When I found out sexual assault guy was going to continue being around school (when I thought he was not going to be!), it was exceptionally overwhelming. (The Nightly Show had pretty recently been cancelled too. Let’s not forget that. So, New York didn’t feel great ’cause even the thing I had that still made me love it was gone…)
Anyway… Oh right. Geez to goodness. I didn’t even have an apartment at the time!
I got on the subway to go to my friend’s place, because I no longer had my apartment that I’d leased for The Nightly Show. And I didn’t know if I’d go back to California, or what I’d do.
So, I had basically no privacy. (I know that’s something people in New York talk about a lot – lack of privacy because no one’s ever alone.) But I reeeeeally felt it, because I didn’t even have my own tiny room or something. I had no apartment.
I found out sexual assault guy was gonna still be at school while I was on the phone in an ice cream/donut shop! I didn’t know where to go or what to do. After walking around aimlessly for a while, I got on the subway to go to my friend’s place.
And on the subway, this dude offered me some napkins for my tears (as I could not stop crying). He asked what was wrong, and I started talking to him.
Finally, it was almost my stop, and I was like, “This is almost me. Where’s your stop?” And he kinda sheepishly said, It was by chinatown. I missed it a while ago.”
A complete stranger in New York rode into another borough just to be with me while I cried. So, while I sometimes get lost in this idea that sexual assault guy “represents New York”… I think it’s worth remembering that random subway stranger represents it too… And maybe this is more like what New York really is. (Or maybe there is no way “New York really is…” because it’s full of so many types of people.)
But anyway, the point is, I just think it’s important to remember sexual assault guy is only one of millions of people. And within those millions is a person who rode with me all the way to another borough then turned around and went home.
[This is a part of the sexual assault series.]