Unexpected civility
I was in a new city, and on my first morning there just wandering about, getting a feel for the place. I took a turn at random, and suddenly found that the bright lights had disappeared into the distance, and I appeared to have entered a Bad Neighbourhood.

Up ahead I saw a woman slouching in a doorway. At that moment, a car screeched to a halt in front of her, and a guy jumped out and started shouting at her. She was dressed like a crack whore, and he could have stepped out of a low-budget rap video.

I was pretty close when he appeared, and rather than turn and go back - which I thought might seem to be an inflammatory insult - I decided to simply plough on, as if I knew my way around. This would mean I'd have to walk between them, so I steeled myself for any possible trouble.

As I reached them, they stopped shouting, stepped back to make room, and waited for me to pass. The guy even smiled and made a friendly comment ("You have a nice day, now" or somesuch Americanism) as I passed.

Nice city. Even the street trash were friendly.
(moon monkey is busy making memories worth repressing, Thu 9 Feb 2012, 17:21, Reply)