Note: This one of two contrasting blog entries involving encounters with international tourists here in New York City. The other entry is "A Good Deed."
An Angry Encounter
It was the first Sunday in June 2010,the day of the Salute to Israel Parade up Fifth Avenue here in New York City. I was minding my own business walking toward home on Central Park West. As I walked south past 65th Street, I saw a couple standing at the bus stop there looking upset. That is the bus stop for a crosstown bus that goes through Central Park to the east side of Manhattan. They were both tall and blonde, both in their mid-20's, and the woman was wearing a windbreaker with a Norwegian flag on the back. A big sign on the bus stop said there was no bus service between 12 noon and6pm that day, Sunday.
"Excuse me, why is there no bus service today?" asked the woman as I came alongside them. (I am not sure why, perhaps because I look like a stereotypical New Yorker, but international tourists often ask me questions.)
"There is a parade up Fifth Avenue today," I said. "The bus wouldn't be able to exit the Park at Fifth Avenue, the parade will block the whole Avenue."
"Is today an American holiday?" asked the man.
"No," I said, "but the first Sunday in June is when the Salute to Israel Parade is held here in New York."
"We need to get to Third Avenue and 60th Street to meet our friends," said the woman. "How can we get there with no crosstown bus service, with Fifth Avenue blocked?"
"The subway will get you under Fifth Avenue," I said. "Go over to Broadway," I said, pointing towards Broadway, "and take the #1 train down to 42nd Street. Then switch to an uptown R or N train and take it to 59th Street. You will find yourselves on 59th Street on Lexington Avenue, east of Fifth. Walk one block north and one block east from there and you will be at 60th Street and Third Avenue."
The woman repeat my directions and verified them. "Thank you," she said, as I turned to go.
That would have been the end of a brief and pleasant encounter, but the man then spoke up.
"In Norway, there would be no Salute to Israel Parade. In Norway, we do not much like Israel," he said. "If he came to Norway, Netanyahu would be tried as a war criminal."
"And Vidkun Quisling[sup]*[/sup] would be proud of you," I said.
The woman gasped. The man clenched his fists, get red in the face, and asked, "What did you say?"
"You heard me," I said. "If Vidkun Quisling were to magically rise from the dead right now and stand here beside us, and if we informed him that, in 1948, three years after he was executed, there came into existence in the Middle East a sovereign Jewish state called Israel, and if we further informed him that 21st century Norwegians don't much like Israel, then, I assure you, Quisling would be proud of you 21st century Norwegians."
The man definitely wanted to punch me, but it was broad daylight at 1pm on the corner of 65th Street and Central Park West with lots of people walking past us. The woman took his arm and led him away, towards Broadway. I went home, thinking ill of Norwegians in general and that one in particular.
[sup]*[/sup] For those of you who are not familiar with Vidkun Quisling:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidkun_Quisling
An Angry Encounter
It was the first Sunday in June 2010,the day of the Salute to Israel Parade up Fifth Avenue here in New York City. I was minding my own business walking toward home on Central Park West. As I walked south past 65th Street, I saw a couple standing at the bus stop there looking upset. That is the bus stop for a crosstown bus that goes through Central Park to the east side of Manhattan. They were both tall and blonde, both in their mid-20's, and the woman was wearing a windbreaker with a Norwegian flag on the back. A big sign on the bus stop said there was no bus service between 12 noon and6pm that day, Sunday.
"Excuse me, why is there no bus service today?" asked the woman as I came alongside them. (I am not sure why, perhaps because I look like a stereotypical New Yorker, but international tourists often ask me questions.)
"There is a parade up Fifth Avenue today," I said. "The bus wouldn't be able to exit the Park at Fifth Avenue, the parade will block the whole Avenue."
"Is today an American holiday?" asked the man.
"No," I said, "but the first Sunday in June is when the Salute to Israel Parade is held here in New York."
"We need to get to Third Avenue and 60th Street to meet our friends," said the woman. "How can we get there with no crosstown bus service, with Fifth Avenue blocked?"
"The subway will get you under Fifth Avenue," I said. "Go over to Broadway," I said, pointing towards Broadway, "and take the #1 train down to 42nd Street. Then switch to an uptown R or N train and take it to 59th Street. You will find yourselves on 59th Street on Lexington Avenue, east of Fifth. Walk one block north and one block east from there and you will be at 60th Street and Third Avenue."
The woman repeat my directions and verified them. "Thank you," she said, as I turned to go.
That would have been the end of a brief and pleasant encounter, but the man then spoke up.
"In Norway, there would be no Salute to Israel Parade. In Norway, we do not much like Israel," he said. "If he came to Norway, Netanyahu would be tried as a war criminal."
"And Vidkun Quisling[sup]*[/sup] would be proud of you," I said.
The woman gasped. The man clenched his fists, get red in the face, and asked, "What did you say?"
"You heard me," I said. "If Vidkun Quisling were to magically rise from the dead right now and stand here beside us, and if we informed him that, in 1948, three years after he was executed, there came into existence in the Middle East a sovereign Jewish state called Israel, and if we further informed him that 21st century Norwegians don't much like Israel, then, I assure you, Quisling would be proud of you 21st century Norwegians."
The man definitely wanted to punch me, but it was broad daylight at 1pm on the corner of 65th Street and Central Park West with lots of people walking past us. The woman took his arm and led him away, towards Broadway. I went home, thinking ill of Norwegians in general and that one in particular.
[sup]*[/sup] For those of you who are not familiar with Vidkun Quisling:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidkun_Quisling
I hope that there is some pizza at the party which I...