So refreshing to read the poetic thoughts of nice, ordinary people takng us, for a brief moment, out of the swamp and into clean air.
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My mother was an avid NASA fan as with all things science related. in 1969, as a family without a color TV, my brother (11 years old) begged for the new technology ...explaining to her that if a man was to walk on the moon, our old b&w TV would not do the trick.
She relented, agreeing with the argument, and a new large color TV hit our living room days before the moon landing in '69.
We still laugh today at the fact that the transmission was in B&W from space ...oh well ...alls well that ends well!
73
Really enjoyed this column. Little samplings of humanity.
47
"Drizzly Sunday" was great! Real life is better than the movies, TV, and, yes, even social media. Maybe more of us should walk out of bad movie, ho hum TV, and, especially, social media "connections" and seek our "real time" connections, even if it's just eavesdropping.
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Dear Jen Maria,
Oh I think you are so right about the importance of the “real connections” we make in life. Your comment made me think of a Diary entry from a year or two ago. It was written by a man who, as he left his building every day, waved in a friendly manner to the doorman of a building across the street. The doorman would return the friendly greeting in spades by introducing the man to a woman in his building who would become the writer’s sweetheart and wife. Had the writer been staring down at a cell phone or preoccupied with whatever was coming over a pair of earbuds instead of waving . . . .
Wishing you happy “real connections” Jen Maria,
Allen
43
This column is one of many reasons that I love the Times. When I read Metropolitan Diary, I feel as though we are all New Yorkers.
62
These small glimpses of humanity done right have both made me smile and brought a joyful tearing to my eyes.
Thank you for that.
37
Watched a replay on TV of the ‘69 moon landing from living quarters common room below deck on aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk in the Gulf of Tonkin. As an avid fan of the space program since elementary school, I was saddened not to be able to see the event live and was acutely aware of the dissonance of the moment with all that had happened since that awful fateful turning point on Nov. 22 ‘63...
24
On July 20, 1969, my husband and I were in our living room watching TV and waiting to see the moon landing. Our 3-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter were asleep in their room. We decided to wake our son up to watch this epic event that seemed so spectacular to us. We woke him, we all watched the landing, and we put him back to bed. Now that the little guy is 53 years old, he remembers the moon landing distinctly. He tells us he is the only one of his friends whose parents woke him to see history happening.
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@jacobbabe225
My brother woke up his 4 year old son to watch it too. We all watched it together.
26
I’ve had the honor of being published in Metro Diary three times. I may be biased, But I believe this is the best feature of our newspaper. These days we need more stories that unite us.
114
How lovely it is to read about the little tidbits of everyday life. It's such a stark contrast to everything that is otherwise shoved down our throat: politics, the stress, the chase for power and money.
I think this should always be on the front page. Hopefully it would be what people would read first. They would feel better, most likely see their neighbours in a different light and hopefully help in making their day a better one. A simple way to peace.
116
I do love the Metropolitan Diary and the stories.
But really, her second child in a few weeks?
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@David F
The stories did not move me, but your comment made me laugh out loud.
18
Thank you, John G. Singer, for restoring my faith in humanity. Even the memory of seeing the moonwalk on a tiny tv screen gives me chills.
35
Had to read the first story twice because I thought the writer was about to give birth for the second time in a few weeks.
Even in New York that’s quite a feat.
33
John Singer, for the win. Thank you.
24
If there’s one current running through every Metropolitan Diary entry, it is the joy of interacting with and talking to strangers - which of course has been in the news a lot lately. Keep them coming!
84
i was 10 years old in 1969, when a transistor radio with an earpiece was the height of technology, and the teachers pretended not to notice that people were listening in class -- to the mets and to NASA.
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@No name
I listened to the Watergate hearings on a transistor radio at recess, lunch, and the walk home from my high school. I ditched it only after the TV had warmed up (!) and I was able to watch rather than just listen.
21
Drizzly Sunday really struck a chord. Thank you Sabina O'Reilly
36
This column was always my FAVORITE place to begin my week... Monday mornings in the front section. WHY oh WHY don't we get it anymore??? PLEASE return it to it's small piece of real estate....
45
I love this column. I lived in Westchester county in the early '90's and my daughter is now in school at St. John's. This column is a reminder of a conversation I had with my daughter her sophomore year just after she got her first apartment.
