(On this 4th of July, I’m happy to share the talents of author and artist, Christy Tennant.  She’s just moved to Seattle, offers a review of my new book on her great blog here, and is the Director of Global Community for the International Arts Movement).  Enjoy!

It was a sweltering July day. I was on a crosstown bus in Harlem, heading from my apartment on E. 112^th Street to the Department of Motor Vehicles to register my Jeep in New York City. Having waited for what seemed like an eternity in the hot sun, I was relieved to climb the steps of the air conditioned bus. As I swiped my MetroCard, I noticed there were plenty of available seats in back, so, steadying myself with one hand on the bar above my head, I made my way past the passengers crowded toward the front and sat down.

I soon realized why there were so many passengers in the front of the bus and so many unused seats in back. The man sitting directly across from me was, it quickly became clear, out of his mind. He was shouting and cursing at someone only he could see, as his fellow passengers tried to ignore him. At the next stop, however, another man got on the bus and sat in the back, but he was not as “polite” as the rest of us. Almost immediately, he began responding to the man’s shouts, yelling back in return and elevating the tension ten-fold. Within minutes, the atmosphere on the bus went from uncomfortable to downright hostile, and there I was, sitting right between the warring men.

[Read more...]

(On this 4th of July, I’m happy to share the talents of author and artist, Christy Tennant.  She’s just moved to Seattle, offers a review of my new book on her great blog here, and is the Director of Global Community for the International Arts Movement).  Enjoy!

It was a sweltering July day. I was on a crosstown bus in Harlem, heading from my apartment on E. 112^th Street to the Department of Motor Vehicles to register my Jeep in New York City. Having waited for what seemed like an eternity in the hot sun, I was relieved to climb the steps of the air conditioned bus. As I swiped my MetroCard, I noticed there were plenty of available seats in back, so, steadying myself with one hand on the bar above my head, I made my way past the passengers crowded toward the front and sat down.

I soon realized why there were so many passengers in the front of the bus and so many unused seats in back. The man sitting directly across from me was, it quickly became clear, out of his mind. He was shouting and cursing at someone only he could see, as his fellow passengers tried to ignore him. At the next stop, however, another man got on the bus and sat in the back, but he was not as “polite” as the rest of us. Almost immediately, he began responding to the man’s shouts, yelling back in return and elevating the tension ten-fold. Within minutes, the atmosphere on the bus went from uncomfortable to downright hostile, and there I was, sitting right between the warring men.

[Read more...]