"Only in New York"

"Only in New York"... is a phrase that I have grown accustom to through the years. I have come to new york at least once a year since I was a baby to visit family. I have been blessed with the contrast of experiencing "normal" and "conservative" life in the midwest with the fast passed, unusual, liberal lifestyle one experiences daily in the city.

"Only in New York" is a phrase used when one sees something so outrageous and so unusual that it could only happen in new york city. These are instances that most New Yorkers walk right by without stopping or maybe even acknowledging the unusual/weird event. The most you might see is a double take, a shake of the head, or a smile, but they never stop or veer of course.

I had one of these moments this week that stopped us and elicited the response, "only in New York." As my family was walking down the stairs to take the subway home from time square after a broadway show, we witnessed an usual scene on the platform. A very tall,lean, and muscular black man had his shirt off seemingly working out. He was big enough and ripped enough to pass for a professional athlete, yet he was working out on a subway platform. He had work out bands and was using the tiled stone pillars as an anchor point for familiar exercises. While also using benches that people wait for the subway on to elevate his feet to do push ups. The only reasonable explanation was that this man could no longer afford his gym membership.. or had come to the conclusion that the could get just as good of a work out on the subway platform then at an overly priced LA Fitness. This guy might be on to something because well... he was ripped!

"Only in New York" would anyone think of doing what this man was doing and "only in New York" would most people simply walk by without even giving this man a double take.