Surprises, Surprises, i.e. New York

I don’t mean to gross anyone out first thing in the morning, but this Newsday article about body parts found on the subway is just bizarre.

What is most bizarre about it, surprisingly enough, is the lightheartedness of New Yorkers when they were told about the find:

“Ann Toussaint, 36, laughed upon hearing of the discovery, as many did. She said she's somewhat used to hearing about the workaday harm people are capable of doing to each other - shootings, stabbings, muggings - but severed body parts struck her as absurd.

“’Anything can happen in New York,” said Toussaint, who frequently uses the A station. "You've got to take the train, regardless. Everyday it's something new.’”

Or, this:

"Yo, they just found a body down there," Vedel Folks, 18, said to his friend, identified only as Ref, after climbing to the street.

"They didn't find a body," Ref, 20, said, seeming annoyed. "Just parts."

"Yeah, well, that counts too," Folks said.

I also really loved this bit, a quote from the Jehovah’s Witness who saw someone carrying the bag with the parts:

“How horrible; that's horrible,” said the Jehovah's Witness, who has lived in the neighborhood for 36 years but did not want her name printed. “If this isn't the end of the world, I don't know what else to call it.”