It’s actually a pretty nice day here in NYC, so when I went out this morning to go get my daily cup of Oren’s (and a blueberry muffin today), I walked outside instead of taking the underground tunnel to Grand Central.
(For those of you who have never been there, Grand Central has all these tunnels and entrances that spider-web out. A lot of them a creepy long tunnels, but we have one that run all the way to our building, which is handy to have when it’s cold outside. I actually find more of them all the time.)
As I crossed the street to the building right next store to us, I noticed there was a couple, a young guy and girl, out front with a folding table on the sidewalk. Normally this is no big thing here, but as I got closer I noticed that instead of cheap sunglasses or Underarmor, they had bags of bagels. A sign informed me that the bagels were free.
Nothing is free when given out on the street of NYC.
A free, “Stress Test,” is really a group of Scientologists trying to get you to go home with a copy of Dianetics. (Again for those who have not been here, those guys are everywhere.) A free pamphlet either comes with the hassle of throwing it away yourself, or having to talk to the guy handing it out for at least 10 minutes in a conversation that might start out about how Bush is a screw up, but will quickly nosedive into how the CIA is controlling the nation’s supply of puppy chow in order to turn all dogs against their owners.
Needless to say I passed on the free bagels.
Now here’s where other bloggers and I differ. I’m sure some other blogger would have walked up to these two, who were more then willing to talk to whoever came their way, and asked what this was all about.
I, on the other hand, was all to happy to pass them, not once, but twice. Sure I was curious, and, sure asking would have made for a better story, but after living in NYC awhile you learn that pacifying my curiosity is greatly out weighed by my desire to not be chatted up by some cult. Not that these two were particularly in a cult, but if they were wearing white short-sleeve shirts, I would sworn they were Mormon. (Well at least the guy.)
As it stands, they were outside a major bank building, Citibank I believe, and were more likely just wanting to talk to the bankers coming out about how their foreign deals are killing baby aardvarks. Or they well could have just been two people from a bagel store nearby with a excess bagels that morning. (Although as much as I would like to believe that, most of the breakfast places near work are run by scruffy old guys who, besides looking nothing like these kids, wouldn’t have the time, nor the desire to hand out free wares.)
So while, yeah this story could be better if I had 10,000 pictures and a long discussion with them about their, “Cult Of Bagel,” and how we need to repent or muffin ways (whoops), I guess I’m just posting all this for two other reasons.
1. If you have a cause you believe strongly in, handing out free bagels from a folding table on Park Ave is not going to sway any minds. Hell, I watched the DNC stand out there one day for hours, only to get pushed around by bankers on their way to get $20 sushi. (Personally I caved, and handed they guy $20. Now I am on every mailing list the democrats put out. Lesson learned.)
2. No matter how good of a deal it looks to be, no matter how many people are standing around doing it, it’s not a good idea to engage people handing out free stuff on the street of NYC. At best you have to listen to a 30 second sales pitch. At worst, you wind up with a shaved head, standing outside the airport Starbucks screaming, “Death to the muffin heathens!”
Either way, your not getting that time back.
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