When I worked in Mid Town many years ago I always bought lunch at a small, bustling hot food/salad bar. One day Ethan Hawke came out just as I was entering and held the door open for me. This being a busy time, people crowded in and out, oblivious to the partially hidden doorman who politely waited until the way was clear before leaving.
Whenever I'm in New York in a crowd, restaurant or line, nobody comes up to me, recognizes me or asks me for my autograph. I appreciate that and all New Yorkers for that.
What a great place to be alone.
3
Not so long ago, I was on a 1 train between 72nd and 96th. I noticed a woman holding a book at the end of the train. I instantly recognized her as Amy Goodman. What a thrill to see the legendary journalist. Our eyes met and I just gave her a nod. Though sorely tempted to say, "Keep up the great work," (was reminded of my friend Art's legendary Metropolitan Diary comment to Art Garfunkel), I know the pleasure, brief as it may be, one gets from reading a good book on the subway. I kept it to a polite nod.
3
So loved reading all these delicious stories! I have so many memorable moments but too many to share here! .. However, the one event that stays with me is my first Kenny G concert at Lincoln Center. Bear in mind that it was my first time going to one of his concerts. He had not become super famous yet. ..
It was a beautiful day and I really didn't want to go inside yet. My date said he would wait for me inside. .. I finally realized that I had better go inside. An adorable looking young guy said "you are probably going to be late for the concert if you don't come in now". He said this as he held the door open for me as I took my time going through it. My only thought of him was that he had such beautiful bouncy brown curls framing his slender face and was such a cute and very adorable usher.
As my date and I finally settled down in our seats, who should walk onto the stage but the charming young man with bouncy curls framing his face, none other but Kenny G. I have been an ardent fan of his ever since that day!! (:
7
I lived in Manhattan from 1972 to 2003. My first apartments were in Yorkville on the upper east side, where street finds were common in those days.
In the 70s, restaurants there were typically styled with brick walls, tin ceilings, hanging plants and butcher block tables.
In 1974, one such restaurant in the neighborhood suffered a fire, and was forced to close. They dumped several of the butcher block tables tops onto to sidewalk.
I recruited a husky friend and we carried one home. It is 4' x 2,5' x 4" thick. It has since been with me in three NYC apartments, one house in Kansas, and is now the surface of the built in kitchen island in my house here. As a food preparation surface, it's a piece of a professional kitchen.
The under side is still shows the effects of the long ago fire.
I love New York.
19
5.5 years ago...
I was on the S-train (or S-Tog, as it is called on the other side of the Atlantic), traveling from my home in Køge to my job in Lyngby, in Denmark where I was an expat. My phone rang. It was my husband, telling me that my son had been shot in Seattle, by an armed robber. I managed to get off the train in Copenhagen Central Station. I had to make a bunch of additional calls, to find out that the bullet had (thank God) gone under (not through) my son's brain, entering next to his nose, and exiting at the bottom of his skull. I got back on the train, and managed to call my son at Harborview Medical Center, where he was starting to recover.
I was talking to him in his hospital room, as the train whizzed along. A middle eastern lady was sitting across from me.
The tears were rolling down my face as I was talking to my son, while he was telling me what happened.
"So some white guy just shot you?" I said, trying to grasp the full picture, as the tears flowed.
The lady across from me sympathetically patted my leg and then reached for my free hand.
23
Connie,
New York City is where you should be...
Small Town, Texas would never have worked.
That still makes me sad.
NFE
2
On a day when being normal seems like such a far off star. It is nice to read stories that being a smile to your face. They are such happy stories about chance encounters in the city.
Thank you for publishing them, I know they brighten my day
27
My daughter, who lives in Boston, called me to ask me to help her find a solid old dresser to furnish the nursery and serve as a changing table. I live out-of-town in an area with used furniture stores, so I agreed to do a little hunting for her. The very next day, I was driving down the road and saw a sturdy oak dresser. It was missing two knobs and one drawer needed glueing at the corner joints. My husband and I managed to wrangle it into the SUV and drove it into town. We scrubbed it, glued it and oiled it. I found a set of pretty ceramic knobs. This was a manageable and fun little project. It looks great! Bingo!
14
Once at the McCarter Theater in Princeton I was making a dash to the ladies' room to beat the intermission crowd. Frank Langella was running along with an expression on his face that said "Please don't recognize me," so I quickly said "Hello" and kept moving. Another time I was leaving a Broadway theater by a side door while Gene Wilder was coming in. Same "Please act like you don't know who I am" expression, same response from me. I'm sure celebrities often echo the Emily Dickinson poem and wish they could be "nobodies," at least in public.
18
@Linda
Or the reverse. I stood in line for well over an hour at the Metropolitan Museum to enter the Temple of Dendur when it opened. Robert Redford was next to me in line. I never said a word. One of my regular bus stops was near his apartment and for years he nodded hello assuming he knew me somehow.
