Space Culture

We spotted Victor Lee from across Columbus Park, a popular hangout spot for seniors to play Chinese chess, chill on park benches, and exercise. Lee, fifty-eight, stood out among all the black parkas with his green knit cardigan. 

A closer look revealed the delightful details: an orange polo shirt with a matching mesh jersey layered on top; a golden sphinx necklace that he adorned with an orange polka dot bow. 

“It’s now in style,” he laughed, when we asked about his fashion sense. “Normally I wear a down jacket, but I wanted to be more fashionable.” 

We looked down at his jeans and saw Chinese characters written in Sharpie on his pant leg. “What does that say?” we asked. 

“Space culture,” he replied. “You know—the sky, airplanes, UFOs.” 

His catchphrases and quirkiness were all over his outfits— and we saw many variations of this over the course of our week in Manhattan. 

Lee’s been in Chinatown since he was ten and he’s a regular fixture around the neighborhood—during the day he moves from corner to corner, chasing the sun, smoking cigarettes. 

One day he wore a hat with the American flag and bald eagles. There were a few of his signature Sharpie scribbles on them, one of which was the phrase “Golden Times,” a warming thought. When we complimented him on his hat, he immediately offered it to us. He also gave us White Rabbit candies and metal bracelets. 

Earlier, during our walks around Chinatown, we had seen a Sharpie drawing on a wooden wall—two turtles with Chinese characters written on the side. Our translator said it read, “It is worth an entire city.” Did the author mean that turtles were literally worth the value of an entire metropolis? Was it a random phrase or an ancient Chinese proverb? 

Either way, we figured out who the author was the next time we saw Victor, who had the same two turtles drawn on the America-themed hat he tried to give us—a gesture worth an entire city.