When New Yorkers Wear Costumes

It was Halloween this past Monday, and if you don't know how much New Yorkers love this day, then let me tell you: they adore it. I would easily say that, collectively, it is the favorite Holiday (if you can call it that) of the entire city.

What many people outside New York, and outside the United States for that matter, do not seem to realize, is that for most people Halloween is about dressing up as or being anything or anyone you can imagine, but being scary is not usually one of the requisites for an acceptable costume. This contradicts, of course, the overall notion of Halloween that most people have throughout the world, who will almost invariably, in the case that they do disguise themselves, put on at least fake blood or wear their faces completely pale. But this is not so in the United States, at least not for the most part.

I think when coming up with their costumes, girls and boys follow two very simple set of guidelines. For the former, wear something sexy/slutty; for the latter, wear something funny/witty. It's that easy.

During that day, I had to work, and I saw bunnies, pigs, Spider-Men, Hulk, the Joker, Qaddafi, girls in skimpy suits that made their bodies look amazing but that left me clueless as to what they were supposed to be, and of course, some skulls and vampires. It's always fun to see how creative and daring people get, and New York usually never disappoints.

However, the point of this post is not so much to discuss Halloween, but to describe a situation I witnessed on my way home after work, roughly around 11pm.

I was waiting for my train, which took a while to come since I had missed the previous one by seconds when I arrived to the platform. I had my headphones on, and the music was loud enough to silence every other sound around me without leaving me deaf. So I was immersed in my own world. I was leaning against some pillar, most likely, and I was looking around carelessly, as a way of passing the time. And I saw two girls kissing on the platform across the tracks. I was trying to figure out what their costumes were... but all I got was either some sort of orchestra director or professional horse rider.

One of the girls began to dance. She was dancing in a Gene Kelly type of way, just much less sharp and elegant, but still pleasant to look at. She was dancing around the other girl, who simply watched her as she smiled. I don't know if they had music on, but I doubt they did. And the girl continued to dance, and spin around, and tap her feet against the floor... in a Gene Kelly type of way. And people, like me, began to stare, some for seconds, some for minutes, but the girls remained unaware. A guy standing not far from them continuously looked their way, and then away... and he repeated this enough times to make me know what he was thinking. He began to approach them slowly, until he was only steps away, and he watched them with a big smile, the girl dancing and the girl watching.

As my train came and I stepped in it, I saw the guy joining the girl in her dance... in a Gene Kelly type of way... I don't think they had any music. But they danced, and danced, and they smiled. And this is also New York, where sometimes you can encounter some of the most hostile people, but also the most beautiful and the purest. Where, be it Halloween or not, people know they can be whoever they want because this city of madness and crazies allows for it, and even rewards your authenticity and boldness, as long as you don't force them. I watched them for as long as I could and then joined them in my head... in that wondrous and lovely Gene Kelly type of way.