The New York Times - USA (2020-11-08)

THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2020 MB 7

Sunset Park

DEAR DIARY:
It was one of those late-summer
nights where it’s still warm
enough to wear a T-shirt but brisk
enough that you might get a
slight chill.
I was biking along Fifth Ave-
nue in Brooklyn after having a
burrito at a small Mexican gro-
cery in Sunset Park. Just as I
passed Sunset Park itself, I no-
ticed a woman I had once worked
with at a call center.
“Linda?” I said. “Is that you?”
It was, and we chatted for a
while in front of the park.
When we worked together,
Linda would tell me about how
she fed Mountain Dew to the
trees in the park and about how
she enjoyed going to a church
near where she lived to watch the
choir rehearse. She had changed
a bit, but our conversation trans-
ported me straight back to the
past.
“I think I’ve seen every single

Marvel film twice over,” Linda

said, breaking into a smile.

We walked to a nearby deli,

where she wrote down my num-

ber on a loose sheet of paper.

And then I was off, biking

toward the future but aware of

what had passed.

HALEY GOETZ

Italian Ices

DEAR DIARY:

When I was young, we would

visit relatives in Astoria every

summer.

My aunt lived in an apartment

building on 29th Street. Every

day, she would give me a dime so

that I could buy a tiny cup of

Italian ice. The man who sold it

stood outside the bakery owned

by Christopher Walken’s parents.

I had never tasted anything so

luscious. Sometimes, I would

steal another dime from my

aunt’s pocketbook to buy an-

other.

SUSIE POLDEN

Scrabbling

DEAR DIARY:

I was a stranger in New York

City with a few hours to kill on a

beautiful spring afternoon. After

a stroll around Central Park, I

found an empty bench and

opened a book.

After a few minutes, a neatly

dressed woman who was old

enough to be my mother stopped

in front of me.

“I see you enjoy a good book,”

she said. “Do you also enjoy a

game of Scrabble?”

I said that I did. She sat down

and popped open a portable

Scrabble set. The game was on.

We got to know each as we

played. As I expected, she beat

me easily in several quick

games.

A retired medical researcher,

she laid down some of the long-

est words I had seen in my time

playing Scrabble, words with z’s,

x’s and q’s that I was helpless to

challenge.

After a few hours we parted

like old friends. I often think of

that charming woman and I

smile when I do.

BARRY WARONKER

Folding Papers

DEAR DIARY:

How refreshing it was to slide

into a seat on an Amtrak train

from Washington to New York on

a scorching summer day.

Not only did the car have great

air-conditioning, but in the seat

next to me was a woman who

was reading a newspaper and

folding it into proper quarters as

carefully as if she were doing

origami.

We were silent for the first

part of the trip until I got up the

courage to ask who had taught

her this technique.

“My sixth-grade teacher in a

little town in Pennsylvania,” she

said. “She taught us to always

read the left-hand column first,

and how to fold it.”

I asked her why she would

need to fold a newspaper that

way in a small town where, pre-

sumably, there was plenty of

elbow room.

She said her teacher had often

traveled to New York and then

taught the class what she ob-

served there. She said she had

learned how to tie scarves the

same way.

PAT T Y DANN

Heart-Shape Cake

DEAR DIARY:

It was February. I was nearing

the end of my first year of college

and feeling a little unsteady and

lost.

On Valentine’s Day weekend, I

took a train from my college

town to New York City. I thought

that a weekend of wandering

aimlessly around my favorite

place would be just what I

needed.

The day after Valentine’s Day,

some friends and I ducked into a

West Village bakery to get out of

the cold. As we sat there, I no-

ticed a gorgeous heart-shape

chocolate cake with pink frosting

on display. It cost $40.

My friends and I began to joke

around, saying that if we had

enough money, we would buy the

cake and eat it all ourselves as a

little self-indulgence at a time

when we felt as if we deserved

something sweet.

A few minutes later, the wom-

an behind the counter said she

was dropping the price of the

cake from $40 to $10.

“Who’d want to buy a heart-

shaped cake the day after Valen-

tine’s Day?” she said, flashing a

mischievous smile.

We ate the entire thing that

night.

LIVIA BLUM

Observations for this column may
be sent to Metropolitan Diary at
[email protected] or to The New
York Times, 620 Eighth Avenue, New
York, N.Y. 10018. Please include your
name, mailing address and daytime
telephone number. Submissions
become the property of The Times
and cannot be returned. They may be
edited, and may be republished and
adapted in all media.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY AGNES LEE

Metropolitan Diary

YOUR

GREATEST LIFE

IN THE

GREATEST

LOCATION

LUXURY SENIOR LIVING

TAILORED FOR YOU

Sophisticated. Elegant. Refined. Designed specifically for discerning New Yorkers,

305 West End Assisted Living is a luxury senior living community located in the

heart of Manhattan. Fine dining, shopping trips, visits to the museum or theater

are just moments away. Whether you are searching for independent or assisted

living, or are in need of memory care, 305 West End offers the lifestyle you

deserve, with a superior level of personalized concierge service that is unrivaled.

Our team of caring and compassionate professionals are ready to help you

embrace and pursue new opportunities for discovery and growth.

646.833.0037

305WESTENDAL.COM

305 West End Avenue at 74th Street

New York, NY 10023

Licensed by the State Department of Health.

Eligible for Most Long Term Care Policies.

Equal Housing Opportunity

Taste the World, From Home.

The New York Times Wine Club offers private access

to high-quality wines, delivered right to your door.

nytwineclub.com 877.698.6841

For your first 6-bottle

shipment inclusive

of shipping with code

Regular Price $109.95 VINE

$59.95

New Member Offer

Taste wines from across the world’s premier regions

Expert wine education with our Times Tasting Notes

Perfectly paired New York Times recipes

10% off all Wine Store purchases

Satisfaction guaranteed — cancel anytime

Member Benefits

© 2020 The New York Times Company and © 2020 Lot18 Holdings, Inc. Offer applies to first ongoing club shipment only and cannot be

combined with other promotions. Subsequent shipments will be billed at the standard price. Restrictions apply. Offer does not apply to

existing Wine Club members, one-time Wine Gifts or Wine Shop. Expires 12/31/20. The New York Times, where local law allows, has

chosen Lot18 Holdings, Inc., and its panel of experts, to select the wines and operate the clubs on our behalf. The Wine Club is operated

without the participation of the Times wine critics or other members of the newsroom. Lot18 Holdings, Inc. uses direct-to-consumer

permits and ships in accordance with direct shipping laws for sales to Conn., Ga., Kan., Md., Mass., Nev., N.H., N.D., Pa., Va., W.Va.,

Wis., S.C., N.C., Colo., N.M., Wash., La., Mo., Ohio, Neb., Ore., Tenn., N.Y., Vt., Ill., Ind., Iowa, Mont., Idaho and S.D. For all other states,

ALL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES PURCHASED FROM NEW YORK TIMES WINE CLUB ARE SOLD IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AND TITLE

PASSES TO THE BUYER IN CALIFORNIA. New York Times Wine Club and Lot18 Holdings, Inc. make no representation to the legal rights

of anyone to ship or import alcoholic beverages into any state outside of California. The buyer is solely responsible for the shipment of

alcoholic beverage products. By placing an order, buyer authorizes Lot18 Holdings, Inc. to act on buyer’s behalf to engage a common

carrier to deliver buyer’s order. All credit card payments will be facilitated by Lot18 Holdings, Inc. Due to state laws, wine can be pur-

chased only by adults 21 years and older. Drinking wine may increase risk for cancer, and, during pregnancy, can cause birth defects.

Wine Club