Out of Focus

The People I See -- Volume II: Cat stroller

Today's edition: The Woman with a Cat in a stroller at the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket

I beat the rain this morning to the Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket. At just after 10 AM, the place was pretty crowded. There were long lines at the Ronnybrook Dairy Farm and Blue Moon Fish booths -- the fish one had me waiting about 10 minutes!

About half-way through the fish line, I ran into a little bit of stroller gridlock, but it was understandable because one stroller didn't have a baby in it. Instead, its inhabitant was making all the passing babies stare. It was a cat. A big cat. A big fat cat. Maybe not a 44 pound cat, but pretty big nonetheless. And this wasn't any ordinary bucket-seat stroller. This thing was first class: fully covered part-mesh enclosure, reclinable so this cat could splay out flat.

The owner was an older woman, my guess is mid-to-late 50s. She wasn't actually in the fish line. She wasn't actually in any line. She and her stroller were essentially just standing in the middle of what is otherwise supposed to be free-flowing traffic. Who knows why? Maybe she was waiting for someone. Maybe she was looking around deciding where to go. But she was there when I got into line and she was there when I left the line. And her cat looked comfortable as hell.

The People I See -- Volume I: Spandex and CB

And now to institute a new feature here on Out of Focus: "The People I see." Even the title is part of my attempt to say more with less, as a longer description could be, "The people I see who make my jaw drop, say to myself, 'What the hell?' and find me spending more than an idle second imagining the life and the world (or worldS) they inhabit." Pretty self-explanatory, no?

Today's edition: "Spandex and CB at Starbucks"

It is 2008, right? I'm not sure that I ever remember seeing people walk around with CB radio units on shoulder straps, but especially in 2008? I've watched enough Ice Road Truckers (which means about two minutes) to know they're still in use, and that's not surprising. Then of course there are the police, etc. I'm sure they're used a lot in places without cell service, but even during my Sprint Wireless days, Sheridan Square never seemed like such a dead spot. And if you're walking around with a CB radio slung over your shoulder, doesn't that mean someone else is doing the same, or sitting somewhere or something. I don't know ... maybe I'm overthinking ... but that was the last post.

Anyway, I'm sitting here typing when a guy sits down at a table near mine. He's wearing a fitted workout sleeveless shirt, skin tight, as well as a pair of spandex shorts that are way too short. If not for the fanny pack placed run under his navel as opposed to his fanny, the circumcised or not question would be answered. He would take smoke breaks by going outside but would leave the pack on the table along with a poster packing tube -- empty/filled? no idea. The cigarettes were an Asian brand I assume since the writing was either Japanese or Chinese. He was not Asian. Important? Probably not. Maybe. Who knows? He sat and drank a Venti something -- with his sunglasses on. He read nothing. He wrote nothing. He just sat. And he had this CB radio ... with a shoulder strap. When he went outside for his smoke breaks, he carried it with him. When he returned, he set the whole thing down on the table. I never heard it squak, but of course, I have my iPod on. I never saw him speak into it either though. He didn't come with anyone and didn't lleave with anyone, nor did he meet anybody here. Just killing time, I suppose.