Speak Softly and Carry a Big Purse

Yes, that's what you do in New York City.

I'm at Starbucks, killing some time between my internship and my class this evening.  I'm am absolutely absorbed with my computer- I'm reading the Yarn Harlot's blog from the beginnng aaallll the way up to now.  Um, I'm only in March 2004, 2 months after she started.  I'm taking my time with this one.

Anyway, I'm sitting at the coffee counter, minding my own business.  There was a guy in the seat to my right, but he's gone now.  There was a girl on the other side of that seat, but she's gone now too.  Sometime after the guy left, the girl looked up from her book and realized her purse was gone.  She had it slung over the back of her seat and said it was sort of on her lap at one point.  She didn't even notice anyone take it.  I didn't either because I was so focused on what I was reading.  Maybe she was reading one of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's books too.

The cops came and basically told her she needs to pay more attention.  Which is true, but they didn't even take her name.  They said it happens all the time here (at this very Starbucks location that I plan on spending 2 or so hours a week at for the next 3 and a half months) and mostly to people not from New York.  "Are you from New York."  "Yes." "Oh, well you have to have that New York state of mind."  Wow.  Very helpful officers, indeed.

I'm not knocking NYPD.  Several of my relatives belong to this club.  But they just didn't care.  Luckily the girl had all her important things in her coat pocket so all that was lost was her license and maybe a credit card (she called the bank to cancel before even leaving here).  I made sure to check my coat pockets (my coat is hanging on the back of my chair like her purse was) and bag before I forgot.

Moral of the story:  When in New York, carry a big, honking huge bag.  One so heavy a thief can't just grab and run like in the old movies and cartoons.  In fact, mine is actually an airline approved carry-on luggage piece.  Hey, I have a lot of knitting to carry around for a full day in the city.

See all those Ziplocs?  Yea, those are the knitting projects.

What do I have with me?  My Wrist Flairs for the train ride here (my hand started cramping up from working on them earlier so probably not for the train ride home), Camp Hoodie (mindless ribbing for class), and my Center of Attention Socks (for all other times).  Eventually I'll get some pictures of these things up.