New York Pickup Lines

Been thinking lately of what the term "pickup" means.  In New York City, there are many pickup opportunities.

Not just the ones in the dating scene. 

I learned yesterday, for example, that if you want to get rid of furniture you no longer need in your apartment--whether it's a small lamp or a gargantuan sofa, the New York Department of Sanitation has rules for the situation.  It's a pretty clever pickup policy.  Between 5 PM and midnight of the day preceding your apartment building's scheduled collection day, you can leave up to six articles of furniture on the sidewalk.  This is intended to encourage recycling of the best kind, following the "one man's treasure is another man's garbage" axiom.  If people don't cart away whatever you've left on the sidewalk, the garbage team will dispose of it the next day on their route. 

I tried out this pickup policy this morning and was amazed.  We put out three lamps, 2 filing cabinets, and 4 desk chairs (ignoring, in typical New York style, the rule regarding the six item limit).   I placed them outside at about 6 AM today before I went on my jog in Central Park.  Lo and behold!  On my return all but two lamps had vanished.  And an hour later, they were gone too.  What a great pickup routine!

Then there is "picking up" lunch.  People leave the office and say "I'm going out to pick up lunch.  Anyone want anything?"  You don't go out to lunch (unless you've made an appointment with someone), you go to pick up lunch.  And when people have a casual dinner for friends, they are likely to say, "Come by my place.  I'll pick something up on the way home..."  Funny how that works, this picking up of food.  Why don't we say "I'll get something for dinner"...or "I'll provide the food?"

Then there is the New York business scene, where everyone hopes that things are "picking up."  With Wall Street in the doldrums and our economy generally in disarray, we all wish for the time when things will pick up.  Kind of a funny use of the term when you think about it.  Why should an economy "pick up?"  What exactly is getting picked up and who does the picking?

While jogging this morning, I overheard one other runner say to his companion, "...hoping to pick someone up this weekend."  I assume he had the dating scene pick up in mind and figures the July 4th weekend is a great time to make new friends.  I hope things pick up for him.

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Wow i like the last pic she is so beautiful! Pretty! =D