Weird New York Stories

When I was 10 or 12 or so, I used to go down and play by the hudson river, back then the old West side Highway was the old elevated monster that stretched up from battery park up to the fifties along the Hudson River, where the world financial center now sits was only a vast expanse of sand, this was created by the dirt excavated when they built the World Trade Centers. It was all landfill, picture a large square beach on the Hudson River. There wasn't much to do down there, local artists would go out there and build art from garbage, bottles, bottle caps, cans etc. Some people would sunbathe there in the summer. To get to the sand dunes as me and my friends used to call them, you would have to cross the highway, go underneath it and then walk towards the Sand dunes nearby. Sometimes I would stare into the Hudson to see what people would dump in there, when the tide would go out you could see all the crap at the bottom, typerwriters, garbage and the like, one time I even found a small harpoon, who knows how old it was. One day as I was going back home from walking out on the Dunes, I was passing underneath the elevated part of the highway when I felt someone grab me from behind, I felt cold metal against my neck and a gruff voice asking me for money. Of course being twelve or so I was scared, not very big and unable to free myself. I could smell the alcohol on whomever it was holding me. My brain reeled as I fought back my fear. I also realized that I had no money to give this person on me, all I had was a small pocket knife that I usually carried on me. It's hard to think when you have a knife at your throat and a drunk homeless man who's desperate trying to take your money which you have none of. I began to talk to the man, I told him that I hadn't seen his face, please let me go and I wouldn't tell anyone. I kept saying that I hadn't seen him and that I wouldn't tell. As I repeated this, pleading with him, I think it began to register, the man began to maybe feel a bit of remorse, no one was around to help me. I waited for him to cut me, I figured it was over, I knew if I struggled he would probably kill me and dump my lifeless body into the river. After what seemed like an eternity I felt his grip relax, the knife was taken away from my throat and I walked away slowly at first and then began to run, I never did look back to see the man although I wanted to. I was scared that if I saw him he would try to get me although I knew I could outrun him easily, I was fast as a kid and could outrun just about anyone in my neighborhood. I never did tell anyone about it until many many years later. I think I repressed the memory of it because I never thought about it again until I was in my late twenties or so, it almost seemed as if it was a dream even then, but it did happen. I lived to see another day. I wonder what happened to the man sometimes, I am glad he had some kind of conscience and decided to let me go. I have had a few experiences in my life where I almost died, and this was one of them. It gives you a new appreciation of life and you realize that it can be taken from you at any moment. As the saying goes, tommorrow is never promised. So True. If you are ever in a situation that you have no control over, all I can say is try to remain calm and think, if you shut your mind down your done for. Sometimes you can talk your way out of things if your smart about it, not always but sometimes. I'll be back soon with another weird New York Stories. I have many.