2
On the trail … reminds us that no matter how belabored our movement, how slow and lurching our efforts - it is still progress and to someone a guide or maybe even inspiration.
Whatever your movements, you're leading someone.
34
I make a point to read this section every week. Always reminds me of what I loved about living in NYC. :)
27
If I were to encounter Patti Smith I doubt I could resist, quickly saying hello and thanks. Not to intrude or be a fangirl asking for selfies or an autograph, just to let her know she has made a difference in my world.
18
@jar sometimes it's best to let celebrities have a quiet, normal day just like the rest of us.
8
@Gerry Power Bruce Springsteen has perfected the art of the virtual “Do Not Disturb” sign when he is in public with his family. I think a lot of celebrities have that skill. They’ll signal when they don’t want attention.
1
To Freddie and All,
Thank you for reminding us about that wonderful ingenue role of "Miss Casswell" in Bette Davis's Academy Award winning best picture All about Eve.
NEVER did Marilyn Monroe look more beautiful--stately, gracious, and just the slightest bit vulnerable. It could break your heart.
Of course, she is put down by Bette Davis with withering condescension when introduced as the arm-candy date of snobby George Sanders, who introduces her as
"Miss Caswell of the Copacabana School of Drama"
Notice how Ann Baxter, though, playing the sly younger assistant to Davis who is trying to eclipse her boss as movie star is far more civil/polite to Miss Caswell than Davis.
On a larger, societal issue, though--note that both Margo Channing/Bette Davis and Eve/Ann Baxter are brunettes--both clever, caustic, calculating women at the top of their game. Poor Marilyn, the gorgeous blond, is forced to appear soooo dumb (only in this picture it doesn't quite work).
Blond women in our country have always had to "play stupid" or at least "dumb down" a bit for men. And the blond girl, especially one with a pretty face, who happens to be the smartest girl/person in the room--Well, she'd better watch herself and be a bit deferential, as we've seen in recent politics or she won't get the role....
Best, Elissa (blond and smiling)
11
My first apartment was furnished with curbside discards. Found a solid wood buffet on the street that just needed a bit of sanding and Old English. When I asked the owners about taking it (if there is such a thing as etiquette for street trash), they offered an entire bedroom set of quartered burled walnut with hand carved Rococo. I hated it at first, but only realized it's worth after I ruined it by lack of care. Hey, it was free and I was a kid.
Idiom to live by: One man's trash is another man's treasure.
32
@Marcy : One person's trash ... one person's treasure.
Please.
Thanks.
13
@DW99 Gosh ! Well spotted. Thank God someone’s alert.
1
Any story about taking furniture from the curb reminds me of an acquaintance of mine -- not in NYC -- who found a great freestanding butcher block, just the right size for her apartment. She brought it inside and cleaned it off, and was shocked to see worms crawling out of it the next morning. It went right back out to the curb.
I think about this every time I see something desirable by the curb.
26
My San Francisco daughter found a broken chair on the street and took it home and repaired it. Then she noticed it was marked with the name of friends down the block. They were astounded and delighted when she gave them back their now usable chair.
26
I'm nostalgic and missing New York City,
and I still live here!
31
I've only been to Manhatten once and loved it but that said, I'm a very happy Silicon Valley resident. I absolutely love these diary stories! They make me smile and feel good inside in these very weary times! Thank you!
27
I am left wondering what warm, caring, humanistic Metropolitan Diary stories will be told about these days of the Coronavirus.
41
A few years back I was standing on a street in the West Village and while my wife was talking to a friend I noticed a woman with a baby carriage struggling to get by some garbage bags. I went over and moved the bags so she could pass. She smiled at me and said, "Thank you that was very kind of you". It was Liv Tyler looking radiant. She was with a stern-looking woman, I'm guessing her bodyguard.
25
These make nyc seem like Topeka. Not in the good way.
1
@Jay Why - That could make sense, since Topeka is an easy 80-90 minutes drive from Manhattan, Kansas.
(I've tried pitching a spoof of the Tony-winning "Band's Visit" where the angry, condescending but clueless executive demands "I need a flight to Manhattan, not Queens, not Newark - what country are you in, can't you speak English?" - and the harried phone person with lots of calls coming in books them to the only Manhattan that has an airport - Manhattan, Kansas. And of course, since it's a musical, the executive ends up loving Kansas, too. But so far, I'm hearing that the terrific "Band's Visit" is not famous enough for a spoof of it to sell.)
16
@Freddie
Dear Freddie, I saw what you did...a classic martial arts move which involves using your opponent's strength against them! Bravo bravo bravo! Anne from the Italian front line….
10
@anne How are you doing, speaking of the Italian front? We saw you all singing & making music from your balconies. Bravo, bravo! We're thinking about you & rooting for you, even as we find ourselves with our own front over here. We are like the runner behind you on the track, hoping you keep going as strong as possible. We are following you as best we can.
