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Friday, September 14, 2007

The Underclass


Yesterday, the worst smelling guy I've ever experienced boarded the subway.

I've lived in New York for a while, and when I say 'the worst smelling guy' I don't mean the typical homeless guy. I mean an eye-watering level of smell, a smell that makes you turn your back and hold your breath, a smell that makes you wonder how people closer to the offender could stand it.

It was rush hour, and by the time people realized something was up, it was too late. We suffered in tortured silence until the next stop, avoiding eye contact. And then there was a mass exodus.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

oh my goodness! That sounds awful! Haha, thanks for sharing!

Mom Knows Everything said...

That's almost funny...well almost. I can't say that I have ever had the experience of anything like that. I have been the Skytrain in Vancouver before, but nobody smelled, except my daughter who spit up and smelled like baby puke. Now that's a gross smell! That's not the guy in the picture is it? Is that picture real?

Kitty said...

the photo is real, yes, but it's a different homeless person. He looks almost headless from that angle but I felt too guilty to swing around and take a better shot.

I wanted to write about how people are so used to being around others who have absolutely nothing...but everything I wrote sounded cliched. It's a little shocking to think about.

hehe, Tammy, I have never smelled baby puke. eeek!!

Mom Knows Everything said...

It stinks! For the first 6 months that's all a new month smells like. LOL

Starbuck and Torrey said...

That's no fun at all! Found my way to your site via about 10 steps! But have enjoyed it!