New Yorkers - Durf's take.

One would think I'd know something about New Yorkers, since the first 25 years of my life were spent just upstate, but either I forgot, or they changed. Our first encounter with the species occurred in eastern New Jersey. We were tooling down the interstate at 70 MPH, 5 MPH above the speed limit (for safety's sake). It was a sunny, beautiful day, but suddenly everything went dark. I looked in the rear view mirror and an SUV the size of an Abrams tank was about two inches from our rear bumper. NYers believe that tailgating is an acceptable way to convey that they want to go faster than you're going and aren't particularly interested in changing lanes to pass.

I've become very conservative when driving. I don't scream at other drivers (well, I do, but without moving my lips) and I don't glare at them with hatred and defiance. Having decided about 25 years ago that the one-finger salute is the province of the immature and communication-challenged, that gesture also has left my driving repertoire. Basically, I am adverse to being shot. But I am loathe to pull over for tailgaters. So when one appears behind me, the question becomes who will first grow weary of playing and move over a lane. I'm quite good at that game.

NYers are at their best worst, though, face-to-face, which is often how you'll meet them in the aisle of a grocery store. As you peaceably stroll along pushing your cart, you are likely to have one push their cart in front of yours to stop, glare, and wait for you to move out of their way. It is like reverse tailgating. They also tend to leave their carts right in the middle of an aisle, and they studiously ignore you if approach and try to get by. I've already learned to pick empty aisles and no others.

That said, NYers can be quite pleasant if you manage to cut a couple from the herd and engage them personally. On our first train ride to Tarrytown from the city, our seat directly faced another, where one man sat. He almost immediately began to talk at us. I wasn't anxious to look up from whatever game I was playing on my iPhone, but he didn't stop talking. Now that's friendly! Unfortunately, he also turned out to be a lunatic who is planning to run for president so he can unseat Obama. Whatever.