Conversation #1 - Last night, my cousin and I went to Bryant Park for the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival. (They were showing Bride of Frankenstein.) At one point, I went to use the restroom. While waiting in the line for the ladies' room, there were two young women in line in front of me. I got the impression that they knew each other well, but had not seen each other in a while. They were catching up, chatting about graduate school, job prospects, living situations, a recent breakup, etc. They seemed like very smart, put together women, save for one tiny detail...their frequent use of the word "like." I'm not talking just 1-2 grammatically incorrect, modern slang uses of the word. It was incessant! If I had $1.00 for every time they used the word "like" before we made it to the bathroom stalls, I'd be on my way to the nearest shoe store as we speak!
Conversation #2 - While riding the subway home from the film festival, my cousin and I witnessed an adorable exchange between a young man and woman on the train, I'm guessing in their late teens/early 20s. The young woman spoke Spanish, and the young man's knowledge of the language was limited. However, he was making a valiant effort to sweep this girl off her feet. He stumbled through what little Spanish he knew and was aided by a friend of his, as well as the young woman's subway companion. I don't really know much Spanish, but it was obvious he was making a few mistakes, as their friends were laughing and the young girl giggled and blushed. Finally, he switched back to his native English and declared with gusto...
"I like long walks on the beach and Kool-Aid, and the occasional book...Goosebumps, A Cinderella Story..."
There wasn't a person near us on the train that wasn't sucked into the conversation at this point. It was quite funny and pretty darn adorable. Shortly after the Kool-Aid and Goosebumps reference, my cousin and I reached our subway stop. So, we never did find out if the young man scored a date.
Conversation #3 - Early Sunday evening, I was walking from the apartment to the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine to attend an evensong service (an incredibly gorgeous service, but that's another story.) As I was heading west on 110th St., I was walking behind a young couple in the midst of a spirited, but friendly, argument about the lyrics to the Journey song, Don't Stop Believin'. The young man believed the lyric to be "streetlights, people", while the young woman insisted it was "streetlight people." Their conversation went something like this... (Imagine them half speaking/half singing the lyrics as they argue.)
Man: I'm telling you, it's "streetlights, people."
Woman: You're wrong. It's "streetlight people."
Man: You're crazy. That doesn't make any sense. What the hell are streetlight people anyway?
It made me giggle. I had to google the lyrics the next day. I was curious. Apparently, this isn't such an unusual debate. I visited a number of song lyric database websites and found both versions. So, I listened to the song on my iPod. (Yes, I do have some Journey on my iPod.) It really isn't 100% clear. I can see how different ears might hear it different ways. I think I have to side with the young woman. I think Steve Perry is singing "streetlight people." However, the question still remains...what the hell are streetlight people anyway?
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