I was reading through the New York Moleskin cityblog and I really liked this entry...

"I got on the train this morning and... I did something that can only be done shamelessly in a large city – I stared at people.

...I saw someone who I recognized…huge red beard, glasses and a newsboy cap. I quickly looked away, closed my eyes and began to search my brain to figure out who this person was and how I knew them. Then I placed him. We used to live in the same building two years ago. For over two years, I would regularly see him living his everyday life and we always said hello and exchanged small talk. The strange thing is, I know that he lives with his girlfriend, drives an old maroon Volvo and has a Shiba Inu dog that is blind, but at that moment, on the train I didn’t feel like I had to say hi. I adverted my eyes from his general area and didn’t feel bad about not saying hello. This is one of the things I love and hate about large city living. There is a redeeming quality about large city living in that you can be a complete prick and no one will ever really remember you, but I do miss that smaller town quality where everyone says hello and remembers your face."

http://newyork.moleskinecity.com/