[Taipei, 9/25/24]
Resisting the urge to just sit in Tomorrow’s lobby to watch that dancing girl promising me a Porsche, I descended into the metro early this morning. Most commuters were staring at cellphones. Some slept. Nearly half were masked. Standing right in front of me, a very white and thin schoolgirl had me thinking about Chinese bone structure. I doubt there’s a single power forward in China or Taiwan built like Karl Malone.
Though cities pack so many bodies together, you’re not supposed to touch any. Promising so much, they yield little. Sprawled on San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Phoenix, Miami and Philly sidewalks are all these broken bodies. The homeless in Oriental cities aren’t as numerous or squalid. The lone homeless man in downtown Vung Tau has disappeared.
Unlike in Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, India, Mexico, Brazil, Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia, there are no female only cars on Taiwanese metros. The prevalence of short skirts here must mean women generally feel safe from harassment.
Tomorrow’s staff are mostly very young women, all in short skirts. This morning, there was a thin, unsmiling young man in a lime green suit. Thankfully, his shift was ending.
The most famous Taiwanese alive is Nymphia Wind. This drag queen won the latest edition of RuPaul’s Drag Race. On 5/15/24, Nymphia performed for President Tsai Ing-wen at her office. Now in Brooklyn, Nymphia is also known as Banana Buddha. Her fans are Banana Believers. Starting out, Nymphia was inspired by American Sharon Needles.