A Shocking Story of Discarded Peanut Shells

I was told by a friend who lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, about the throwing of trash into the air shaft outside her building. She told me that not only was there an accumulation of trash at the bottom, but also that many articles thrown out find their home on her window sills, air conditioner, etc.
On a recent visit to her apartment, I was able to look at and photograph the mess. She encouraged me to do so – documenting this would aid her in any action to remedy the situation.

She told me that the litter was not just the product of things dropped accidentally but also a deliberate throwing of goods. One of those committing the offense is the owner of the neighboring building, making it even more difficult to put a stop to this activity. Among the treasure trove was what appeared to be a used condom.
One often wonders what drives individuals to behave in such disgusting ways. Let me share with you a story that illustrates one man’s thinking.

I had a high school classmate whom I did not really know at the time I was attending school. Years later, he opened a shop in my hometown in Connecticut, which I began to frequent. I quickly saw that we had little in common, and I understood why we had different circles of friends in school that did not overlap. As I would learn, however, his values were much further from mine than I could imagine.

There are always at least a few common interests between any two people, so on my visits shopping at his store, I would have a chat. We maintained a casual acquaintance. As one is sometimes inclined to do, I extended an open invitation to him to stay with me in New York City. The lure of this city is great, and the prospect of a free stay in town is, for many, too much to resist. So, one day, Bob took me up on my offer, and I found him at my doorstep.

In the time he stayed in my home, he developed a romantic interest with a friend whom I had introduced him to. On one trip to my hometown to visit family, this friend asked to come along to visit Bob.
I don’t recall why, but they stayed at a cheap motel for that weekend. On my return to New York City, I stopped to pick up my friend. When I entered the room, I witnessed a scene that, to me, was quite shocking.

Both were dressed and ready to go. Bob, however, was lying clothed on the bed, eating shelled peanuts from a bag. As he ate and conversed, he would take the shells and deliberately throw them one by one on the floor. When I say deliberately, I mean just that. Not dropping them or trying to throw them in a receptacle, but throwing them some distance with GLEE. A pile of shells and debris had formed, and he seemed quite pleased.

When I confronted him, he responded with one of the most shocking things I have heard in my life. I asked him why he was doing this and, even though he was in a motel with maids, didn’t he feel badly about making such a mess on purpose? And he said:

“That’s what you pay for.”

Related Posts: Shortly Before Execution, Random Acts of Consideration, $7.95 a Pound, Insult to Injury, PDA

I have been told that in Switzerland, people will always wait for a walk light, even in a small rural town at an intersection with no visible traffic in any direction.

I have been told that in California, if a pedestrian steps into a street, cars will stop.

I will tell you that as a New Yorker, it’s every man or woman for himself or herself. Cars, regardless of laws or unfair size advantage, will compete with you for the roadway and will nearly run you down. And, traffic or not, we run through intersections without walk lights in our favor and dodge traffic.

In addition to issues of impatience waiting for walk lights, we also have a condition here of such severe crowds on the sidewalks, that many resort to walking in the curb or even in the roadway itself. Bicyclists are also aggressive. For some, these brazen acts of pedestrian and vehicular defiance confer Street Cred.

In 1998, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, as part of his Quality of Life campaign, decided to initiate a crackdown on jaywalking. This short-lived effort was rather laughable and barely enforced, with only 99 tickets being issued that year. New York City is not Singapore.

The reckless attitude of motorists towards pedestrians does not end with civilians. Police can also be rather overzealous. In Washington Square Park, for example, many are displeased with the rather aggressive habits of many officers speeding through narrow pedestrian walkways inside the park.

In the 1970s, my girlfriend was arrested for kicking a police car with her roller skates. An altercation had occurred between a police officer and a skater who was tapping electricity from a lamppost to power his boombox for playing music for roller skaters. A chase ensued, backup police were called, and a police vehicle came careening recklessly into the park, nearly hitting pedestrians. My girlfriend, furious at the near hit, kicked and dented the squad car with her skates and was arrested along with the perpetrator.

Ever the city of opportunity and opportunists, here on the highways, in moving traffic with little clearance, we have sellers of fruit, flowers, and water. I rarely need the flowers or water, but now I regret not having purchased a bag of fruit.* It would have made a nice snack, perhaps a quick chat with the vendor, and not have left me with a story about nothing 🙂

*I believe the fruit is Melicoccus bijugatus, grown over a wide area of the tropics, including South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, parts of Africa and the Pacific. It is called Spanish lime, chenette, guaya, guinea, genip, genipe, quenepa, mamoncillo, mamón, ackee, skinnip, kenepa, xenepa, canapé, knippa, limoncillo, anoncillo, or honeyberry.

Related Posts: Hearts of Palm, Bygones Be Bygones, Durian

I recall seeing physicist Michio Kaku speaking against nuclear power after the Three Mile Island incident. His central argument was that the risk was too great and that nuclear power was an UNFORGIVING technology. Whether or not someone agrees with his assessment, in a world where forgiveness is the hallmark of the loving person, unforgiving is a very powerful word.

Life is a fragile business, and nothing illustrates that more than living in New York City. Better have all your ducks in row or you will will find yourself on the street rapidly – New York City is an unforgiving environment. I’ve written numerous times about this city’s revolving door nature. They come and they go – only the hardy survive the Sieve of Darwin.

It is remarkable that such a place as New York City could feel like home to anyone. There is opportunity to make a nest here and have intimate relations with neighbors and merchants. One can find places to relax, even experience nature’s bounty. I seek these respites from urban assault and have featured many of these places in these pages. It is a great city, and there are many great and generous people. But there is a decided edge here, and all these things require work. Dwanna learned that very quickly, and Duffy explained what was needed quite well.

However, a seasoned New Yorker’s antenna is always up and radar active. I have been conditioned at a core level and permanently rewired. I can fall asleep on a park bench or the subway, but the carrying strap of my bag is woven through crossed arms. I do occasionally walk at night alone on quiet streets, ever wary of those around me. Yes, New York is much safer now, but make no mistake, crime exists in large numbers. In 2010 there were 536 murders, 1,370 rapes, 19,359 robberies, 17,054 assaults, 18,695 burglaries and 38,136 grand larcenies. I lock my car doors everywhere I go, even in a driveway in the suburbs. Even with doors locked, many have returned to their vehicles to be rewarded with an Urban Coral Atoll and No Radio.

Here on the Metro-North in the Bronx at the Spuyten Duyvil stop on a hot humid Sunday with virtually no one in sight, I caught this sign framed against the Henry Hudson Bridge spanning Spuyten Duyvil creek to Manhattan. To New York it says – a sight I have seen often. To me, it means home. But it also a warning sign: Unforgiving, Ye Who Enter Here…

Related Posts: Steaming Masses of New York, Afraid of Snakes, Jungle Lovers