First and Ninth

blue collar, white collar, no collar

You can generally place a New York City man in one of three categories.  There are the white collar finance guys, the stylish creatives and the blue collar men that sustain the every day.   *Hipsters do not constitute a category.  They usually fall under the white collar column.  By six o’clock they strip open their white button down (Superman style) exposing suspenders and a fedora.

All of these men live in the fast paced, competitive, ego driven bubble we call Manhattan.  The white collars think that leaving the island will burst the bubble.  (I’m not sure if I intended that Wall St. pun, but I’m excited it worked.)  The creatives are filling the bubble with entertainment and beauty — and/or recreational drugs.  The blue collars are making life comfortable and building bridges into the bubble. — Or out of the bubble?  Six ways of one.

If you sit at the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, I’d go so far as to say that you could accurately fit every passing man into a category.  60 percent of the time, it works every time.  Which brings me close to my point.

Let’s circle back to the competitive, ego driven behavior NYC men exude, not unlike a male pup spraying his territory.  Who can blame them?  They are not just fighting for a seat at the table, they are fighting to earn enough money to fit that table in a larger, better apartment.  Over the years I have developed the ability to recognize a man’s place on the hierarchy of success.

They are strange observations, but they seem to be accurate indicators that identify the boss, the guy that wants to be the boss and the guy that is just happy to have a boss.

The boss: a tall, salt & pepper haired man with a perfectly tailored suit who happens to look awkward in pedestrian clothes. He makes a slow but considerable amount of noise as he clanks down the hall in his italian leather dress shoes and often carries a montblanc pen.

The guy that wants to be the boss: knows enough not to whistle or cat call at a woman but is mislead into thinking that showing photos of his family increase credibility or his chances of being taken seriously. He will often buy the same shoes as his boss and is unliked by many of his co-workers.

The guy that’s just happy to have a boss: generally showers twice a week, but you’d never know it and always looks great – in hopes that a great cover makes the book.  He would win the award for Mr. Congeniality and has perfected the skill of always looking busy and important.  He only fools the boss.

*Hipster, you’re not fooling anyone.