METROPOLITAN DIARY

[elleng]

Last edited Mon Oct 11, 2021, 03:44 PM - Edit history (1)

Invisible Voice
Dear Diary:

The Q to Brooklyn can be more crowded at midnight than midday: mothers with strollers; older women with shopping carts; girlfriends sharing earphones and mouthing lyrics. It all makes for a comforting sight at that late hour.

On this particular night, the car I was on was empty except for three men who were sitting evenly spaced out across from me.

As the train rattled across the Manhattan Bridge, I shut my eyes against the fluorescent lights, my thoughts tumbling down into the dark water of the East River below.

I heard what I thought was a woman singing softly. Startled, I looked up at the three men across from me: an older one who was closely studying a small book; a young punk leaning forward and swiping his phone; and a big construction worker cradling his helmet as he slept, his mouth slightly open.

I must have fallen asleep too, I thought to myself.

The train went back underground, and I let my eyelids fall. I heard the beautiful voice rise again, more confidently this time, and a few notes of what sounded like opera. I tried to figure out where it was coming from, but the melody came to a halt.

Just the same three men, in the same positions.

I got off the train at Seventh Avenue and the construction worker did too. As I walked up the stairs, he broke into full song behind me. We went in different directions, but I could hear his soaring falsetto as it bounced off the buildings and filled the night sky.

I could still hear it faintly when I locked my apartment door two blocks away.

— Michelle Fawcett

Rainy Ride
Dear Diary:

It was a very rainy and windy Tuesday afternoon, and I was walking along Fifth Avenue near Central Park. I was in a suit and tie and had my double bass and the remnants of a cheap umbrella.

I had just turned at 87th Street to walk through the park when a UPS truck pulled up, stopping traffic in the process.

“You want a ride?” the driver asked, and then opened the passenger-side door before I could muster an answer. “Get in.”

Cars were honking, the rain was still coming down and I had a 20-minute walk ahead me.

Why not?

I climbed in, sat down and balanced the bass between my body and the inner wall of the truck. The driver dropped me at the C train station. He was cracking jokes the whole way there.

— Noah Garabedian

Fish Store
Dear Diary:

It was some years ago and I was working in Midtown. One day, my wife called and asked me to stop at a fishmonger near the Port Authority Terminal on my way home and pick up some fish for dinner.

I walked into the place, where an older counterman greeted me and quickly filled my order. I asked him to add a fresh lemon.

“I have a deal with the greengrocer next door,” he said, looking up. “He doesn’t sell fish and I don’t sell fruit.”

— Howard Schwartz

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/10/nyregion/metropolitan-diary.html

[DeeNice]

1. I don't think I'd get into a random UPS truck even if it were raining balls.

Nice stories though, thanks for sharing.

[Nittersing]

3. Oh, I would.

Just google "UPS dogs".

[DeeNice]

5. last time i took a ride from a stranger...

I was 1st semester in college, didn't know the town much. I was walking back from a dentist appointment on a straightforward route but which was further than i wanted to walk. He starts turning in a direction I'm not going...so I bailed.

[Nittersing]

2. In the mid 70s, I sang in the choir of Calvary Church at 21st and Park

Last edited Mon Oct 11, 2021, 06:01 PM - Edit history (1)

A local college was performing Handel's Messiah and they needed some adult voices to fill out their alto and bass section. So a group of us boarded a train (don't remember which) and we decided to practice the Hallelujah Chorus on our way there.

Our own little impromptu flash mob.

[elleng]

4. Sweet!

My high school Choraleers did Messiah, and we/members sing along at every opportunity.