再戰波士頓 僱傭兵篇

今天前往波士頓，探望在波士頓做夏令營Campsite staff的中學好友V小姐。由於她在營地屬於國際員工，營地管理人說不能讓獨自一個旅行。於是搭上三個美國人，一個西班牙女仔，令整個旅程變得豐富又跌盪。

一開始這班同行伴印象很差。因為他們遲大到！讓我在巴士站足足等了一個多小時。而且來的時候竟然一點歉意都沒有。有一個還超級興奮地在跳舞，爛漫的笑著跟我打招呼，我真不知好嬲還是好笑。本身打算問「美國人不是很準時嗎？」吐槽他們一兩句。但他們是波士頓本地人，所謂猛虎不及地頭蟲，還是看定了再說。

今天最大的特色是到消防局參觀。三個波士頓當中，帶帽子那個長得像瘦版大力水手，瘦瘦的他竟然是個義務消防員。在波士頓當消防員很不同，大部份都是自願參加的。於是我便好奇：「如果有火那時候，沒有志願人士怎麼辦？」他解答說：「總部的都是受薪的，在消防局裏隨時侯命。不過有意外時，分局的消防車一般都有完備的裝備。志願的消防人員就會隨傳隨到，上車即可立即前往支援。」

這位17歲的小消防員對自己工作十分自豪。我問他為什麼選擇做消防員，他一臉自信地說：「沒有很多人能做這份工，而我能做到。」的確，體能上要求很高，能做的人很少。但更大原因是因為進入火場很危險，所有願意做的人不多。但他好像把救火當作遊戲般說：「It is fun.」我笑著和應他說:「Oh, But you are having fun with the fire.」他傻傻笑著，跟我講述某一場大火，兩個波士頓消防員Eddie Walsh 和 Mike Kennedy 被困在一座大廈的火場。其他消防員進不了那間房間，只能在外面一直射水射到他們無法支撐。在外面看著同僚被火圍困，卻無力拯救，這種無力感相當令人心痛。他轉向背展示給我看這件T-shirt，上面寫著兩個消防員的名字，還有一句 "Forever our Bros".

去完消防局之後，我們去後灣區去看一個現代與文明的戰爭。
距離Copley站5分鐘路程的 Copley Square，記載了一個由建築物爭霸的故事。古老的Trinity Church與距離五十步的 John Hancock Building 早已結下樑子。它們看起來格格不入，原來曾經在法庭對峙。Trinity Church的主教們投訴新建的摩天大廈 Hancock building，擋到了陽光光線。法院頒布該地主所建的建築物，侵犯了他人或其他建築物享有的陽光、空氣、水管流的權利，這是名為Negative Easement (消極地侵權) 的條例。但建築物已經起了，怎麼辦呢？聰明的Hancock Building建築師，把原本鋪在大廈的透明玻璃，改為鏡面。光線能夠折射回去Trinity Church 上面。這改動不但使Hancock合符了法院規格，更反令Trinity Church因反射，而得到更集中光線。之前還是透明玻璃時，很多雀鳥因分不清路向而撞牆斃命。這改動也拯救了很多性命。然而在改建中，大廈在各處鋪上了一塊塊木板作遮擋，使外貌變得像格仔襯衫、電路板一樣，左一塊右一塊的。於是這座應該瑰麗堂皇的大廈，配上了一個嘲諷的花名：the Plywood Palace. (木板皇宮)

話說今天三位友善的波士頓人，開支全為我們付帳。為什麼呢？因為營地的管理人說帶外國朋友去玩可以銷支。他們在超市買飲料時候、他們連西班牙女仔的洗髮露也一同結帳，真的好像不用錢一樣呢。晚上我沒有跟他們吃飯，他們豪吃一頓。怎料到回到營地，管理人跟他們說只有西班牙女孩和Vanessa的開支能夠銷支，而不是全部人。他們本來或許期望營地資助他們開支，作為當導遊的小小犒賞。可是這次陪了夫人又折兵，僱傭兵白當了、導遊也白當了，還要自己掏錢包。不過我還是很欣賞消防員對自己所做的事的自豪！有點不好意思…錢只能托Vanessa先幫我把錢還給他們。

今天的旅程還是蠻愉快的。雖然他們早上大遲到。但沒有Local帶我們，還不能進去消防局裏參觀呢！

"Forever our Bros" is on your back.

