Mon,
Feb 3, 2014
You'd
Better Swing It, Mr. Paganini
Last
year in New York there were at least two instances when I thought I
was having an out-of-body experience without leaving my actual body.
They all had to do with extrasensory perceptions of the environment
around me. First there was the time when I found myself walking from
Chelsea to the Bronx. Mind you, this wasn't by choice but alas
circumstances that day were beyond my control and I wasn't about to
jump the turnstiles. I'm not sure how many miles it is from Chelsea
to the Bronx but if Manhattan is a thirteen mile island, I would
venture to say I walked at least three. As I found myself in Harlem I
noticed something very strange begin to happen. I felt as though the
sidewalk began swinging. Right to left, left to right. At first I
thought it was in my head. I thought I was getting dehydrated
perhaps, or just dizzy from exhaustion. But as I'm having these
thoughts I noticed other pedestrians around me slowly swerving in
front of me. Like following a drunk driver on the highway. We all
looked ridiculous of course, not being able to walk a straight line
in tandem. Everyone eyed each other but no one said anything. It felt
like the big elephant in the middle of the city that nobody wanted to
talk about.
Now
I know I spent six years away from New York City, and people told me
there had been changes but nobody warned me that the city might start
swaying and swinging someday. I wish that had been included in my
welcome back packet.
There
were no news reports of strange earthquake like activity (it wasn't
an earthquake), and nothing online about the strange phenomenon. Soon
I forgot about it and went on with my routine. I did make it home
safely that day so no harm done. However, a few months went by and it
happened again. This time in the Bronx as I was walking to the store to
buy some stemware (that's a joke). This time people reacted more
aggressively. I heard a couple in front of me say that they were
getting in their car instead of going back in their building because
they felt safer there. Again, there were no news reports and nothing
mentioned online. So what could this strange phenomenon have been? To this
day I haven't been able to find the answer but rest assured that I'll
be ready the next time it happens.
