Not for the squeamish
June 17th, 2010 at 10:45 pm ET
It turns out that dog poo (see photo at left, taken 1 door down from where I enter my building) isn’t the most disgusting thing I’m liable to encounter as I round the corner onto my block.
Tonight’s surprise: 2 semi-drunk Dockers-wearing douchebags, late 20s or early 30s (read: old enough to know better), cheerily pissing against the building next to mine.
“Hello!” I called out, mustering my best huffy-buzzkill voice. “People live on this block!”
To their credit, they immediately got embarrassed, mumbled something placating, zipped up and left. And I realize that this street looks like (ok, is) a deserted alley. But, like, did they just get off the boat? (Actually, from the looks of them, probably — the Hoboken ferry — but I digress.) Here in New York, as is known to all from song and story, people make their homes in the most unlikely places. Even, you know, in what are obviously APARTMENT BUILDINGS on downtown streets!
Cherry on the sundae: I got to my floor, walked toward my apartment, got there just in time to squish a cockroach racing for the crack under my door. I left it for the super (who, to *his* credit, will be horrified).
Have a lovely evening!
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Rich Mintz blogs on online fundraising and social media, American history and culture, bicycling and urbanism, food, technology, and other topics. Professionally, he's an expert in fundraising, constituency development, and social media for nonprofits, cultural organizations, cause-related marketers, and corporations. He is based in New York, where he serves as Vice President, Strategy, for 