12
I was walking with my young children in DUMBO in 2003. Passing Jacques Torres, I told my children about this legend of chocolate. As we lo ok led through the shop window, there he was, with Andre Soltner, of Lutece. "Two really famous French chefs!" I told my kids as we waved happily and continued on. We heard footsteps running up behind us. It was Jacques, handing us a giant bag of chocolates with a smile and a Bon Appetit.
83
@Tamara I met Jacques at his store in SoHo a year or two after that. He had a show on Food Network that my young daughter I watched without fail. We were in love! Jacques is so charming and kind. He agreed to take photos with me and two of my girlfriends. It must have been summer because I said it was warm (in French), which he found amusing (it was hard to conceal my crush). Another time, he graciously signed his book for my daughter. I've been to the DUMBO and UWS stores, too, but he wasn't at either.
3
The Diary entry “Great Find” just reminded me of something. Here’s my story.
I have mentioned in other comments that my wife is a native New Yorker. Before she moved to Connecticut, and before we were married, she found a night table and a chest of drawers on the street in Manhattan.
They served her well in New York, and they served us well for years in our house in Connecticut.
When we sold our house and got rid of things before moving to our condo, we gave the night table and the chest of drawers to our neighbor. We assume that they are still in use.
Long live these “Great Finds.”
31
Dear Dean,
I hope as you do that the chest of drawers and night table which your wife rescued while still in
Manhattan and which served you both for many years are today serving their useful functions and will continue doing so in future years. Pieces of furniture should perhaps have labels attached on which could be recorded the dates and the places they served their purposes.
Here’s to recycling and here’s to you and your good wife. Stay well Dean.
Allen
24
Dear Allen,
That’s a good idea. I often wondered when and where the night table and chest of drawers were made and who the original owners were. Why were they discarded in the first place? How many homes had they known? And all of this took place before my wife and I knew each other.
And now I wonder if our former neighbor will pass these sturdy items along to his neighbor or to someone in his family.
Here’s to recycling.
Dean
17
Not so much a kindness or quirky story, but I remember someone telling me that if you needed a quick cheap way to furnish an apartment you should drive around the dorm areas of colleges when they’re clearing out for the summer. Myriad pieces that can’t be taken home or sold are all over the place. It probably hurt to part with some of them.
29
@Enlynn Rock:
You're absolutely right! I work in downtown Milwaukee. Marquette University is just west of the downtown area. Every year when a semester is over, you can drive around the dorms and pick some pretty nice things. I have gotten new lamps that way, and an individual I know who volunteers for a local nonprofit that provides housing to women who have fled abusive husbands regularly drives around Marquette in his pickup looking for furniture these women can use in their new homes.
29
@Enlynn Rock This is absolutely true. The students even throw out perfectly good televisions, lamps, carpeting, book shelves, clothing, decor, school supplies, etc.
12
@Enlynn Rock This used to be a nightmare where we live near the University of California, Santa Barbara, as the items were trashed and/or burned. Then the students got it together and organized a huge “garage sale”. The proceeds go to various charities.
15
I’ve sometimes been in the position of having a a reader next to me or looking over my shoulder, but I always get a little antsy because, while I enjoy sharing, I read very fast, and keep worrying about slowing down enough for the person to keep up and not wanting to embarrass them. Nice story.
36
Years back I was working in a restaurant in Brooklyn and I always gravitated towards this happy go lucky guy. So upbeat, for me his smile always seemed to cast a beautiful white light in the room. We would chat and then I would head off. One day I went up to the bar and was talking with one of the customers and he told me he just got Noel Pointer's (Jazz violinist) phone number. I exclaimed, "Really, I always hear about him coming in here, but I keep missing him!" Stunned he looked at me and said, "What are you talking about? ...You were just talking to him!"
60
@anonymous Your comment motivated me to google Mr. Pointer to learn he was a child prodigy of classical violin who later played jazz and wrote music. Sadly, he passed of a stroke at 39. He and his extended family never left Brooklyn. And, yes, he had a gorgeous smile.
5
About 20-30 years ago, a woman on the Upper East Side found a wonderful brightly colored painting lying on some furniture in front of her apartment building. She took it and brought it up to her apartment, and showed it later to a friend, who told her it was a very valuable painting . She contacted one of the major auction houses, and they confirmed it was indeed....a Rufino Tamayo, and they would love to sell it for her. After due diligence, they discovered it had been stolen from a storage warehouse , 30 years before, and the former owner had moved to Argentina. They tracked down the rightful owner and had her agree to put it up for auction. It brought about $1.5 million, as I recall, and the original "finder" of this masterpiece got a $30K "finders fee" from the auction house! Keep looking, folks!
61
@Upstater This might truly be one of those "Only in NY" stories.
11
@tm : Check out NYT article Oct.23 2007 for full story. My memory was correct!
