Forest Hills: No Coloreds Allowed?

By no means do I think Forest Hills is the most racist place in Queens--or New York for that matter.

However, since I work there and take public transportation, I have the misfortune of dealing with a lot of stupid people in that area.

Today is just one example.  I had to take the bus but made a quick run to a hardware store that is right next to the stop.  I noticed three women were waiting for the bus. 

After handling my business, I walked over and sat on the bench.  An older woman was at the other end, and the other two ladies were standing up. 

I hadn't been on the bench for more than five seconds when one of the standing women went after her purse like it had caught fire! 

The bag was on the seat, closer to the older woman than to me, so I had assumed it belonged to the old lady.  Clearly, I was mistaken.

So, I looked at that woman dead in her eyes and gave her a blank expression.  Still agitated, she cradled the purse as though it held the meaning of life. 


I'm not sure if she felt exposed by her own abrupt reaction or the knowing look in my eyes.  "Oh.  I just wanted to make space," she said.


I keep looking.  Silent.


"I figure someone might want to sit there."


I respond: "Oh? Really?"


Who did she need to make space for?  Why wasn't she concerned about her bag prior to my sitting down?  Why did she retrieve that bag fast enough to get whiplash?  The older white lady who shared her skin tone was no threat but the young black female was?


I don't even have enough fingers for the ridiculous behavior I've encountered in Forest Freakin Hills!  The last event before this was the woman who reacted as though she was about to get hit by a bus as I passed her on the sidewalk a few days ago.

What had her eyes bulging and her chest thumping?  My hair was in an Afro.

How can I be certain of this?  As her face became all contorted, her shocked eyes were burning holes through my hair!

I made sure to smile at her, hoping she would be more offended. 

Believe it or not, I actually thought about living in that city for a little bit.  I was told the pre-war buildings were bigger and cheaper than my current apartment.

I changed my mind when I couldn't get a cab in the neighborhood.  In the morning, there are cabbies of color galore.  i don't know where they were one afternoon, last May.  I spent 45 minutes trying to hail on-duty and empty cabs to take me to the airport.  Not one bit.  Finally, I was picked up by someone I knew who just happened to be in the area.  Had he not been there, I would've missed my flight to my brother's graduation.

The clincher here is that Queens is the most diverse county in the whole entire United States.  That's a huge part of why I moved here.  I might as well have stayed in the south.