METROPOLITAN DIARY
Lifted Up
Dear Diary:
I was on my way to my first job, standing at the corner of 52nd Street and Second Avenue and waiting for the light to change.
Suddenly, I felt my body being lifted off the ground by someone much bigger. I could not see who it was, but I did not feel threatened, just confused.
After I regained my balance and composure, I looked up to see that it was an old friend of my fathers.
You looked like you needed a hug, he said with a smile.
Embarrassed, I laughed.
I did, I said.
Mark Finando
Rewarding
Dear Diary:
I was home from college on a break and had come into Manhattan to visit my brother.
I stopped at a pay phone to call and tell him that I was running late. I pulled a scrap of paper with his number on it from my wallet.
When I got to his place, he greeted me with So, you lost your wallet.
He said he had gotten a call from a woman who had found the wallet in a phone booth and called the number she found in it.
Shes waiting for you with your wallet in a bar, he said. Heres the address.
I hurried across town to the bar, where a middle-age woman having drinks with some friends caught my eye.
I walked over, she handed me the wallet and I thanked her profusely.
May I buy you a drink? I asked, feeling that some gesture of gratitude was appropriate.
Oh, thats very sweet, dear, she said. But you dont have enough money.
Michael Hauptman
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/11/nyregion/metropolitan-diary.html