Hammer Time!

I had an unique New York moment this afternoon. I was walking down the street in my neighborhood as I do everyday. There are always a of people out, talking, laughing and doing just about anything you can imagine. Even though I have only been here two weeks I feel like I am pretty much ready to handle almost anything. But I was caught a bit off guard when I saw two guys running down the street - one wielding a hammer.

To be honest, that didn't really scare me all that much, but the fact that they were chasing a huge rat did! These guys were running around in circles chasing this rat around slamming the hammer on the sidewalk, each time missing the speedy rodent by just inches. The guy with the hammer was cursing at the rat every time he missed and was taunting it as he continued in pursuit. The friend screamed encouragement and stayed close behind in the chase.

This seemed to be quite amusing to the dozens of people up and down the street witnessing the event. But not to me, because they were chasing the damn thing in MY direction. One of the rules of the street in New York City is to never look intimidated. But I leapt into the air and ran into the road (more like a tippy toe trot) as Hammer man, his screaming friend and the big fat rat continued their little game. I'm not sure what I feared most, the rat running at me, or seeing the oversized rodents squashed by a hammer! Finally, after dodging half a dozen attempts at his life, the rat slipped down into some hole and disappeared.

I regained my cool and returned to the sidewalk to continue on my way. I heard the friend criticizing the hammer man saying "I thought you were going to throw it at him". I'm not sure if that would have been more effective method of extermination, but at least I sure would have had a more manly reason for running into the street like a frightened little girl.