Elmo on a Hot Tin Roof?

There are some incidents which I believe can only happen in New York City. Recently... I was witness to, well really a part of, one such incident.

It was a hot and humid New York City day; the type where one considers why they would ever dare to leave an air-conditioned space. I dared to leave such a space, and made my way to Midtown for a business meeting. I entered the subway somewhere on the Upper West Side, then exited at the Times Square stop where I shuffled my way out of the station.

Once above ground, I was inundated with all that is Times Square. There were people, lights, traffic, and a sweltering heat beating down upon us all. As I made my way down the street, I saw something that ignited in me an intense feeling of compassion. All around the square I saw the workers dressed up as famous fictional characters. You may have seen these people before. They don heavy costumes the likes of Elmo, Mario & Luigi, Elsa, Mickey Mouse, The Cookie Monster, and many more. All I could think about was how hot those people must have been wearing the costumes, and my heart went out to them.

Compassionate as I was, I had somewhere to be. Thus, I made my way towards the meeting space, stopping to grab a quick bite along the way. As I was walking, a colleague/friend who was going to the same meeting asked to meet me beforehand as she had something she needed to tell me. Immediately I was on edge, but of course I complied.

As I was eating my $15 salad, my friend appeared. I had strategically sat facing the front door of the cafe, so I could see her, and her me, when she entered. She took the seat across from me, and I asked her what had happened. My poor, dear friend began pouring her heart out to me. Close to both over the top anger AND uncontrollable tears, she described to me how her parents were getting divorced after 35 years of marriage. She was devastated, and, naturally, I did my best to support her.

I did my best, that is, until I noticed some movement at the front door of the cafe which caused me to look up. I quickly twisted my face trying to suppress a laugh, reminded myself I had a friend in need, then worked to bring my eyes back to my friend's. I thought I had the laugh beat until there was another movement at the door, and I repeated the same steps from above.

This time, my friend saw my struggle, and I could no longer hold it in. I interrupted her lament with "I'm sorry. I know this is a very serious moment right now, but Elmo and Mario just walked in. And, I can't help but think about how hilarious this moment would be if this was a movie or something!"

My friend turned around, and saw what I was seeing, and, thankfully, she burst out laughing too. We both had a good chuckle before we sighed and said, practically at the same time, "Only in New York".

Elmo's head resting gently on the counter.