3
In my decades in New York, I referred to it as, "shopping on the curb." My biggest find was a dining table for eight--sturdy, but scarred. When I no longer needed the table, I passed it along to an artist who gave it a home in his studio. Recycling at its best.
26
I live just above NYC and often take my 4 year old son in on the train for a day of exploring. The great thing about this column is that I now approach every interaction as a possible diary entry. I'll let you know when I've got a good one!
31
I was leaving New York after 30 years and moving to a much smaller apartment. Over the course of several weeks I took many pieces of furniture to our building's garbage room - a sofa, side tables, lamps, a rug. On my last day, I went down to the cavernous basement to say goodbye to the staff. There I found an eerily accurate recreation of my living room in their break room, made from all the pieces I had discarded. I hope they enjoyed it as much as I had.
85
The Patti Smith story reminds me of the afternoon I was having lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in the Lincoln Center area. The place was almost empty, but at a nearby table there were three people having an interesting conversation--a young couple and a handsome older man who had a familiar British accent. I realized it was Jonathan Miller, who was in town to act as a guest conductor at the Met--at least I think that was why, but I had become a fan when he was part of a comedy group with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. He was telling his companions how much he missed his wife--not only was she beautiful but also terribly clever and funny. His anecdotes about her made me like him even more, because I really love a man who loves his wife. I guess that's why I'm still single.
49
@Carol Robinson - OH! Jonathan Miller. I loved him so. He just died and I was so sad. A magnificent human. A real Renaissance Man. You can see “Beyond The Fringe” on YouTube. His book about the body was fascinating. A very special man. I envy you your brush with greatness.
3
I'm reading these lovely stories while sitting on a chair I found on the street.
63
I just love these. Particularly in times when everyone feels wary and distrustful, these stories of human connection are truly appreciated.
69
@Julia Oregon or Maine?
8
@Julia
Thanks, Julia. I completely agree. I think people who act like human deserve some recognition. These stories are hopeful and poignant. I like reading them and have found myself looking for them more and more.
I don't need more bad news. We have a surfeit of that. But hope is precious during these times.
13
Once, in my Brooklyn neighborhood, I held the door at my favorite Mexican take-away spot for an older gentle man with a plaid cap and a rolling grocery cart. As we passed each other, he thanked me and I looked up just in time to see that it was Sir Patrick Stewart. I walked on content knowing that we shared a mutual love of quality Mexican food.
68
Distractions! Our love of celebrities' sightings, curiosity about their turmoil is so intriguing we are distracted from our current worries about a serendipitous attack by infection. Reminders that the world can be harsh are every where; anxiety rampant. Making the best of a jog to be amused by a tease, the gift of art, a chair's way of finding a new home...little kindnesses, unexpected light in a dark day. Thank you.
63
@MWG Distractions. One of my most favorite Paul McCartney songs. Warm and cozy, like Metropolitan Diary.
4
If I ever got to hold the door for Patti Smith, I would probably faint.
38
@AnnaT - I would have ask her why she didn’t sing Frederick when I saw her in Portland, Oregon lol.
2
Reading these at the end of the day brings a little peace.
71
You would be surprised at how many New Yorkers have furniture in their apartments that they found curbside on the street. I have at least four very nice pieces including a leather upholstered Craftsman rocker and a Mexican bamboo/cane octagonal side table, plus many smaller accessory pieces like floor lamps. Almost everything else is from the many furniture thrift shop that were once abundant but now mostly gone.
48
These stories are great. Keep them coming.
34
@Kevin The more well-to-do sections of Dallas provide a plethora of curbside selections of discarded elegant furniture in excellent condition. Some people have money seemingly burning their pockets and see the need to redecorate their homes frequently. And so. out goes the old to the street, free for the taking once it's curbside.
For many people, it's worth a drive through posh neighborhoods any week to be able to choose from fine groupings of furniture that might be well beyond the average person's budget. It's a good reason for owning a pickup truck.
32
I had the same experience with a newspaper reader on the subway about 50 years ago. It’s nice to know that the best parts of being human don’t change.
47
The coronavirus has made us more aware of how we greet each other and this in turn we show honor to the people we meet. A handshake seems a no no, but touching elbows, bowing, a hands together Namaste greeting are coming into style as we adjust to circumstances and perhaps this is a good thing as we truly need to consider other's value to us. In a strange way though the oronavirus seems to drive us a part it brings us together in our humanity and maybe compassion?
Stories like these touch me because they bring into focus how we can create something better between us and increase our personal awareness of little things that can mean so much. Thank you so much.
48
@just Robert
It's a good thought that the c-virus can bring us together in our humanity. It's up to us to make this happen. I read in another article in today's Times, that when he looked at his co-workers all he saw was germs. I like your thought much better!-
29
@just Robert This is all well and good and I agree humans need to come together but I find the evidence against that to be high also. There are videos of people doing strange with SARS-CoV-2 like spitting deliberately, people fighting over toilet paper and tissues, and then we have our dear ego driven leader who lacks compassion and worries about numbers while people are literally dying.
