THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST

Kudos to the New York Daily News for delivering this shot! When I saw this photo in the paper this weekend, I was floored! When I worked and lived in New York City, Times Square is one place you stayed away from, unless you were headed in to see a play, because of all the tourists in the area. Times Square is the only place where you can be in a hurry, but you have to stop every ten paces because tourists in front of you keep stopping in mid-step to look at something. It gets a bit annoying especially when you are in a rush to get somewhere. That's why, for the most part, New Yorkers steer clear of Times Square, and that's what makes this photo so funny because anyone who's lived in New York City at one time or another has wanted to do this in Times Square. Many of us took the higher ground and just walked around the "posing for a photograph" tourist. Apparently, Deanne Ostbye could not take any more of this particular tourist, as the photo above captured her dislike for the stop-n-go tourist. The funny part is that Ostbye isn't even a New Yorker! She was in the city visiting, as well! I can't be the only one who finds comedy in this.

 Anyway, a 34-year-old Serbian tourist, Aleksandra Cvetkovic, was all smiles when she was about to take a picture in the middle of Times Square. Suddenly, another tourist, Ostbye, turned her joy to tears by knocking her down, a moment captured on film by Cvetkovic's friend, Ivana Lisavac-Bloom. The incident happened right at the corner of West 46th Street and Broadway at around 1:20 pm on Friday afternoon. The photo taken by Bloom is absolutely fantastic! Unfortunately for Cvetkovic, the end result was not so fantastic. 

The attack left Cvetkovic on the ground, bleeding from her head, a wound that would later require three stitches. She had only just arrived in NYC from Maryland, where she'd been staying with Lisavac-Bloom during her first trip to the United States. What a way to remember your first trip to the U.S., huh? The two women, Bloom and Cvetkovic were best friends when they lived in Serbia.

 Ostbye, the attacker, is 30-years-old and from Tacoma, Washington. She was charged with assault and reckless endangerment and was waiting to be arraigned on Saturday. No reason was given for the attack, but like I said before, if you've lived in New York before, you probably know why Cvetkovic was pushed. I can almost bet this is what happened. Ostbye was probably walking behind Cvetkovic for a few blocks and Cvetkovic, being the tourist that she was kept on stopping short to see some of the sights that she's never seen before. In one of those sudden stops, Ostbye wasn't paying attention and probably walked right into the back of Cvetkovic. Cvetkovic then probably proceeded to turn and give Ostbye a dirty look because of the little bump and probably talked trash to her friend in Serbian. Ostybye probably didn’t like the look or the trash talking, so she followed Cvetkovic for a few more blocks and waited for the right moment to attack. Now, I'm not sure how this really went down, but I can almost bet that I am damn close because I've been Ostbye before. I just never acted on it! That's why I love this story!

9/11 MEMORIAL TRASHED

I know that I'm a day late on this story, but I just can't get over the stupidity of some kids today. Eleven years ago, one of the most tragic events happened on our home soil. Last year, a memorial was opened to remember that tragic day, and some Brooklyn Junior High School students chose to desecrate it throwing trash into the sacred fountain because they were bored. Are you kidding me? As someone who lost a family member in the Towers, those kids deserve a severe punishment.

It turns out; on a school trip to the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, these Brooklyn students were kicked out of the hallowed site after they callously hurled trash into the Memorial's fountain. The vandals, who were said to be from Junior High School 292 in East New York, treated the memorial and its reflecting pools, honoring the nearly 3000 people killed in the terror attacks, like a garbage dump. Witnesses saw the kids throwing baseballs, empty plastic soda bottles, among other refuse into the water last Thursday. One student on the trip stated that the kids were making jokes and throwing things into the fountain like it wasn't a big deal. 

Department of Education officials have launched an investigation into the shenanigans. Tourists who visited the site over the weekend were disgusted by the antics. One school teacher was quoted as saying, "This is an absolute disgrace. I don't care if these children were too young to remember the events of that day. They need to be taught to be respectful!" Even fellow students were embarrassed and offended. Another unidentified student said, "No one was disrespecting. It wasn't nothing like that. No one was being serious. Everyone was kind of bored and it was just something to do." Well, if they wanted something to do, they should've picked up an English text book and learned how to use the English language correctly for starters! He speaks like that? It wasn't nothing like that? 

Now, that you know that story, here's what I have to say! This was absolutely disgusting! These kids were disrespectful and deserve a severe punishment for acting like animals. Whether it's the 9/11 Memorial or the Vietnam Vet War Memorial or any memorial for that matter, they are there for a reason! They are there for us to remember! Have some respect! You can't just blame these kids; you can blame their parents too! A good kid with knowledge about what happened that day would never have disrespected the Memorial like that. I'm still blown away that it even happened and would love to see the punishment these kids get!