We were on the E line headed into the City and she commented how so many people think New Yorkers are rude. She mentioned how every one in her building always greets each other on the elevator and that the doorman knows all of the residents and is quick to help with the door if you were carrying bags. Her theory is the tourists are so busy staring at things (and walking four abreast further blocking the already crowded sidewalk) and oblivious to those who are just trying to get to work, etc, that New Yorkers come of as rude and uncaring. This is a weekly reminder that New York has some wonderful people living there.
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@ISU dessertlady: Not rude, but often blunt.
I really missed the latter when I moved to San Francisco. It took me a while to realize that not all friendly people actually liked me.
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@hammond I've lived in the SF Bay Area for 18 years (originally from urban MidWest) and my best friend is from New York City. We met in CA when we bonded over a similar take on the world, but she's moved back to the East Coast. I'm on vacation and spent a couple hours last night hanging out with her. We had several topics of What's Wrong With People in California -- one of which was the fake-seeming "realness and positivity" that CA people want to project. We laughed and laughed, although ultimately concluded that the culture one grows up with (or decides to conform to) is the culture that seems "right" -- and we probably seem pessimistic, neurotic, blunt, and unfriendly to the culturally-Californian.
Even given this magnanimity on the cultural lens, I maintain that CA drivers are The Worst.
13
@io: OMG, I so miss driving in New York City! Drivers are super-aggressive, but very skilled and predictable. It's like a video game with real consequences. Same for pedestrians.
By contrast, I stepped towards the curb of Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley one morning, shortly after arriving for graduate school. I recoiled as four lanes of traffic shrieked to a stop. I looked around, puzzled by the sudden onset of vehicular paralysis, until I realized they had stopped to let me cross the street. Good grief!
25
This is the second time I am reading the Metropolitan diary. In fact felt very happy to read the stories.
Why donots, everything is big here,
The Cola Cup, the Coffee Cup,
The Tea Cup, the Ice Cream Cup,
The Gallon Milk, The Hot Chocolate Cup,
The Bread Packets and varieties too,
The Refrigerator and so does Cooking Range,
And the Health Problems are big too.
31
One of my favorite New York stories involved my wife's grandmother, who lived on WEA and 97 Street from 1938 until 1986.
One day she headed to Times Square to buy tickets for the theatre. When it was her turn at the window, she asked the man for seats close to the stage. "I can't hear very well, so I need to be close."
The man handed her a seating chart, and the old woman replied, "Wait a moment," and she dug into her purse. "I need to put on my glasses."
The man grew frustrated. "Look lady, you can't see, you can't hear. Why don't you just stay at home?"
70
I found these stories very interesting. I wish to say something about the donut story. I sincerely request the authorities concerned through this paper to please reduce the sizes of donuts, bagels, coffee,tea, cola and ice cream cups drastically in favour of small cups looking into the health problems of citizens. Giant size refrigerators and four gas stoves are also not in the interest of people. It would be nice if the sizes of these equipments are reduced too. If done, it will go in a large way in improving the health of people.
19
Thanks for sharing. It really brings back memories of NYC. <3
16
Great stuff, thank you New Yorkers!
21
Gorgeous stories, true balm for the shell-shocked spirit in these awful times.
63
I have visited NYC many times and I have always wished that I could have lived there in my younger days. Since I am in my 70s, that's not going to happen. But I never miss reading Metropolitan Diaries. Allows me to live my dream vicariously. Thank you so much!
91
I adore these regular peeks into big-city life.
46
The last one took me little bit aback. I've witnessed history in New York too... but it wasn't a man walking on the moon. Sad to think I probably won't ever see something so happy and noble come out of this country in my lifetime. Jaded, I know. I'd rather get told I smell like vanilla ice cream soda. That's a New York memory worth remembering.
44
I moved from NYC more than 30 years ago but every time I read Metropolitan Diary, I get misty eyed for my old hometown. Please keep them coming! Almost makes me want to move back.
45
John Singer, I'm all smiles.
Wonderful, wonderful story.
Thank you!
33
I don't live in NY any longer. Please don't stop these. They remind me of some of the best (and worst) times of my life. And I wouldn't be the person I am today without them.
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@mj Love your comment. I feel similarly...Metropolitan Diary is my weekly “past me” lifeline.
13
I don't know if it's because of current happenings, but the Diary entries seemed particularly good this week.
71
Thank you for this column. I moved from the metro NYC area a couple of years ago and sometimes I think these stories are the only things keeping me sane.
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@Dale Davis Same and same.
21
Grand short tales of living in The City.
I was born just a few miles west of Time Square. Worked on lower 6th and 7th avenues at various times but now live in semi-rural Maine.
