Everybody called her the Phone Lady
.
She had regular rounds up and down Grand Street. Going from public phone to public phone, she’d pick up the receiver and start screaming into it.
Screaming, like the Flood but no ark. Nobody stopped her or asked her why. Or anything. We all just stood there and watched or walked by and watched.
After screaming for about five minutes, she'd take the receiver and repeatedly slammed it down.
Bang
Bash Bash Bash
Bang
Like a parent raining down a billion fists rained upon an errant child because they didn’t give the right answer.
Bang
Bash Bash Bash
Bang
Then she'd walk to the next public pay phone. And the next and the next and the next…
A day or so later, the Ma Bell guy would quietly retrace her footsteps and, like a social worker, gently fix each phone.
A day or a week or a couple of hours later the Phone Lady would return and it would all begin again.
