You’ve got to love city kids these days.

Walking down Madison Avenue on a Friday afternoon can be daunting. There are office workers dashing out of every doorway and charging for the subways the bus stops or running into the streets to steal the taxi that just pulled over for a fare. A peaceful stroll it isn’t. Just as I was getting into the pace of things along came a teenager in the bus lane kicking his skate board. Madison goes north he was heading south and paid no attention to the bus that brushed by him. Behind me came his buddies weaving in and out of the pedestrians who were unnerved by the trio zipping along the sidewalk. The last of this group was younger and doing his best to keep up. As he came to a corner a woman was brought up short because he swooped right in front of her and he never slowed his pace. He kicked a couple of times to get his speed up at the same time he reached into his pocket a opened his flip cell phone. From the sound of his voice it had to be his mother. I heard him say “Yes, we’re on our way.” Skate board, baggy pants and a cell phone. The tools of daily life for the New York teenager.