Such tales can be had almost anywhere if we just stop, look, listen, and, occasionally, talk.
Wonderful writing.
57
Each of these stories, very moving. May each and every one of the writers and their subjects live long and happy lives. And thank you, customer experience Eric, and your person who found the book.
80
This is just one of many reasons why I love the New York Times.
111
Never, ever stop publishing these stories.
235
I had just turned 8 a few weeks before the moon landing, my brother would turn 6 about a week later. Watching the moon landing was probably the first time we were allowed to stay up late to watch the TV. My 20 year old jokingly said she can't believe I'm old enough to have been alive then, LOL
50
Yet I remember Marilyn Monroe’s death but not the moon landing!
9
Great stories this week!! They always cheer me up!! Keep them coming!!
48
"On a warm, humid, drizzly Sunday afternoon I decided to see a matinee. The film was O.K. at first, but it got worse and worse as it continued. I left before the credits rolled."
I walked out on that film also. There's only so much info on Donald Trump anyone can absorb at one time.
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@KB
Hahaha. Thank you for the chuckle.
11
Hmmm, it didn't occur to Sabina to treat the father-whose-kids-forgot to a Father's Day drink!
19
@LMK, I really liked her piece! I read it three times. There is something about the pacing and simplicity of the phrasing that is lovely. So many possible story threads lie within the spare framework. Kudos to the writer.
I, too, love listening in on nearby conversations. Or, I should say, I used to love it. My hearing isn’t so sharp these days.
As for the drink not offered, I’m not sure I would have taken that step myself. Often there is a very good reason children are not in contact with a parent, and if that man had multiple kids ignoring him of Father’s Day I’m guessing that “reason” was why. I have listened to parents complain bitterly about their kids not contacting them — forgetting birthdays or holidays, and generally being neglectful — only to find out that the person kvetching was not a candidate for parent of the year, if you know what I mean. I had one of those parents myself.
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@Passion for Peaches
I was taught to "listen in" by my best friends mother, and have captured a glimpse of other folks lives many times in the 50 years since. The only downside is when the conversation at the next table is better than the one I'm participating in!
Your comment about parenting struck a sympathetic chord with me. With us kids, Mother was ankle biter on her best days, and a Tyranasouraus Rex on her worst. To the rest of the world, a sparkely eyed charming lady.
Good job Sabina!
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@Passion for Peaches Yet you had no your experience with him and the writer had only a fleeting connection. Who would a bit of kindness hurt?
15
Many years ago I worked in one of the Towers. One really windy morning a gentleman helped me navigate the plaza; as we entered we both noticed an elderly security guard standing in front of a shiny elevator door lecturing himself to never be late again. We smiled at each other; we both cared about that man. A second memory is leaving work at a law firm with a lawyer and another secty. to walk to Trinity Church; three singers from the Metropolitan Opera were giving a free concert. We spent an hour listening to arias. Those are the memories of NYC I carry in my heart; they are why I will always love that great City.
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After reading today’s five Diary entries, I do believe in the old saying that we are all family and that we’re all in “this” together, whatever “this” is.
In “Baby Steps,” Lies Chartier and the blind woman form a bond as they cross the street. And speaking of family, Lies is about to deliver her second child.
In “Drizzly Sunday,” Sabina O’Reilly has almost become a member of the “family” of five at the bar at Cafe Luxembourg. She knows about the man whose children forgot Father’s Day and about the two women who had not see each other in 15 years. And she knows what they’re drinking. I imagine that with a fourth glass of Chablis, they would know all about Sabina. Cheers!
In “East River Ride,” Robert J. Tembeckjian joined the other passenger’s family in Ireland when he stopped at the coffee cart and ordered a doughnut.
In “Let’s Go Mets,” Eric from the Mets’ “customer experience” department is now Uncle Eric, making sure that each family member is happy.
In “Moonwalk,” John G. Singer and his taxi passenger are like two brothers spending an hour together watching Neil Armstrong walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.
Total strangers can sometimes be more family-like than blood relatives. ¡Viva Nueva York!
Dean from CT
Aug. 11, 2019
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@Dean Good job, Dean! I was trying to formulate the common thread in this week's entries, but couldn't quite get there. You articulated it beautifully. Thank you!
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@Shawnthedog's Mom
Thanks, Shawnthedog's Mom.