救火了！

消防局外，有道幻彩虹光；原來是藝術家在兩端的建築物上結繩，
再將彩色魚網懸掛半空中，隨風搖曳，晚上會發光。

我所見的波士頓人有一種初生之犢的傻勁。
消防員今天猛的敲警車車窗，開門見山的問道:「North End (北角) 怎麼走? 」
這是公僕之間的默契、還是波士頓人的省卻禮儀呢?
警察居然真的隨和地回答他。

教地產法的教授講述來她一次來波士頓參加導賞團，

導遊叫人們先看右邊摩天大廈，再看左邊的教堂，
然後提出當地的消極地侵權案件。

這是我在早上坐巴士前往波士頓途中，沒事做，聽彪考法律的Lecture聽到的，竟然說到在波士頓的後灣區，剛好是我要去看地方，真是神奇。

休閒不急的波士頓

Boston Public Garden 有個 "Make Way for the Ducklings"的銅像。
是講述一個警察，截停車輛讓小鴨一家過馬路的溫馨故事。

銅像萬歲～

在紐約買菜 - Grocery at New York

Farmer's Market
有一次到Hell's Kitchen吃飯尋得意外驚喜，意外發現個價廉物美的Farmer's Market。走進紅黃色馬戲團般的帳篷，半空懸掛著各種電線，接駁著電燈、吊風扇和收銀機，是這個市集運作的命脈。簡陋的裝潢、空中裸露的電線令你懷疑這是不是合法的地方。但縱使沒有冷氣，你還是會挺住十多分鐘。因為這裡的菜真的很便宜。

像馬戲團的帳篷

炎熱的室溫，要靠電風扇吹點涼風

很少看見他不怕熱

紅菜頭、蘋果芒、洋蔥、Squash和白蘑菇，五樣東西加起來都只是4$美金。
在Mid-Manhattan別的超市買，平均要$16才能買到相同的東西吧。
Mid-Manhattan真的沒可能找到這樣的價錢。

不用去中國城，省了$2.75的交通費，一個小時的來回時間。

遺一不足是菜的種類不多，像冬菇金菇、芽菜韭菜都不會在這裡找到。

這麻雀小店跟中國城有得拼，別小看這看來簡陋的市集，平價食物造福了很多人的喔!

Whole Food Market

雖說要知慳識儉，可是煮菜很麻煩，又要洗；人總會有懶的時候。所以有時就乾脆到樓下Columbus Circle的Whole Food Market買現成的。這裏說平不平，說貴不貴。勝在有自家廚房，有多款菜式選擇，而價錢按磅數，可以自行斟量。

最常買的是印度咖哩，有三種: Tikka Masala, Chicken Curry,還有綠色菠菜咖哩
  $10美金  二人份量

第二最愛是熱騰騰的湯，有些很少喝到，像Black Bean soup、Zucchini soup。
我最喜歡的是Calm Chowder海鮮蜆湯，十分creamy濃郁，有餐廳的水準。

Size有大小中，大碗的32 oz，可以喝兩天都只是$8.9美金。

這裏就像香港的City Super很似，很中高檔路線。很多上班一族在放工後都來這裏買晚餐。
雖然看上去像人海一樣，但我很欣賞這邊的人流分配系統。在香港很少見超市採用。
香港超市付費方式，大多是單隊式，即是你排的那條隊，就是付款的那條隊。那麼付款效率取決該條隊的兩個因素：（一）收銀員的速度、（二）排你前面的人貨品的多少。倘若你前面的人買很多東西的話，你就要負擔所有時間成本。看著隔壁隊人前進前進。

但紐約這超市的系統的理念，是把時間成本均分到每個付費的人身上。它將所有人放進同一個池，然後分成藍、黃、綠三條隊。收銀員櫃台有38部，每台均有一個編號。櫃台空缺時，電腦就在一種顏色的隊上顯示出一個號碼，指示顧客去付帳，譬如：藍色 35、黃色28。就算你前面的人買很多東西，也不會因此拖慢你，因為你排的藍、綠、黃色隊其實是一個分流系統，而不是單一隊伍。如圖去表示的話是這樣：



在電腦程式的運算下，三種顏色都會輪流獲得優先權，譬如這一次是藍色的話、下一次就會是綠色，這體現了一種公平的原則。香港的超市至今還在採用傳統的單隊付款模式，這或許是因為超市規模有限所致。但的確，經人流管制後，你不用再被動地受制於一個櫃位收銀員的效率、或是排你前面的人貨品的多少；等侯的時間成本均分都每個人身上，整體效率提升。

超市也有人數限制: 不可超過1119人，防止太多人會有意外發生。

Whole Food Market打的是中高檔路線。雖食物種類繁多、但價格偏向昂價，然而份量能自己控制，所以間中來吃一兩餐，或是對於旅行者，不方便煮飯的話，都是個方便的選擇。超市內人流管制的巧思、安全措施的觸覺可見一班。

