I saw the Kara Walker exhibit at the Whitney on Saturday, which was absolutely marvelous, morbid and monstrous all in one breath. Consequently, I was also on a date with someone 12 years my senior (gasp). That delicious little morsel is for another time. What I came to tell you about was what happened later on that night while we were heading back through Lexington to part ways.
We were looking for the 6 train, which we knew to be nearby, only we needed some form of confirmation as to the general direction we were heading in. So, we approach the corner and look hesitatingly towards a disheveled older man in a long, woolen overcoat walking his dog. Besides appearing disoriented he also seemed quietly engaged in dialogue with either himself or his dog. My date and I look at each other in that painful way that acknowledges what must be done, and asking for the both of us, he points in the direction we're headed,
"Excuse me, is the 6 train down that way?"
"WHAT?", is the response, as the man tilts his head forward like a saucer and cups his ear, a gesture renown for it's abilities to siphon sound deep into the cochlea.
"The SIX TRAIN, is it down that way?"
"SIX AVE? YEAH IT'S OVER THERE."
"No, actually the 6 TRAIN"
He shakes his head, "THE LANE? WHAT LANE?"
"No, Sir, the Six TRAIN, the SUBWAY..."
He chuckles disapprovingly, "OH NO, I'M A RICH MAN, I DON'T TAKE THE SUBWAY"
((say what?!)) We look at each other in amused disbelief, and as if that wasn't enough he adds,
"I DRIVE A ROLLS-ROYCE, VERY NICE CAR..."
By then we've already started walking away, laughing and trying to confirm whether that just actually happened. It's funny spending the entire afternoon contemplating all of the fantastically explicit caricatures and silhouettes of black slaves being raped, sodomized, chained, abused, exploited, [insert negative trans. verb], and then meeting the archetypal, rich, white man on the street who confirms if not promotes (with pride) the very same ideas you just spent the day trying to forget, at least for a little while...
