stranger at the hotel

we went to the gramercy park hotel yesterday in search of a rooftop bar. the weather was kind of dreary, and because of the rain earlier in the day, the hotel decided to cover up the bar which defeated the point of our mission.

instead, we went to downstairs, to the lobby level, to check out the art work. the hotel had the good taste of hiring someone to purchase art by keith haring, andy warhol, basquiat, and the likes. i was especially taken by one piece, a mosiac consisting of painted butterflies. the effect was quite astonishing. i was looking at it to observe the pattern and imagining the work, the planning and the discipline that this piece must've required, and was searching for the artist's signature. all of a sudden, a man in his fifties walked up and asked me what i was looking at. i was completely taken by surprise; the room had been empty except for r, j, and me.

r immediately walked up next to me. the man kept talking, a little tipsy having ben drinking in the other room where the bar extended. i grabbed r's hand, out of a bit of fear, unsure what the man was up to. i thought it's not a bad idea to let him know that i have a boyfriend, especially one who's bigger than him.

the man then asked if we would like for him to recite an oscar wilde poem. out of fear of his reaction if i had rejected his offer, i said yes. i just figured it was probaby safer to go along with whatever he said. by now, we had caught j's attention. so the three of us listened and watched this man recite the poem. his performance was actually excellent.

a couple had strolled in during this recital. after he had finished, he shook our hands and went over to the other couple. then, he offered to recite another poem, which i can't recall. my guess is that he's an actor, but i was a little creeped out by how much he was looking, almost staring, at me, looking over at the others every once in a while as if remembering there were others watching him. finally, he went back to the other room where he claimed his girlfriend had been waiting.

it's not something atypical to happen in new york, but i was not expecting the unsolicited attention in a place as nice as the gramercy park hotel. i guess i shouldn't be surprised, but i don't think i will ever get used to being approached by strangers, whatever the reason.