NY Talk

I had an epiphany the other day. I realized that I like watching New Yorkers talk. No doubt it's because I'm a talker myself. I can usually hold my own, but here in NY, I'm taking notes!

Like me, NY talkers are brassy. They ask lots of questions -- personal questions, which of course are the most interesting and, in my opinion, the friendliest. I can never figure out why people take offense at personal questions. Have you ever been around someone who never asked you anything about yourself? How much do you like that person?

Not only are New Yorkers brassy, but they talk all the time, even while someone else is talking. You'd think that means they aren't listening, but they are. They can actually talk and respond at the same time. It's astonishing.

I had the opportunity to observe all of this up close while Arthur was here. Without a doubt, he's a New Yorker, and watching him in action was an excellent opportunity to listen and learn. For example, during one of our bike rides, we stopped to sort out the bridges on the horizon. While in full bore conversation with me, Arthur managed to engage a young man who was walking by. Over the course of the next 10 minutes I listened to the young man talk about floating the Willis Avenue Bridge down the East River while Arthur reminisced about growing up in Queens. Both nodded occasionally and threw in an Oh Really? Well.... Every now and then one or the other would make a move as though the conversation were about to end, but then the other would add a comment which elicited an animated response and a renewed bout of talking. Fabulous stuff!