New York Minute 97 - Tension

Despite its heightened pace, life in New York City is orderly and surprisingly relaxed most of the time. People go about their business and make an honest effort to stay out of each other’s way, which helps to keep things running smoothly. Staying out of the way is a basic survival skill in New York; most people have learned to do it automatically.

But there are days when tensions run high, and people all over town seem to be on the verge of turning on each other. I don’t understand what triggers this. It’s not necessarily tied to an event or a policy decision, although I do notice higher tension when protests or marches occur. People just seem to be on edge.

Today is one of those tense days. I don’t know why or what’s triggering it, but people are definitely wound up. I could sense it when I can an errand earlier in the day. Most of the time, the tension isn’t expressed, but you can feel it like brewing storm, like a mousetrap that’s set and ready to spring.

I did see a small expression of the tension at one intersection. As a group of us waited on the corner for the walk signal, an elderly lady with an amputated leg approached in a wheelchair. She mumbled unintelligibly while she waved her empty cup, trying to solicit donations. I remember thinking that she was a bit too far out in the traffic lane.

This is when things started to get complicated. A cement truck was coming down the avenue just a couple of feet away from the lady in the wheelchair. The truck driver was trying to make a left turn before the light changed, but he had to hit the brakes, because a cyclist on the cross street had pulled too far out into the intersection. The cement truck driver yelled at the cyclist to get out to the way, but the cyclist held his ground and glared back at him. 

The light changed, which meant that the people waiting on the corner could cross, but now the cement truck was blocking the intersection. We couldn’t walk around the front of the truck, because that would put us in the path of crossing traffic. Instead, we had to walk around the back of the truck, which meant squeezing past the mumbling amputated lady in the wheelchair. 

What a mess! It made everyone feel even more tense. Be caureful out there!

Copyright © 2018 Daniel R. South 

All Rights Reserved