My point is that it's easy to be kind when you have enough but it's when you don't that the trust test starts. My wife said she'd have split the tissue instead of fighting and I said I'd have just given it to them, since I said without ALL of us being altruistic, we won't make it as a civilisation. (There was an article about this in NYT which I didn't read but presumably says the same thing.)
Anyways, there's a certain drug one can take which sometimes has a one letter name and the feelings it invokes are how I feel about the world almost all the time and I wish everyone felt that way, happiness happening.
9
@just Robert
We shouldn't touch elbows as a greeting because we're instructed to cough into them.
4
urban life turns people kind and gentle to neighbors and strangers. the average rural or suburbanite red state person used to their large automobile and mcmansion couldn't handle city life for 24 hours, they would be utterly unequipped to give or receive what makes nyc itself.
15
@No name I bet there are a large number of red state born and raised people in NYC.
Perhaps you mean Republicans, who I'm sure also exist in NYC though perhaps a minority.
So I disagree with your thesis. Primarily because I've seen it all ways and perhaps it's a US thing but I'd wager that most people don't think about where to live - they go where the money/job is.
14
Few things make me feel as good as Metropolitan Diary. I always have a smile on my face, a real smile, when reading it. And the illustrations are great.
Emma, I would hold a door for Patti Smith any day. Happy to know your mother was there to let you know who that lady was.
65
@Susan T That makes two of us!
13
All these stories are really love letters to New York City. It's ironic how the city's people are so often portrayed in movies as some combo of gruff and aloof. The truth is that the people of New York City are the best people in the world. Kind, intelligent and compassionate - the antithesis of the caricatures.
83
@Geno So true. One of the few cities where I have so
often struck up a conversation with another woman waiting for the light to change to walk across the street for example. New Yorkers go out of their way to be of help no matter which
subway stop.
34
@Geno Compared to San Francisco (in the US at least the friendliest city) I find NYC to be less so - it is a good to great city though but not as liberal and open as the bay area.
My favourite city in the world is Bangkok.
4
@RamS
Bangkok? Bangkok! There are SNAKES in the trees in Bangkok.
8
Loved these stories of the moving couches and chairs, especially when they turn up nearby, the kind encounters in a busy city, and compassionate comments that all reveal the warmth of the wonderful town that is New York.
Thank you, all!
38
The furniture entries reminded me of this...My sister was visiting her daughter who lived in a small multifamily building in Pittsburgh. In the lobby was an antique floor mirror leaning against the wall. There were two sticky notes affixed to it. One said $25; the other “Apt. 2B”. So my sister decided it was worth $25 and knocked on the 2B’s door to let them know she would take the mirror and pay them $25. Since they weren’t home, she left the $25 with her daughter to give to them and we took the mirror. When she got back to NY, her daughter called her and told her that the person in 2B had just bought the mirror at a tag sale and was waiting for someone to help her bring it into the apartment! She told he to keep it.
87
@Jan That is FUNNY!!!!
18
Dear Jan,
2B or not 2B! That was my boyhood apartment number! Mom would always tell anyone making a delivery that our apartment was “2B as in boy.”
Thanks for a funny story and for the memories Jan. Stay well.
Allen
15
I needed this feel good story, thank you.
A great reminder to be kind to one another.
40
I just love these. They make me smile and provide a little respite from the madness of the world.
62
Every story a hit this week.
Instead of the Seinfeld line “people, they’re the worst”
Today I say “people, you got to love them”
Thanks for the smiles.
66
I worked in a frame shop in San Francisco in the early 1980s. The Santa Fe Opera had an attractive series of Georgia O'Keeffe posters that were perennially good sellers, so we frequently filled the shop windows with them.
I like Georgia O'Keeffe as much as the next guy, but those posters became a real litmus test for the taste of our customers. With the door open, all day long we would hear "Do you like Georgia O'Keeffe?" from one window-shopper to another. "Do you like Georgia O'Keeffe?"
My colleague and I would walk around the shop and ask each other, "Do you like Georgia O'Keeffe?" "Do you like Georgia O'Keeffe?" Makes me laugh to this day.
78
@Stickler
The early eighties was just about the time Santa Fe started to really take off as an art mecca. A few years before then, a more common site was a pick up truck with a shotgun laden gun rack in the cab rear window. Oh wait, you’re talking about San Francisco, not Santa Fe.
6
@Stickler When I moved to Santa Fe, Georgia O'Keeffe was all over the place. Still is. I was enthralled and bought a print of one of her clouds paintings and had it nicely framed. Now, years later, it hangs over my couch, not as trendy as it once was, but it matches almost perfectly the sight out the window---white clouds in a perfect New Mexico blue sky. Yes, I still like Georgia O'Keeffe.
35
always uplifting, and I always have a smile pasted on my face by the time I read all entries.
Thank You for this.