:-)
Dean
13
@Dean, regarding "and that we’re all in “this” together, whatever “this” is.: -
There was a love song (or maybe more like a lust song, though G-rated?) called "This" on a show I had worked on the production end for early last year. And since thanks to you, LOL, I wasn't able to get that song out of my head the whole day, here it is on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWQBIpGDYEo
- since you did wonder what "This" is. :)
12
Dear Michael,
Thanks for a great story about you and your son sharing an evening at the Mets game with a very happy ending.
If you’ve not read it I think you and all readers would enjoy historian Doris Kearns Goodwin’s 1997 book “Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir.” Goodwin writes beautifully, evocatively, and with a keen sense of place as well as humor of the love she and her father shared during the 1950s for the great Brooklyn Dodgers teams and for Ebbets Field.
John’s Diary entry this week comes on the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s historic first steps on the moon. As it happens, this is also the 50th anniversary of the great championship season of “The Miracle Mets.” Could 2019 be another miracle season? As you wrote, “Ya gotta believe!”
Go Mets, and enjoy a relaxing Sunday everyone, perhaps at the Mets game this afternoon?
Allen
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@Allen J. Share: A nice posting on two great stories; both I have just shared with my partner. But, as a Nats fan I'm relieved we came away with a salvage win today--she was pleased that your Mets won the first two. Should be an exciting next 6 weeks for us both.
14
@Allen J. Share- I was at that 1969 Mets game when they won the World Series with my father! On the way home he made a wrong turn onto a one way street and while backing up hit an oncoming car. Everyone got out and started yelling and because of all the emotion of the day I burst into tears. Suddenly all the focus was on the "little girl" and the adults calmed down and exchanged info. When we got back in the car my father patted my knee and thanked me for getting him off the hook. I had no idea what he was talking about!
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I think it will indeed be an exciting pennant race John, with the usual mixture of joy and nail-biting. Let’s all enjoy it.
Cheers to you and your partner.
Allen
14
Reading these thoughtful and touching stories give me hope. Hope for our country and world that we will work our way out of the current climate of fear, hatred, blaming and shaming.
106
Wonderful stories. We need many more like this. The world seems to be such a mess of greed and hatred, but every day so many moments of connection and peace arise and unfold. It's a wonder.
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Dear Amy,
I could not tell by your comment whether you have been reading the Metropolitan Diary for a while or just recently discovered this source of lovely vignettes about people acting unselfishly and happily dispensing kindness and generosity to others. There are many more stories like these in the past columns of Diary entries, which you can access and enjoy simply by going online.
Stay well,
Allen
31
I don’t normally reply to a comment but, Amy, I just love yours.
14
These stories should be front- page news once in a while. Life is good and people are kind.
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@Kate-e I love your idea of placing MD on the front page
once in a while. Maybe back to one-a-day front and center to balance out the awful stuff.
23
Lovely. All the way around.
40
Please understand: Metropolitan Diary always speaks of humanity in NYC. I never miss it.
75
"In Other Words"--"Fly Me to the Moon"...
35
All these stories....brought tears to my eyes..... but they are happy tears.
44
Hey, John Singer - A tip of the cap to my fellow cabbie. I, too, was driving the evening shift on 6th Avenue on July 20, 1969, and pulled over, parked and went to watch the moon landing on the big screen. I didn’t have a passenger at the time, so there was no deal to negotiate. In fact, I submitted my experience as a Metropolitan Diary entry a few weeks ago, around the anniversary date of the landing...it hasn’t (yet) been selected. I enjoyed your take on the evening...we may have been standing together watching that TV.
Marc Sternbaum
211
Of all the articles that I read today, this is the only one that will make me laugh AND cry. Thanks for the uplifting stories.
90
Here I am in Ohio, and I love the stories of New York City. May I add one of my own? Back in the late 50's when I was young:-) my husband (who was one of those "Mad Men" at an Akron ad agency) and I had come to New York for a few days and were walking across a busy street, when a young man came up to us and asked if John would look at his portfolio... he was obviously hoping for advice or possibly a job... It made my husband's day!
76
Sorry, John, but I know someone who believes that the Moon is fake. Though he flies, he also believes that the Earth is flat.
35
@Imagine. There's no accounting for willful stupidity, is there? For most of us, the moon landing was magical. I was a teenager, and my family was in Venice. We sat among people to whom we could not communicate in words -- but there was no need for words at all.
57
@Imagine I too know someone who thinks the whole moon walk was shot in a studio on California. Go figure. My parents let my sister and I stay up late to watch it they knew it was history in the making, still get thrills today.
32
@Imagine John, we can be positive the Earth is not flat. As I heard someone say the other day, if it were flat, the cats would have knocked everything off of it!
35