The funny thing about New York is that even on Halloween, it's sometimes hard to tell who's wearing a costume and who's not.
"Oh, look -- a lady in a bee costume... oh wait... no.... it's just a yellow and black striped sweater."
"Oh, look -- a pregnant, trailer trash Britney! Oh wait... no.... not a costume either. Oops."
Alyssa, Oda and I were walking back to the office from The Daily Soup when we bumped into a quartet of Ghostbusters. These guys were the real thing -- proton packs on their backs and even a lifelike Slimer hovering above a modern day Venkman. While we waited for the light to change, we inquired about the briskness of the Ghostbusting business these days and learned that our phantom hunters had been on the Today Show that morning and had come in second place in the costume contest.
After work, Nick, Oda and I bravely headed down to Greenwich Village to the annual Halloween parade, stopping on the way for Mexican food near Union Square. (Queso Fundido = heart attack in a bowl.) We were seated by Quasimodo and served by a decaying corpse. A giant bouncer escorted me to the men's restroom since the line for the women's was not moving. He stood guard while I was inside and when I opened the door to come out, the entire opening was filled by this giant man's frame. Leaving the restaurant to find Nick and Oda outside, another masked crusader demanded a hug before he'd let me pass.
We got as close as we could to the parade without getting crushed by the crowds and had a blast checking out the various costumes and enjoyed the general party atmosphere.
I'm sure this must be the worst night of the year for the NYPD. Think about it. Hundreds of thousands of people pretending to be whoever they want for a night, fueled by alcohol and by each other. Many are in masks, concealing their true identity, feeling like their actions have no consequences -- at least no consequences that they'd have to deal with in their real lives. Mostly the revelry is harmless and fun (like a red-eyed Barney hugging passers-by!), thank goodness. (Unfortunately, there was a shooting and stabbing in Union Square last night, but hours after we'd left the area.)
One of the funniest moments? A slightly inebriated reveller stumbling up to one of New York's finest, saying "Dude, great costume! It looks SO REAL. Damn!"
"Oh, look -- a lady in a bee costume... oh wait... no.... it's just a yellow and black striped sweater."
"Oh, look -- a pregnant, trailer trash Britney! Oh wait... no.... not a costume either. Oops."
Alyssa, Oda and I were walking back to the office from The Daily Soup when we bumped into a quartet of Ghostbusters. These guys were the real thing -- proton packs on their backs and even a lifelike Slimer hovering above a modern day Venkman. While we waited for the light to change, we inquired about the briskness of the Ghostbusting business these days and learned that our phantom hunters had been on the Today Show that morning and had come in second place in the costume contest.
After work, Nick, Oda and I bravely headed down to Greenwich Village to the annual Halloween parade, stopping on the way for Mexican food near Union Square. (Queso Fundido = heart attack in a bowl.) We were seated by Quasimodo and served by a decaying corpse. A giant bouncer escorted me to the men's restroom since the line for the women's was not moving. He stood guard while I was inside and when I opened the door to come out, the entire opening was filled by this giant man's frame. Leaving the restaurant to find Nick and Oda outside, another masked crusader demanded a hug before he'd let me pass.
We got as close as we could to the parade without getting crushed by the crowds and had a blast checking out the various costumes and enjoyed the general party atmosphere.
I'm sure this must be the worst night of the year for the NYPD. Think about it. Hundreds of thousands of people pretending to be whoever they want for a night, fueled by alcohol and by each other. Many are in masks, concealing their true identity, feeling like their actions have no consequences -- at least no consequences that they'd have to deal with in their real lives. Mostly the revelry is harmless and fun (like a red-eyed Barney hugging passers-by!), thank goodness. (Unfortunately, there was a shooting and stabbing in Union Square last night, but hours after we'd left the area.)
One of the funniest moments? A slightly inebriated reveller stumbling up to one of New York's finest, saying "Dude, great costume! It looks SO REAL. Damn!"
2 comments:
I love the guy going up to the cop...how hilarious is that! Hopefully NYPD has a sent of humour. Happy belated halloween!
Happy belated Halloween to you, too! It was an interesting evening, to say the least!
Post a Comment