These days, anything that generates a genuine smile is priceless.
Stay healthy, stay safe.
Dream big, fight hard, too.
109
@c Such good words, yours. Thank you. I will share the column and especially your comment with my friends, who will smile at its richness and spirit, too.
7
Funny entries this week!
25
Wonderful time for a feel good read.
46
I have gotten fabulous stuff on the street. One chair lasted me about ten years and never failed to elicit compliments. My husband found a lovely framed oil painting, leaning against a dumpster. Pristine. I enjoy it every day. And books. You can find some great ones. My husband, who is a lover of Civil War history plus all things Jewish benefited from a book in the trash bin in our
building, “Lincoln and The Jews.” What a find THAT was!
102
My partner and I had a similar experience with a sofa, well about two sofa's ago. We happen upon the Door Store and noticed a great sofa on sale and made the purchase. It arrived at the end of the week and we took our beat up old sofa to our building's recycling room in the basement. A couple weeks later we head our young neighbors screaming in horror. We knocked on their door to find out they spotted a mouse. We offered to "loan" our cat with a short visit only to discover our sofa was in their living room. We enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine while our cat - Alibaba searched their apartment for the mouse.
91
@Vincent NYC : Your comment has made me smile not only for the sofa story but also for “ sofa ago “. These simple typing mistakes we unknowingly make, bring more than smile and sometimes huge laughter for others even, which is very much required in the present tensed world. I give my own example here.
Sometime back I sent a mail to my son acknowledging the receipt of some package ordered online by him. Normally I address him as Naanna. Naanna in Telugu means father but we call him affectionately as Naanna all the time. When I addressed him like that, my iPad auto corrected it as Banana, which I didn’t notice. Immediately after sending the mail I noticed the mistake but it was late anyway. My son called his mother soon after receiving the mail and told her about it perhaps smilingly. My wife then told him about the auto correction.
23
@Sivaram Pochiraju
Actually, the "sofa's ago" wasn't a mistake. What the poster of the email meant is that his story was about a sofa he had previous to two sofas since then. Maybe it's an Americanism, i.e., in American English.
17
@Sivaram Pochiraju
Hilarious! Thank you for the best laugh I’ve had in ages!
6
I love the little sketches that accompany the stories.
105
The "Great Find" anecdote illustrates perfectly the old, time-worn adage: What goes around, comes around." Also, "One man's trash. . ." You know the rest!
52
In Boston in 2015 we had record snows. Working in my second floor office, I had a perfect view of a solitary wooden chair that had been hoisted (somehow) on top of the 5-plus foot high snow bank. It was awaiting the trash pickup. I finally went downstairs to make tea. When I went back up, the trash collector had not yet come, but the chair was gone. I tried to imagine someone scaling the snow bank to get it but failed. Yet somehow it was gone and the street was empty.
44
One of my favorite NYC stories is from a friend - 20 somethings lived on 5th floor of a walk-up. Friend got a third roommate and decided the red, crushed velvet sleeper sofa had to go. They got some friends and heaved the heavy monster of a couch down the five flights on a very hot, steamy summer day. They got it down to the street and headed off for some beers.
They returned only to see their new neighbors shoving the couch through their doorway on the 4th floor. The new neighbors excitedly told my friend of finding the perfect couch - crushed red velvet and all - on the street!
168
@Kelly
I love this story, Kelly!!
A bunch of moody, disgruntled teens, cast out of regular school by the "Establishment," lounging away on their faded and glamorous red velvet sofa. I hope it inspired them to become wildly successful musicians, poets, artists, playwrights, inventors...
Elissa
47
@els
Sorry, Kelly--I really was replying to Susan O's story just below. The rebellious red-velvet romanticism vs. stodgy bureaucratic stodginess of it appealed to me.
Because, frankly, in this age of bureaucrat-babble, misinformation, we may need some creative, anti-establishment thinking to get us through.
My heart just about broke, btw, when the town garbage collectors actually took axes to the chrome frame of my worn-but-gorgeous, very faded mandarin orange, suede-velvet, extra-long sofa years ago. It was from a Bloomingdale's design furniture show and flat-out gorgeous--modern, sleek yet opulent all at the same time, bought in 1972. By the mid 1980s, British country-house chintz and damask were all the rage in decorating, and so my beautiful romantic but modern divan made way for cream-colored damask with flouncy pillows. I still feel the loss.
Best wishes,
Elissa
37
@els - about the faded sofa? Darn! Shoulda’ called me!
18
The great solid wood side chair found abandoned reminds me of the huge red velvet sofa that graced our public school in upstate New York. Our district rented an abandoned bank to house 44 teens they didn't want to allow in regular school. I was hired to teach them but the district was very slow in furnishing our space.
Finally, I told the superintendent to give me some money & I'd get us started. He said we could spend $200. Three students went along to the Salvation Army and they chose the red velvet sofa, while agreeing to a few more traditional chairs and tables.