唯一不滿意一樣地方就是，他們很習慣把你買的東西，放進「袋中袋」：在大紙袋裏再放另一個大紙袋。在我住的公寓，有紙杯和咖啡提供，用一個紙杯也不足為怪。但有位女士是每天都要用「杯中杯」去喝咖啡。我不禁好奇，美國是一個常常講環保意識的國家，但日常生活卻未見人用得其所、適可而止。這究竟是資本主義和消化主義下一個弊病，還是只是對「雙重保障」很有需求呢？

American politics - the 43rd floor & 9th floor

43rd floor

People from different countries live in the apartment I am living: the Americans, Europeans, Japanese, Taiwanese, etc. Every Sunday a free bagel lunch, which locates on the 43rd floor, attracts people from "all around the World".

Woman there love to talk, they seemed not to have many things to do on usual days. Me and Bill don't mind to talk. But sometimes some of them talk to teach (or preach). I once take a piece of tissue paper from a tissue roll to dry my hand.  "Your hand makes the tissue roll wet, that was not very nice." Bill reported how a 30 something years old woman commented on me, I did not hear when she commented. Next time maybe it  is better to cut it with a pair of scissor.  

The same woman, she called herself "chicken". Another time we saw her, we were toasting bagels in a toaster. She was using the coffee machine. Suddenly the coffee machine went short-circuit. We understood the overloading is caused by multitasking of the toaster and the coffee machine. So we are willing to offer help before she actually request. She looked surprised and her lips curl: "Opps, can you pluck out the socket?" Her immediate response was to order two gentleman next to him (Me and Bill) to do the task. We are amazed by her sense of entitlement. We only took out our bagels, resisting to go with her way. She then dramatize: " Oh, No no no,I...I am a chicken. I can't touch the socket." Annoyed by her arrogance, we step front to pluck the socket. " Yeap right there." "Just pluck the socket out." "Put it back". It sounds very much she is participating. Apparently she knows touching the socket will risk being electrocuted. And Asian lives may be less expensive, so we did the task.

Most of these women are single ladies. Bill is pity of them. When you grow old without any company , the only thing makes life fun might just be gossiping around. I was restrained by an 40 years old lady in the pool for swimming in a wrong direction: " You can't swim diagonally. I am swimming this direction. (point vertical) " I felt that this is tragic. No one can own a stream of the pool or the whole of it. Yes you have strong opinions on matters. But you are just trying to challenging others' border line. The space that you draw for yourself, to me is but loneliness.

Some says the Americans are very conscious to individualism. Yes they are. They are also not afraid of to stepping in to rectify you. Getting the tissue roll wet, swimming in a wrong direction, are not black or white matters. But if people think it is violate their social nicities. They will tell you what to do. The key is to communicate. You have to speak for yourself ensure mutual understanding.

9th floor

Getting tired of the social niceties, I found myself a indoor place to enjoy tranquility - the 9th floor. Every Wednesday there is a free Yoga lesson on 9th floor. People in here don't talk much. If we do, that is most likely to be greetings or small chats. Then we are quiet and back to ourselves. You won't hear judgments from others but your inner voice.  Participants includes women with back pain, a health conscious middle-aged guy, a painter, newly moved in couples. We all more or less have some troubles and anxiety in life. But we are choose to put it down here, not seeking for.

Outside the Yoga room is a garden. A girl interrupted me when I was dancing. But I was so happy to be interrupted. She first appeared as a little dot from miles away. She walked half in moving, half in falling - a sign of new born baby. I guess she is 5 or 6 years old? When she became visible to me, her face reminded me of Rue, the character in the Hunger Games. "What are you doing?"  I will feel a bit embarrassed if it was a question by an adult. But her watery eyes and bird voice warm my heart. Children are simple. Their questions are merely curiosity and there are no decorations. "I am dancing." I told her and I knew she will be puzzled. But I want to keep talking: "What is your name?"
 "Oblivia"
"Olivia"
"Oblivia"
"Oblivia"

Her name should be originated from Africa so I don't really had an idea. It back and forth perpetuates for 4 times.  But she was never tired or bored by my errors. She restated her name for 5 times. Later when I talked to her father, he apologized that Oblivia was bothering me. "No! Absolutely not." I cannot agreed with the him for. "You have a curios and brave daughter!" I love to be bothered.

Indeed, on 43rd floor, you can see a spectacular city view, networking with customary people. But strong wind blows your face and makes want to go home. On the 9th floor, no wind is blowing. The tree is moving slowly. The child talks to you without purposes. Some of their questions can blank your mind, just because how genuine and frank it is.

Tranquility, is an ultimate state we are looking for.

Trees and stones never rush.

"What are you doing?" Oblivia asked. 9th floor