards the inside of my palm and kept walking as if I was simply smoking a cigarette. Weaving through the crowd I would take an occasional puff and do the best I could to blow the smoke nonchalantly upwards above the crowds. I managed to smoke most of the joint, throwing away the last 1/4 of it. I wasn’t used to smoking tobacco and it was making my head spin.
I was now walking along Broadway with a nice relaxed feeling. And that’s when it happened: I was lost in my thoughts, soaking up Broadway walking amongst the throngs of tourist. And that’s when I made eye contact with her.
It was a street worker (prostitute). She appeared to be strung out or high on some type of drug. If I’d have to guess I would have said coke or crack. She was leaning against a building, glossy eyed when she tried to make a sale: “Hey, you want to have a dirty crazy orgy”? As I walked passed her without answering she yelled “DON’T IGNORE ME BOY!”
Making my way to the hostel I remember thinking to myself just how surreal my first visit to New York had been: Unbelievably I had found a couple from Quebec who sold me a hash joint on Broadway. I had then gotten propositioned by a prostitute who in turn had gotten mad and yelled at me for ignoring her.
As I walked my way back to the hostel I remember feeling that somehow, this had been a perfect introduction to New York.
For prosperity,
mtl_dokkaebi
(All pictures were randomly taken in Montreal)
