Identity overhaul, and a public space story

Postings have been light of late, mostly because I'm considering a small overhaul of the site, one that will hopefully steer BttN closer to my observations of public spaces. For those who are still reading, thanks for tuning in.

Yesterday, the weather was warm enough to have lunch outside. It was even warm enough to sit on a granite bench in front of a water fountain of a large office building on Sixth Avenue. There were two chicken and rice guys on both street corners, and a fruit vendor - all vendors were doing well, with a small line even after 1:30PM.

While we ate with a view overlooking the street, a homeless person decided to go coin-diving in the fountain. The weather was cooperating, I suppose. There weren't too many coins to be had, but perhaps it was also fun to be in water, especially when the sun is out.

This could have been unsettling, and maybe in a less busy downtown it would have induced some general fear if I was the only person near the fountain, but with all sorts of people bustling about, eating lunch, and the vendors "guarding" each street corner, the homeless guy attracted nary a side glance. And maybe because he didn't attract any attention at all, he waded through the fountain and was off without an incident, and a couple dollars richer, in less than a minute.

When he left, a group of young Japanese media types just finished buying their lunch from a chicken/rice vendor. Lunch in hand, they walked the perimeter of the fountain, assessing their sit-down options. By this time, most people had finished lunch and they had several empty benches to choose from. And where did they choose to cluster? Right next to me, the only other person in the area still eating lunch.