February 06, 2007

Punch and moody

And here I am in the Boston Public Library, and the guy at the table next to where I am sitting is telling another guy standing next to him, in enormous and chuckling detail, about an endless sequence of people whom he has punched ("So hard! I was punching him so fast, so hard!") in the back. In between punches in the back, he also stopped someone in a car and punched the hood and the windshield, and "you know what I did in the end? I pulled up his windshield wiper and snapped it off!"

Somewhere in there, the driver got out and ran, and "I had this 70 pound backpack and I was still running faster than him!" Predictably, given what we've heard already, he caught up with the driver and "I punched him so hard in the middle of his back that he fell over groaning!"

Right. Chuckle-chuckle.

The dude has the planet's most boring monotone for a voice, and looking at him you'd imagine he could barely use a punch on a sheet of A4-sized paper, let alone punch other guys, he's that puny-looking. But about 25 people around us have been treated to his interminable chuckling punching accounts over the last 20 minutes.

Must be a place to let out latent hostility, the BPL. An hour ago, an older woman wearing a security-like uniform wandered through and stopped beside the same table, spoke to the young man witting opposite to our punch-happy champion. By way of reply, he says: "I love you to death, but it's no secret that I can't stand you, so get out of here and leave me alone, OK?"

She wanders off.

And I'm just sittin' here watching the wheels go round and round. Not really, I'm poring over Frommer's Guide to the Carolinas and Georgia, taking notes on ferries and B&Bs in North Carolina. Hell, why go there? Right about now, sitting in this Library holds promise of being the best way to spend the next several weeks.

4 comments:

Baby Vaijayanti and Puppy Manohar said...

Its funny you know... I read your blog for the first time when I was in the Starbucks in front of the BPL. In case you go there, sit on the couch...you get free wireless lans from somewhere, probably upstairs.

Did you know...your not allowed to sleep at BPL...

I was there and I decided to put my head down on the table.. a guy came and told me that you are not allowed to do so! It was very unusual.

levingly
baby V.

gaddeswarup said...

If you have time, may be you can check the Dudley Street Initiative which Robert Putnam mentions in "Better Together".

km said...

LOL!!

Very clever title for the post :)

Jai_Choorakkot said...

(slightly OT) re. DDS travels.

Since the road is meant to carry Dilip and not his car, anybody that spotted him in one on this trip, incl. in Boston, can rest assured that he was merely driving to the nearest bus stop :-).

regards,
Jai

PS- Sorry. Couldnt resist the proximity to the perdition article. Be assured I get the point of the perdition piece. Hope I dont set off google searches. Peace.