today, when it felt like ten below, the local news failed to carry an incident trivial enough in the scheme of things new york. this happened in front of my building this morning in a neighborhood which I always believe to be a hotbed of things newsworthy.
out of whim, perhaps, the meek croatian shopkeeper across the street decided to start a bonfire with scrap boxes and some rolls of plastic sheets on top of the still frozen snow pilings along the curbside.
as the boxes and plastic were transformed into a slick tongue of flame, some of the mexican migrant workers who usually wait around the corner for some contractors to hire them for odd jobs gathered around the outdoor fire. drinking their café from soppy paper mugs and munching on some limp churros, the mexicans began singing (or was it chanting?) some ancient votive songs around the street fire.
but just before they could solemnize their chant with a round of applause or some backslapping, perhaps, the firemen came. as quickly as they gathered around the fire, the mexicans darted towards the alleys and back roads when they heard the wailing of the fire truck's siren.
using only their rubber boots, the team of four firemen started to stamp out the fire while their captain quizzed the storekeeper inside his deli. as the croat pleaded dramatically with the hulking white fireman, obsequiously clasping his hands in his chest at times, the storekeeper's black cat, which was just content in glaring at the visitor initially, started to claw at the fireman's yellow boots.
at first, the burly officer just ignored the tabby but finally he could not take it any more. his cheeks visibly ruddy, he dashed out of the deli just in time when the fire was all subdued by his team outside.
just as quickly as they came, the firemen left in a whiz. the white fireman beside the driver managed to spit at the embers before they sped away.
as the croat storekeeper went back to his deli to attend to the long line of breakfast crowd, his proud cat stood guard outside his store, its eyes, undimmed and flaming as ever.