'The Woman Looked at Me and Motioned to a Sweatshirt in Her Bag'
'A warm offer on a cool train, heading out after Hurricane Sandy and more reader tales of New York City in this week’s Metropolitan Diary.
Dreamland
Dear Diary:
The Q clattering through Brooklyn had lulled my 7-year-old to sleep. Her red curls were spread across my lap, and her legs were piled onto the adjoining seat.
It was hot and humid, and she was wearing her pale pink shorts with silver butterflies. The train was air-conditioned, and her bare legs caught the eye of an older woman sitting near us.
The woman looked at me and motioned to a sweatshirt in her bag. She pantomimed spreading it over my daughter’s exposed legs. I smiled and pantomimed back: “Thanks, I think she’s O.K.”
A moment passed. The woman looked over again and gently took my daughter’s feet and brought them to the seat next to hers, allowing the scrunched little legs a nice stretch.
Satisfied, the woman covered her eyes with her hand and joined my daughter in dreamland.
— Jamie Roth
After Sandy
Dear Diary:
It was four days after Hurricane Sandy. I had moved to New York just three months earlier. I was living in a shabby one-bedroom in Kingsbridge in the Bronx, and I had serious cabin fever. As soon as the trains started to run again, I decided to go into Manhattan.
The train was more crowded than I had ever seen it. I bailed at 72nd Street and decided to walk down Broadway. I texted some friends in Park Slope and made plans to meet for lunch.
I kept walking on Broadway until I got to Chambers Street. It was the first time I had seen a significant portion of the downtown area, and the power was still out. I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time that day, too. I remember it being wickedly cold.
Later, when it was time to go home, I lined up for a shuttle bus outside Barclays Center. A young woman approached me and asked if I wanted a free ride to Manhattan. The mayor had imposed a minimum of three riders per vehicle, and she said that she and her friend needed a third.
I agreed, and followed her around the corner. Her friend, it turned out, was her father’s personal driver. I got a limo ride across the Manhattan Bridge and had them drop me off at the New York Public Library.
We made small talk along the way. I explained that I had moved to the city to study architecture history. The young woman pointed out random buildings and asked questions about them. I did my best to answer.
When they dropped me off, she asked for my card. It was the first time that had ever happened to me, too.
— Juliana Antoninus >>>
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/04/nyregion/metropolitan-diary.html?