Protecting Yourself In New York City

I don’t think there’s any better way to kick off the New Year than a trip to New York. So after a week-long trip, I am now back home. I know many of you might think that instead of New York, I should have gone to some beautiful tourist magnet like the Carribean or Hawaii, but I get my juice from the energy in New York.

I was staying at a pretty swank hotel during my visit. They had people who had people to wait on you and take care of your every need. Well… not every need you could think of, but pretty damn close.

The funny thing about these trips is that, I never find any inspiration in any of the really upscale places. The places I love in New York are the hidden gems you won’t find on a tourist map.

There’s a hole-in-the-wall Cuban restaurant three doors down from my hotel that opens at six in the morning. It’s like being transported to an earlier time. As soon as you open the door, there is blaring music, the cooks are singing and dancing, and its like it’s their policy to remember each customer they have by name and the food you eat.

They waved and greeted me soon as I walked in, then one of the girls said, “Spanish coffee, cream, sugar and cinnamon right?” I just nodded. Then the grillman asked, “Cuban, or ham, egg and cheese sandwich?” I went for the Cuban egg and cheese sandwich, which I tell you is the real deal, not something like the one you’ll find at many places in Florida that’s a phony imitation.

Your breakfast comes in stages. You get the coffee when it’s ready, and the sandwich when it’s ready, and maybe they’ll offer some fried plantains just out of the oil.

Meanwhile the drivers are coming in and out, bringing in all kinds of supplies. They all get food and drinks to go. The customers are the most diverse I’ve ever seen. There are cops, suits, construction workers of all stripes, young and old, short and tall, skinny and fat, and all New Yorkers, by birth or assimilation.

After half an hour or so, a young girl wearing a neon shoes walked in, and as the grill man saw her, he humoredly yelled at her, “Hey…where did you get those Dominican shoes?” Then there was a huge laugh from everybody, including the girl.

This kind of self-generated and natural humor is outstandingly different from the pretty elegant or fashionable joints, where laughter is hardly ever heard.

After a while, I noticed the absence of one of the regular girls in that restaurant. So I asked the grillman where she was. Then he told me that this girl ran into some trouble two nights ago on her way home from a party. She was knocked around by couple of crooks because she tried resisting them, they bruised her face, and she didn’t have enough strength to take them down.

It is illegal in New York to carry personal protection tools like Stun guns and pepper spray. Crimes like this working girl has experienced could have been stopped, and she wouldn’t have to miss her work because of a street beating.

I told the grillman, who by the way is the owner too, to hold my table, and that I’d just go back to my hotel and be back in few minutes. Soon as I got to my hotel, I loaded up a few samples in a bag and went back to that Cuban restaurant. I had a little chat with the grillman/owner in the back, and before I knew it, I couldn’t find my bag of samples. I misplaced it, sad to say. My memory has really taken a dive lately.

Anyway, my loss is their gain. I forgot a couple of Hot Shots, a Wildfire Pepper spray, and a box of Lipstick Pepper Spray. There was enough stuff to cover the whole crew. I also suggested they invest in a security surveillance camera for the restaurant.

New York City is an incredible place, much safer than it used to be. But still, everyone should have the right to protect themselves all the time.

The anti-personal protection laws are idiotic and dangerous to law-abiding citizens. The laws should be removed.

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