On the Outside Looking In

I have a friend who is a therapy aficionado. He spent many years on the proverbial couch “getting in touch with good stuff.” I remember him once saying that he was “on the outside looking in” during a session. The image that sprang to my untrained mind was Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present wiping away a winter window’s condensation and peering into the Cratchit family’s living room.

Yesterday, I witnessed a lunatic literally “on the outside looking in.” He was a fellow subway rider for several stops, making everyone nervous with his beady eyes and mutterings, which were largely benign but borderline menacing. The man didn’t appear homeless nor did he panhandle. He just seemed way out there. This oddball became fixated on a passenger with an adorable yellow Labrador puppy at his side. Along with increasingly creepy commentary, he made a series of weird and wild faces at the dog. The pup’s master was not amused. For he had finally calmed his young pooch down, enough at least to ride in an earsplitting and hectic New York City subway car. And then along comes this peculiar straphanger and it was back to square one.

Happily the lunatic exited the train in pretty short order. When the doors closed, I—among others, including a young canine—heaved a huge sigh of relief. Having crossed over into the realm of creepy, the man, though, refused to go quietly. Before the train pulled away, he supplied us with a parting volley of bizarre facial contortions through a window. 

And here he is officially "on the outside looking in."

Now for a completely different head: Patrick Stewart's.

Here's Patrick Stewart's head defiled at another station. By the way, in 1993, I saw him perform a one-man A Christmas Carol on Broadway sometime during the first week in January. The show was lauded by critics, but I found it a real snoozer.

Sorry I missed this one.

Sad to report that it's not my grandfather's Little Italy anymore. As for the "Mommy's 'Little Meatball'" tee, I sincerely hope the Cuomo brothers don't see that. Somebody's liable to get thrown down a flight of stairs.

The same could be said for the Joey Pepperoni's Pizza logo.

Good luck with this, I say...

Because this is all around me...

And this.  

Well, this was an off-year election with a lot of local matters decided. Congratulations are, nonetheless, in order.

Prescriptions filled while you eat. That's a new one.

Channeling Nipsey Russell here.

Credit where credit is due. Why not?

After you bet your bottom dollar, what else have you got?

Had to Google this one. Blackbear is an American musician and Anonymous, an album of his.

I ask you: Do you judge a book by its cover? Do first impressions create lasting ones?

If you know where to look, you can get the most bang for your buck in New York City. This guy might not be number one at anything, but you can find him and his dollar frankfurters at Union Square.

Time to go home and see what that indefatigable subway station vandal has left for me this week.

(Photos from the personal collection of Nicholas Nigro)