No cutting in line or raiding the tip jar

STEVE SMITH

On a flight to or from either coast, it is always good sport to

determine who is from New York and who is from Southern California.

On my way to the Big Apple a few days ago, I found another way to

separate the two coasters.

Women from New York, it seemed to me, take their purses with them

whenever they get out of their seats. They could be stretching their

legs, visiting a friend in another seat or at the galley getting

another soda. It doesn’t matter -- their purses will be with them.

If that is true it’s probably normal behavior for them. In New

York, security at all levels is an issue. At a Starbucks in midtown,

I noticed that the plastic “tip jar, “which was really a box, not a

jar, had a lock on it to prevent, I assume again, customers from

reaching in and taking the money. I’ve never seen that in

Newport-Mesa.

I was in New York for five days, staying with my brother and his

wife.

Just before I left New York yesterday, I visited a wonderful

ethnic super market to buy some treats for my family. When I offered

to take the family dog, Jiffy, for a walk to the market, my

sister-in-law told me that people don’t really tie up their dogs

outside of stores any more.

It seems that not long ago, there was a rash of “dognappings” by

people who stole dogs that were tied up outside of stores, then

demanded ransom.

Never saw that in Newport-Mesa, either.

Life in New York is a constant jockeying for position. It is not

for the weak. On a Monday morning trip to the Museum of Modern Art, I

was waiting in line to drop off my backpack, when someone clearly cut

in front of me. When I spoke up, I got a scowl but the person moved

further back, only to jump in front of someone else when he wasn’t

looking.

My favorite cutting-in-line story goes back to 1989, when Cay and

I were in New York for a week. My brother dropped me off at a

favorite bakery in the Lower East Side with instructions to buy a

certain amount of a certain type of cookie.

He could not go in because there was no parking.

Upon entering the bakery, I saw two people ahead of me. Moments

after I walked in, so did someone else. When it was my turn, the

person who came in after me started to place her order. When I said

“I think I was next,” she said, without missing a beat, “I saw you

walk in!”

I was so stunned I was unable to speak -- very unusual for me.

Then there is that whole “in line” or “on line” thing. New Yorkers

have always said that one is standing “on line” while we say standing

“in line.”

Normally, it would be no big deal, but the term “on line” has a

new meaning since the rise of the Internet. Sometimes it can get

confusing.

Another difference between here and there are our automobiles. In

Newport-Mesa, there is a certain protocol for honking one’s car horn.

A couple of quick taps means “Hey, pal, the light is green.” Several

taps in a row means, “You are about to back into me.”

Not so in New York. In New York, car horns sound incessantly and

they mean only one thing: “Get moving!” Even when there is no place

to go, New Yorkers honk their horns.

I shouldn’t knock New York too much because it really is a

wonderful place to visit. New York has an excellent transportation

system and so many things to do. New York even has friendly people.

Over the years, I have found New Yorkers to be very friendly and very

helpful, and the cashier’s in stores even say “thank you” when you

make a purchase, unlike here where they say anything but.

New York is a great place to visit, but I want to live here. The

weather is fabulous and we have lots of things to do, too, and lots

of nice people, too. It’s cleaner and quieter here.

And here, you can leave your purse, unlock the tip jar and leave

your dog tied up outside the store.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to [email protected].