Last weekend, B. and I were strolling through a street fair on 31st Street in Astoria when an odd thing happened. We were walking past a tent with a sign promoting "Chinese Massage" and several massage chairs on display. Suddenly two men raced out of the tent and intercepted us to tout their massages. One of them grabbed me and started aggressively rubbing my forehead and shoulders, saying "Sample! Sample!" While I was fending this guy off, the other one seized B. and propelled her toward one of the massage chairs and pushed her into it. (I wondered when the straps would come out.) I told the first guy "No thanks, I'll pass." He said "No pass!" and continued squeezing my forehead pretty hard. I broke free, he grabbed my shoulders again, and I said very firmly "No, I'm not interested." Just as I was about to start making a scene, he finally let me go and I went over to the tent, where B. was extricating herself.

We laughed about it later, but it was disturbing at the time. (If I'd had the presence of mind at the moment, I should've told the cops standing on the corner.)