Scene and heard

Also on June 11th, I met my friend Danielle and her friend whose name escapes me. We sat on a bench on 5th Avenue and 84th Street in Brooklyn, across from a Lebanese restaurant that was having a party – very lively and great music. Danielle noticed something and I turned to see a man with a snake wrapped around him. We stopped him and his girlfriend. She, apparently, is not a big fan of Doris – a 7’ plus, 40 lb plus Red Tailed Boa Constrictor. Obviously, Derek revelled in the attention.

I watched in great amusement, the expression on people’s faces as they approached. One middle aged woman pushing a stroller almost scraped herself against the building wall in her attempt to get as far as possible from Doris. As she drew level, she broke into a short sprint. 3 young girls, perhaps 13 years of age, stopped. 2 of them were scared, the other, fascinated. She had pictures taken of herself with Doris wrapped around her and later kissed the snakes head.

I was desperate not to forget the detail and asked a passing woman if she had a pen. I’m guessing she was about 80, but very sprightly with beautiful skin and eyes and a mischievous smile. Danielle was dancing. The woman I stopped said that if I danced, she would also – but I didn’t. On her way back a few minutes later, she smiled, looked at my companions and said: “Is this guy bothering you? I can call the cops!”