Me and my Muslim neighbors

I think I'm one of the few people who drinks Diet Coke in my neighborhood, north of Warren Street. I bought out all of the Diet Coke from the grocery store yesterday. Four bottles. But, then they forget to re-stock it.

Everyone else drinks regular Coke. My neighbors complain that you cannot find skim, 1%, or 2% milk....just whole milk.

....and coconut-flavored soda.

Meanwhile, in the deli across the street from me in Manhattan, it's open 24 hours, I can buy organic peanut butter and organic whole-grain bread. And, there's six different flavors of soy milk.

And vegan cookies. Which is a bad thing - I don't need any more vegan cookies in my life.

Anyway, I'm walking to the deli and this guy in a pick up honks at me.

I'm not used to this, 'Wave-to-you-from-the-car' thing in Hudson.

No one waves to you from a car in Manhattan. No one.

But a few times, I've been chided that I don't wave back here in Hudson.

"I saw you on the street, I honked, but you ignored me."

Well, yeah....I don't think of people in cars waving to me. Cabbies in Manhattan don't wave.

So, I've been TRYING to wave back.

Yesterday, it was a mistake.

Some guy honked from his car, I waved.

Then he started yelling at me. I was like, "What?"

He started to get out of his car, as if to start a fight.

"You gave me the finger!," he yelled at me.

I said "I did not. I waved Hello."

"Oh, I thought you were giving me the finger."

His girlfriend in the driver's seat started yelling at him to get back in the car. A guy from the window above in the house said, "I'll give you the finger, you son of a bitch!"

Is this all necessary?

People are bored. They got nothing to do.

I walked right into the deli to buy my diet Coke, and I started telling this story to the guy behind the counter.

He's Muslim, and he had similar stories.

"People are just looking to start trouble. I don't talk to ANY ONE. They say 'Hi', I just keep on walking. I don't look at them."

That's when I realized we had something in common.

That being Muslim in this town is probably just as difficult, if not more so, than being gay.

They probably get just as much harassment.

In life, you can always look at things as 'the glass half-empty or half-full'.

On one hand, some stupid trash guy in his pick up was about to pick a fight with me, but on that other, that same story helped me bond a little with my neighbor.

So, I'm thinking, half-full.

I'll take it.