Last night I decided to return to Kick Ax after a six month hiatus. I made a reservation for 4:30 and I was excited to start throwing perfection again like the last time.
I was running a little late, but I made it early. I had to wait for a little bit and at a little past 4:30, I was paired with four others. Two young women and two young men. Our instructor gave us pointers and safety rules and I mentioned last time I did well and threw bullseyes.
Well, I was off last night. I couldn’t hit and I finally got my groove back in the last 20 minutes of the session. See, perfection isn’t a human quality! Once I stopped thinking and stressing so much, let go and just throw, I did much better.
MK (Mary Kate), Kathleen, Bill, and Dylan were the people I joined. Kathleen, Dylan, and Bill were from Long Island and MK was from New Jersey. They were in town for a Luke Bryant concert. MK, Kathleen and I were in a group, Axetually Insane, and Bill and Dylan were the other group: Baxestreet Boys. We laughed and joked and just had a good time.
Kathleen and I were chatting between turns and she said to me, “I don’t tell people often that I’m from Long Island because most people hate New Yorkers.” I said, “Oh, I love New Yorkers and I want to visit Long Island the next time I visit. I actually want to move to Brighton Beach before I move to Toronto.” We were chatting about that and she gave me some pointers.
At the end of the session, we had the obligatory group photo, and the instructor took the obligatory photos with our phones too. Before we parted, we all shook hands, said it was nice meeting one another, and wished each other well. I gave them so go-to places too. The instructor was shocked that we had just met because he assumed that we were all friends and all came together because it looked like it. I guess that is my gift… I travel alone and I often don’t have a difficult time meeting others and having a good time either.
As I was walking to Super Cuts after, I thought to myself, “I actually really love New Yorkers and find most of them to be so kind. While I’m sure some of them are a-holes, but that can be true anywhere, I’ve met mostly kind New Yorkers. I was so grateful when young women helped me with my luggage back in July because they saw me struggling between subway cars. While I don’t like Philly sports teams, there are many kind people here too. There are kind people everywhere and the world is mostly kind.”
I guess I must have channeled something because when I walked into Super Cuts, the long time hair stylists were back, including one I am friends with on Instagram. She exclaimed, “Woohoo! Jess is here! I absolutely love following your Instagram and travels, you are just a positive space!” That made me smile. Trish freshened up my undercut and it was just a lovely experience.
As I was walking to dinner, I stopped off at Repo Records and saw the punk rock Grinch they had out. They have him out every year and I love taking photos of him. Someone took a photo of me with him and I posted it to the Happiness Box Instagram. Repo Records saw it, liked it, and commented with a heart. That made my day too.
A lovely Friday in the city.
The Happiness Box Project 
Hi, Jessica Marie!
Thanks for sharing the highlights of your night on the town. I’m glad you made it back to Kick Ax and eventually got into the swing of things. Most importantly, you travel alone but quickly blend in and make friends. What a fine gift! If you look for nice people and expect to find them, chances are you will, no matter what city you’re in. It’s all in how you approach them, your attitude. You have a knack of bringing out the good in people. You encountered more friendly people at the hair cutter’s and the record store. That’s a great pose with the punk rock Grinch!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend and the week ahead, dear friend JM!
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