mulberryshoots

I hope that you don’t mind all the references that I find by reading the New York Times everyday. Even if it’s just a wisp of a sentence, I sometimes learn about people and things that I might not ever come across. One of the columns I always look forward to reading on Monday mornings is entitled “Diary”: it’s contents are letters submitted to the newspaper because they exemplify what New York and New Yorkers are all about. Today was no different.

Years ago in this column, there was a letter about two couples out for an early evening walk. One of the women noticed a canary that had flown from one of the windows up around what looked like the fourteenth floor. She became worried that the bird would be lost in the park environment until her husband reassured her that when the light changed, the bird would fly back up to where it belonged. The other husband whispered to him whether he was making it up even though the reassuring husband was a biologist. Sure enough, in a few minutes, they watched the bird float up and fly back to where it (seemed to) belong. I have kept this little clipping in my journal.

Another one that I remember from some years back was about a pair of grandparents standing out on the curb, waiting for their granddaughters to visit from out of town, when they heard some soft singing by a pair waiting for the bus behind them. When the girls arrived, they invited the singers up to their apartment where they accompanied themselves on the piano, delighting everyone, especially the grandparents who were proud that this spontaneous exhibition of musical talent underscored what a cultural city they lived in. As the singers put on their coats and prepared to leave, the grandfather said jokingly, “You’re good enough to sing in Carnegie Hall – Let us know when you perform there and we’ll come to your concert!” Whereby they turned around and said, “Oh, would you like tickets for this weekend?” It turns out the singers were students at Juilliard and they had been rehearsing at the bus stop for a choral concert at Lincoln Center scheduled for that Friday!

And so, here is today’s winner:
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Dear Diary:

I am a senior citizen, age 92. While trying to hail a taxi on Second Avenue on a busy, rainy Saturday night, a well-dressed young couple came along behind me, also trying to hail a taxi.

They seemed impatient, so they walked one block uptown to get the first cab.

A few minutes later, I saw them get into the first oncoming cab–my loss.

As their cab approached me, it slowed down and came to a full stop. The door opened and, as they both got out, the young man said, “It’s your cab.”

I thanked them profusely, got in, and went on my way.

Irving Shillman
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I think you’ll agree with me that this one is a keeper along with the ones above. I don’t know about you, but this little anecdote cheers me that for all the trashy news on the air, there is still hopefulness for the future, at least as illustrated by this couple’s thoughtful gesture on the streets of New York.