New York is a theater of curious characters,

and I'm in the audience. A man in a plaid suit and headphones crosses 19th Street like he's late for his own scene. Two old men hold down the end of a wooden bar. A trumpet player in tails flashes a peace sign between notes. A can collector rides down a park road with his day's haul strapped to his bike. Nobody here plays an extra. Everyone comes with a costume, a role and a story, and I get to see one scene of it.