Roughneck kids came to school early to secure a place on that sofa.
Eventually the district moved in some more traditional tables, chairs, & file cabinets but we refused to relinquish the sofa.
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The story “ Catchy Headline “ is quite familiar to me. I have seen umpteen number of times people showing in interest in other people’s news papers in buses and trains especially during the pre Internet days in India. It was quite a common sight. Most of the time news paper owner used to let others have a look at the paper while they were reading. Sometimes they used to handover middle sheets to the strangers.
It’s very nice of that gentleman to let Michael Brenner read the contents of the front page of what he was reading. Hope Harry and Meghan will find media free and attention free life soon.
The story “ Framing “ is very sweet to read indeed. The framing shop owner’s gift that too in the difficult times is simply remarkable to say the least. I am quite sure this gentleman will indeed do more than good business so that he can continue doing what he cherishes most.
Not everyone is cable of doing very big kind acts, which very few that too rarely indulge but small acts of kindness go a long way in building human relationship.
By the way we were there in Flushing, NY during Sandy days. Thanks for writing a wonderful story Catherine Burgess and also making me remember our stay in New York.
“ On the Trail “ story is very interesting to read. It’s very healthy to be a runner, doesn’t matter one competes in a race or not. However I belong to the walking group but few months back we ran one mile family race in Ann Arbor, MI with pleasure while raining.
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@Sivaram Pochiraju
I was on a crowded F train one evening and with no room to read, look at my phone, casually cast my eyes, as one does, over the scene. It included someone reading a book, keeping it open with one hand while holding on to the upper pole with the other. She came to the end of a page but couldn't take her hand off the pole to turn it. A person close to her noticed her dilemma and reached over to turn the page for her. Those who observed this act of thoughtfulness smiled.
152
@Mary : Thank you very much for a very nice response.
13
Dear Mary,
Thank you for another great story of a
good-hearted soul observant enough to spot a need and kind enough to fill it.
The Diary entries and all of the good comments like yours go a long way to fulfilling the frame shop proprietor’s injunction that we do what we can to make one another happy.
Keep well Mary.
Allen
19
The recycled chair story reminds me of the best episode of The Big Bang Theory in which Penny finds an upholstered chair on the sidewalk and takes it home, much to Sheldon’s dismay. The final image of the episode is seeing mysterious bumps moving under the fabric, clearly some kind of vermin!
32
It was the wormy butcher block story that made me think of the 'mystery vermin in the chair' sitcom episode. But I couldn't remember if it was Friends or Seinfeld or other! Thanks for providing the answer: BBT.
Re: On the Trail
As a woman, I found the runner's comment about "whom will I chase next?" rather creepy, even though it was said in jest (I think?).
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@Woman, running Maybe a less cynical interpretation: Runners sometimes use other runners to help pace themselves. In his piece Mr. Bareford described how under-par he felt regarding his own performance when all the while, it seems, he was serving as motivation to another runner.
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@Woman, running In running or exercise walking it is often helpful to pace yourself by staying a given distance behind another performer who seems to be going at about the right speed. Keeps you from gradually slowing down. Nothing creepy at all.
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@Woman, running Misperceptions can create a lot of problems.
17
I knew it was Patti Smith after SoHo cafe and slim older woman with long grey hair- one of my heros-
66
The story about the art gallery owner and his repast of shrimp cocktail - plus the freebie art - should be required sharing to all who excoriate New York City as an unfriendly, rude, loud, opinionated place. The gallery owner’s graciousness probably helps them attract more word-of-mouth business than any social media app could. Great for him, and for the people who discover him. And for those of us this morning whose faith in humankind has been restored by Metropolitan Diary.
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@Liz DiMarco Weinmann
Brava, Liz!!
These wonderful and heart-warming stories this Sunday morning helped me to tamp down a growing sense of dread that seems gnawing away at us all.
The graciousness of a NYC gallery owner you applaud is such a wonderful gift to us. Too bad we can't encapsule it and send it to those outside of New York--say 200 miles south.
In fact wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just vaccinate babies at birth with a simple "graciousness of character" quality.... I suppose I dream.
Elissa
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@els - it's always interesting when being gracious ends up improving the bottom line, which suggests that graciousness can be used as a cynical marketing tool! It's almost like the concept that a corporation really should not be giving charity (or backing a politician) from its profit-making funds just fir civic geoid, but only if it can generate goodwill to help business. Someone really gracious is best - but hard-edged person who can be gracious just long enough when keeping people happy and then go to the back of the store and hit a punching bag (or even punch a hole in the wall, LOL) , then get it together to be nice to the next person exemplifies that idea that can catch more flies with honey than vinegar, which goes with that old line "Sincerity, when you can get faking that down pat, ya got it made."
