Kid1: hey look at the dude with the green hair! Kid2: thats not a man that’s a lady

Standing outside the astor place k-mart was a guy who was in the middle of getting his hair braided. Exactly in the middle. One half was neatly braided down to his scalp, and the other half was all standing up wild. I did a double take. I know braiding is a time intensive process, but I myself would probably wear a hat or a doo rag between sesions. This guy was proudly rocking the halfro and my hat goes off to him.

I got my umbrella and left the building. Outside it wasn’t raining despite the raging thunder and lightning that had been going on for about a half hour. On the way towards broadway, a kid broke off from a pack of them and ran in front of a car. The car’s tires locked up on the pavement and the boy was spared. The drivers shouts were drowned out by a sky-splitting thunderclap. We all kept moving.

I decided to get a coffee and a muffin at dunkin donuts even though it was already mid-afternoon. Further up the street a barbershop was open but the riot grate was pulled over the one window. I entered. I didn’t have time to get one sip of coffee in before I was hustled into a chair. They were closing up and I would be the last cut of the day. You never want to be the last cut of the day. You also never want to try to drink coffee while getting a haircut. It’s hard not to move your head while sipping a scalding beverage, and hair trimmings are bound to get all over the lid. The barber didn’t seem to mind either way. Derelict coffee cups outnumbered hair care products on his little shelf.

Then the rain started its serious business. On the train home late at night, I saw Victor Varnado on my train. I have seen him perform at Surf Reality before, and from there recognized him in the Schwarzenegger film he was in, where he had a scene on a subway car! A real star in my neighborhood!