Allow me to entertain you with thread: A few days ago, there was a twitter storm about the worst places in NYC. Many people said Times Square, which I would typically agree with except for one thing: My dad. 1/11
— Tiffany D. Jackson (@WriteinBK) July 8, 2020
Every great city is, eventually, Terry Pratchett’s Ankh-Morpork…
Some of you don't know this but my dad is a street vendor in Times Square. He's been at the same spot on 45th and Broadway for the last 23 years. (ie. he was there before MTV's TRL madness). He has SEEN some thangs. 2/11 pic.twitter.com/gKgG8kHORi
— Tiffany D. Jackson (@WriteinBK) July 8, 2020
Times Square has unwritten rules between the vendors, entertainers, police, and everyone in between. I know a lot of the ins and outs: where the clean bathrooms are, how to navigate through building, which hotdog stands are legit, & been backstage of most Broadway theatres 4/11
— Tiffany D. Jackson (@WriteinBK) July 8, 2020
I kinda grew up there & the staples have seen me grow. Naked Cowboy sent me a card for my HS graduation. Some of the sketch artists came to my graduation party. Free bicycle taxi to job interviews. When I went to India, guy at the hotdog stand next to my dad gave me tips! 5/11
— Tiffany D. Jackson (@WriteinBK) July 8, 2020
All this to say: Time Square is def a tourist hell trap, but it's also a microcosm of the very hustlers that make New York NEW YORK! A lot of them have lost their livelihood but some are still out there…selling whatever they got and keeping this city…unique. 10/11 pic.twitter.com/2XxzdfY2h9
— Tiffany D. Jackson (@WriteinBK) July 8, 2020
Click on any tweet to read the whole thing. (For once, the replies are pretty good, too.)
rikyrah
That Twitter Thread ?
debbie
I moved out of NYC 25 years ago, and I still miss it.
WaterGirl
Anne Laurie, the On the Road After Dark thread just went up, but I don’t think either of us needs to pull our post.
Nicole
Oh my gosh, I know exactly which street vendor her dad is! What a wonderful Twitter thread.
Martin
@debbie: Same. I miss buskers. And knishes. And mass transit (though a bit less the last 4 months).
Jim, Foolish Literalist
the naked cowboy is not wearing his mask properly
also…
Again, these are the tests when they ask you tell a chicken from a camel from a dog from a fish, and draw the hands on a clock that indicate “6:20” or “9:45”. My father took them after a series of mini-strokes in his late 80s
also, the President of These United States apparently saw multiple doctors at that mystery trip to Walter Reed, who wanted to test his cognitive abilitie
ETA: my dad also ‘aced’ the test, but never drove again and we had to get care-givers in not long after
Anne Laurie
@WaterGirl: Nope — I’d agree they’re complementary!
Nicole
@Martin: I realized this is the longest I have not taken mass transit since I came to NYC 30 years ago. I am sure NY Transit is doing a good job keeping the trains and buses clean, but I’m still anxious. So it’s been a lot of walking, in-line skating and Citibikes.
Anya
@Nicole: I know all of them. My mom’s office is near Times Square and I am there a lot. I hate HATE Times Square. It’s a tacky hellscapes and a crime against the environment but that twitter thread makes me think about the people who’s livelihood depends on that hellscape.
Another Scott
@Jim, Foolish Literalist: OTOH, he has no short-term memory and lies about everything.
khn.org/news/creator-of-brain-exam-that-trump-aced-demands-new-training-for-testers/ (from 2018)
One cannot take anything he says at face value.
We know he’s damaged. He would be pathetic if he weren’t in such a powerful position. One that he should not be holding…
Grr…
Cheers,
Scott.
Ohio Mom
Tiffany Jackson’s thread is so sweet!
On my trips home, if I find myself having to traverse Times Square, I consider it the equivalent of running a gauntlet. But Jackson gives me a different perspective on the hustlers being quintessential New Yorkers.
Yes, they are. Her dad is the family man who has worked hard so his daughter could do better.
Glad to have read her story. Her childhood sounds magical, really.
HumboldtBlue
Lt. j.g. Madeline Swegle on completing the Tactical Air (Strike) aviator syllabus.
Swegle is the US Navy’s first known Black female TACAIR pilot and will receive her Wings of Gold later this month. HOOYAH!
debbie
@Martin:
Even street pretzels!
debbie
@Jim, Foolish Literalist:
Can’t link on this iPad, but a tweet about this said something like, “Yeah, he passed the test. They placed it on a table and he walked by it.” Ba da bum!
HumboldtBlue
@debbie:
I so miss a soft Philly pretzel.
And a deli. Sweet mother of good mustard, there isn’t a good deli within five hours driving time.
Ohio Mom
If I were a doctor examining Trump, I would in fact be surprised if he aced a cognitive functioning test (I’m sure he didn’t).
He’s not some unknown quantity appearing before the doctors, they have a not-so rough idea of what’s in front of them. They weren’t surprised by his vitals or his blood work either.
different-church-lady
If, ten years ago, you had told me that “Naked Cowboy” was going to be the only shred of hope we had left to cling to in our society, I would have… well, actually I probably would have said, “Yeah, that’s not really improbable…”
Patricia Kayden
Anya
Twitter all day today: Trump won.
My man Neal Katyal: the fucker lost. He lost big. Let’s not pretend otherwise.
Ohio Mom
You all are making me homesick for NY. I was already sad that Covid has denied me a trip there this summer.
Aleta
It’s funny but it’s not … like a a twofer.
HumboldtBlue
I took a while but we got some jazz French horn
Matt McIrvin
As Carlos Yu said about the “worst places in New York” thread: Nobody even mentioned a jail!
prostratedragon
@debbie:
Same here, but several years more for me. No place like it, Ms. Tiffany is fortunately placed.
Mike in NC
@HumboldtBlue: We are exceptionally lucky to have the best deli I ever found just 4 miles away. Go there every week. But I never missed an opportunity when in Philadelphia to get a soft pretzel and a cheesesteak. Heaven!
different-church-lady
@HumboldtBlue: I’ll see your french horn and raise you two tubas.
Yutsano
@different-church-lady: Now you’re speaking my language. Every time I hear tuba on here I also think of our beloved departed E.F. Goldman. So a hearty fuck ’em to Dolt45, the entire administration, and the Republican enablers in the Senate.
NotMax
Bah. Times Square pales beside the scenic Gowanus Canal.
//
HumboldtBlue
@Yutsano:
I knew you’d show up for some tuba porn.
Shameless tuba-honker.
NotMax
@HumboldtBlue
May as well hear from Gary Cooper.
;)
prostratedragon
Wonder if the horn player plans to be a jazz specialist. There have been others but it’s got to be a tough road.
Bassoon, anyone?
HumboldtBlue
@prostratedragon:
That’s why we show up here every day.
Nice.
NotMax
@HumboldtBlue = @Yutsano
How to fill a spit valve.
;)
eddie blake
@Nicole:
late to the party, but i have to take the f tomorrow to get to my jobsite for the second time since the middle of march. it will be weird.