An Innocent in New York

Abstract

I can still remember the first words spoken to me in New York, the "Big Apple" as it has become to be known: "Hey Mac, you pullin' a fast one?"

I had made the error of following one of my friends through the check-in point at John F. Kennedy Airport. My error was that I had, in my innocence, written down the truth — that I was going to work in New York Hospital for six weeks without pay. Possibly it wasn't so unusual, but since my friend had also written that down under the heading "Purpose of Visit" the security guard decided something odd was going on. Nevertheless we got through, despite the fact that the third member of the intrepid Edinburgh trio had written down the same as his colleagues.

It was probably the sudden flurry of activity of the security guard as he searched through the "Undesirable Aliens" file that made me feel guilty and therefore jump when the second New Yorker in my life spoke to me: "Come over here! Don't dawdle already" barked the Customs and Excise Officer, his use of the unnecessary word "already" indicating that he came from Brooklyn and confirmed that we were actually in New York.