Stupid Laws In New York

For me, there really is no better way to start the New Year than a trip to New York, so after a week-long trip, I am now back home. I know many of you might think that instead of New York, I should have gone to some beautiful tourist magnet like the Carribean or Hawaii, but I get my juice from the energy in New York.

I was staying at a pretty swank hotel during my visit. They had people who had even more people to dote on you and take care of your every need. Well… not every need, close enough for anyone other than a Governor.

The funny thing about these trips is that, I never find any inspiration in any of the really upscale places. The thing I love about New York is the places nobody ever recommends or writes about.

There is a small Cuban restaurant three doors down from my hotel that opens at six in the morning. It’s like you are transported to another time. As soon as you open the door, there is blaring music, the cooks are singing and dancing, and everyone knows your name and the food you eat.

They greeted me soon as I walked in, then one of the girls said, “Spanish coffee, cream, sugar and cinnamon right?” I just nodded. Then the grillman asked, “Cuban, or ham, egg and cheese sandwich?” I went for the Cuban egg and cheese sandwich, which I tell you is the real deal, not something like the one you’ll find at many places in Florida that’s a phony imitation.

Your breakfast comes in stages. You get the coffee when it’s ready, and the sandwich when it’s ready, and maybe they’ll offer some fried plantains just out of the oil.

Meanwhile the drivers are hurrying in and out, bringing in everything under the sun. They all get food and drinks for the road. The clientele are the most diverse I’ve ever seen. There are suits, cops, construction workers of all stripes, young and old, short and tall, fat and skinny, and all New Yorkers, by birth or assimilation.

After half an hour or so, a young girl wearing a neon shoes walked in, and as the grill man saw her, he humoredly yelled at her, “Hey…where did you get those Dominican shoes?” Then there was a huge laugh from everybody, including the girl.

This kind of self-generated and natural humor is outstandingly different from the pretty elegant or fashionable joints, where laughter is hardly ever heard.

After a while, I noticed one of the regular girls was nowhere to be seen. So I asked the grillman where she was. Then he told me that this girl ran into some trouble two nights ago on her way home from a party. She was knocked around by couple of crooks because she tried resisting them. They bruised her face and she didn’t have enough strength to take them down.

It is illegal in New York to carry around personal protection tools like pepper spray and stun guns. Crimes like this working girl has experienced could have been stopped, and she wouldn’t have to miss her work because of a street beating.

I told the grillman, who by the way is the owner too, to hold my table, and that I’d just go back to my hotel and be back in few minutes. Soon as I got to my hotel, I loaded up a few samples in a bag and went back to that Cuban restaurant. I had a little chat with the grillman/owner in the back, and before I knew it, I couldn’t find my bag of samples. I misplaced it, sad to say. My memory has really taken a dive these days.

Anyway, what I lost is their gain. I forgot a couple of Hot Shots, a Wildfire Pepper spray, and a box of Lipstick Pepper Spray. There was enough stuff to cover the whole crew. I also suggested they invest in a security surveillance camera for the restaurant.

New York City is an incredible place, they have made many improvements to make it a nice and safe place to live, visit and work. But still, everyone should have the right to protect themselves all the time.

The anti-personal protection laws are stupid, plain and simple. The laws should be removed.