Have some manners sonny!

New Yorkers have for a long time, ever since the days of Adam and Eve really, been regarded as being quite rude. I disagree. For the most part they are engaging, helpful, sincere and open-hearted. Think about how New York and its citizens have been featured in films from the 1970s and 80s compared to current representations. Travis Bickle v Carrie Bradshaw. In New York it is not uncommon for people on public transport to talk with each other, nor is it odd when conversation is struck up with people nearby in a bar or cafe. People talk to each other here. However two things have at times strained my relationship with 'the friendly city,' and I shall forthwith put considerable effort into rectifying both. The first concerns alighting from a subway compartment. The doors open and quite usually people waiting on the platform stand aside to let passengers off, so that they may then enter. Every now and then however, this does not happen. The doors open and several individuals have clustered together in a wall formation so that no-one can get off or into said compartment. It happened to me a few days ago and so I just remained standing there instead of trying to force myself through the bottle neck of human traffic. 'Stand aside people! Stand Aside!' was really all that was required before my fellow passengers and I were able to hot-foot it out of the subway. The next issue of the day concerns the phrase 'I appreciate it.' The phrase seems to pass as a 'get out of jail free' card, allowing its speaker all sorts of leeway, which quite frankly I just don't buy. It goes hand in hand with another common 'get out of jail free' card response which is the 'uh-huh'. The 'uh-huh' usually follows an apology for having bumped into, trodden on, gotten in the way of, or somehow in some godforsaken way, caused distress to some person, place, animal or thing. It's the equivalent of a handshake that feels like you've just touched a cold wet slab of cod! Say you bump into someone coming out the subway stairs. You say 'sorry'. They respond, 'Uh-huh'. What!!! You feel like taking it back! That's not good enough! It's like the no-wave when you've let the idiot driver cut in front! And breathe....and breathe......But, I digress. Let's get back on track here people. All the way back to the 'I appreciate it.' Fact; They Never Do! It's not true! It's thrown away like a cafe napkin. Discarded like the olive pip in a dry martini. Case in point. Yesterday as I returned from a haircut at Mikes Barbershop I noticed that the top of a tubular container being carried by a young fella had sprung itself loose and fallen to the street where upon it risked being run over by approaching traffic. A woman beside me noticed it too and while she went to get the guy I retrieved the 'lid'. Upon returning it to him he snatched it back and walked away, saying nothing. The woman and I continuing to walk on shook our heads and muttered about how miserable some people are. We passed the offending scally-wag screwing the lid back onto the container, oblivious to us and our gripe with him. Petty, this need to be thanked? Perhaps. But also it just sticks in my gut. And so, I stopped and waited for him to approach. He may well have seen me standing, waiting, as suddenly he seemed very concerned with a cloud formation way off in the distance. However I did manage to ask him to hold up there for a minute. 'Is it really that difficult to say 'thank-you?' I asked. 'What?' came his blunt reply. Ignoring his stalling tactic I decided not to repeat myself as he knew full well what I had said. Eventually he added, 'I had my head-phones on.' 'Which prevents you acknowledging when two people have gone out of their way to help you?' I enquired.
'I couldn't hear you,' he replied. 'But you did see me hand the lid back to you or do your headphones make you blind and mute as well?' I asked. 'Nuh,' came his reply....Now, I just want to tell you that this guy was not a child. He was perhaps between 25 and 30. Maybe even a working professional. Anyway, I continued, 'and so what prevented you from saying thank you?' And here it comes, his reply, 'I appreciate it.' Now I know dear reader, that you may be thinking 'well he said a kind of thank you...' but No! 'I appreciate it,' has been made redundant by its ubiquity. Worn out by overuse. It's a tossed out token of manufactured sycophancy. A phrase as gormless as its speaker. I shook my head and started to walk away. You can't fight city hall kid!! A few steps on the guy called out, 'Hey, and Thank you.' 'You're welcome,' I replied. One down, eight million to go!