NEIGHBORHOOD HOCKEY FIGHTS

NEIGHBORHOOD HOCKEY FIGHTS

It warmed my heart.

Two teenage kids in the street last night, both very -- well, Mexican-looking anyway, outside the excellent bodega on my block that has no signs in English, circling each other, maybe a dozen guys around them, either cheering them on or telling them to cut it out it ain't worth the trouble, but they looked fairly evenly matched, just two kids going at it, no guns, not even a knife, it's cool, you know, they're just blowing off a little steam on a cruddy muggy summer night.

Then one of the kids lunges at the other, and very neatly, as if he'd watched and learned from the masters, the other kid absorbs the initial blow, steadies himself against his shoulder, reaches behind him, grabs the back of the guy's oversized t-shirt, pulls it over his head, and starts punching him in the face repeatedly.

The fight was effortless, and over in about 20 seconds. Tie & Bob would be totally proud of the kid, and I'd totally pick him first for any pickup game in the neighborhood.