Boy, these days, it seems the people who try to cancel their displeasure are the rare ones, even in NY. Maybe that's why this store owner's kindness strikes us as so special, and it gives a warm feelings to know that it got rewarded. (Betty White had played the famous cheery TV host the happy homemaker Sue Ann Nivens, who would smile so graciously for the home audience even when something went wrong while the cameras were running, then the second the cameras were off would turn on a dime and demand the name of whoever had messed up so she could berate them.)
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@Freddie
The Hollywood story about on-screen/off-screen persona difference that always impressed me, Freddie, was Marilyn Monroe.
She really was, unlike the persona she portrayed, quite intelligent and apparently a very good writer of serious short stories. I wonder why these have never been gathered and published posthumously.
Elissa
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Years ago, when I moved out of an apartment in Somerville, MA, I knew I couldn't take my beloved huge emerald green velvet couch with me. Since a friend had given it to me, I decided to leave it on the sidewalk for someone else to find. It was gone in 10 minutes.
I finished cleaning the apartment, locked the door, and left to go to party at a friend of a friend's house. I walked in and there was my couch in all its glory. My friend was already there and laughed out loud when she saw me. She then proceeded to hand me my green stone necklace--her friends had found it underneath the cushions.
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This week's group of stories has been particularly reaffirming about how we interact positively with strangers, even in a city like NYC. In this time of coronavirus, thank you for making my Sunday morning brighter.
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@David Hello from a fellow Fairfax County resident! Metropolitan Diary is my current favorite weekly ritual. Restores my faith in humanity. It's like serotonin in prose form.
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@MaryAnn
Yes, MaryAnn. Couldn't agree with you more. We are drowning in disappointment. We need something else. I too am making it more my weekly ritual. And nay-sayers---save it. We need hope. Not cynicism. There's plenty of that already.
12
Before we were married my wife had two chairs recycled from the side walk, that and a round end table was what we used to eat on. The chairs were a little too low and the table a little too wobbly to eat comfortably but we made do. After we married and were able to purchase a dinette set we put the chairs on the side walk and they wound up in the apartment next door.
We were happy the chairs found a new home and did not wind up in the landfill.
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Happy Women’s Day to all readers, writers and also New York Times women staff. I take this opportunity to show my respect to all women especially working women, who play numerous roles to keep things in order including their families.
The story “ After Her “ is interesting in the sense there is a message in this story. I will tell about it later. The practice of holding the door for others to enter or leave has impressed me so much, which I noticed while staying there, I have made it a practice in India soon after coming back. I thank Americans wholeheartedly for this change in me.
The message in this story is to respect privacy of very famous people. I am very much impressed by the writer’s mother since she hasn’t bothered to disturb Patti Smith. Many famous personalities can ill afford simple things such as drinking coffee or tea in a roadside restaurant, which we normal mortals indulge whenever we feel like. It’s always nice if we can treat them like any other ordinary person simply by not disturbing them.
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@Sivaram Pochiraju - Thank you for your good wishes to women and for your weekly positive contributions to this comment board. I personally would like to nominate you as an "Honorary New Yorker'-
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@Jeanne De Pasquale Perez : I am more than honoured. Thank you very much for your kind reply.
20
While we're obsessing about social distancing and coughing into our elbows, we're reminded strangers may bring us -- joy! Thank you for these sweet stories.
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@Kathryn That said, there is not enough fear in people to drive politicians to do what they need to do to control this epidemic.
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@Kathryn - regarding "obsessing about social distancing and coughing into our elbows,"
Tune of “Rainbow Connection”
There are not so many
Rules about elbows
They aren’t noticed that much,
Except when they’re hurting
Then we see the pharmacist
To get pills and ointments and such.
But now with articles
Warning of particles
Riding the train or the bus,
Please cough and sneeze in
Your elbow’s direction
To show that you care about us.
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Dear Catherine,
Thank you for your wonderful and truly restorative story about the altogether lovely proprietor of the frame shop you visited. His genuine graciousness and great kindness are as warming this March Sunday as they must have been that first week in November to you. My guess would be that he had a beautiful smile which was equally warming.
“We need to make each other happy during times like these.” I will keep his words very much in mind as I try to live up to them.
Your Diary entry was most heartening Catherine. Thank you again. Take good care of yourself and stay well.
Allen
175
Dear Allen,
Your comment is as uplifting as Catherine’s story. It’s a real contrast to today’s blowhards. (See Nicholas Kristof’s column dated March 7, 2020.)
Catherine quoted the shop owner, and you also noted: “We need to make each other happy during times like these.”
As you always say: “Stay well.” Yes, let all of us stay well.
Dean
63
@Allen
Allen's paean to the generous owner of an art gallery
Is exactly on target---like joyous Klesmer-y
Music that strongly affirms
Hope we can conquer both demagoguery and germs.
Stay well, Allen, and keep reminding us to believe
All that is good and positive for us to achieve.
Elissa
59
Elissa is a master of rhymes
In her comments to The Times.
Her words are dressed to the nines
In their silken designs.
Dean
34