Politics
‘I Told Her How Pretty Her Comb Was and Asked Where I Could Buy One’
A slow ride up Madison Avenue, a helping hand at the post office and more reader tales of New York City in this week’s Metropolitan Diary.
Tortoiseshell Comb
Dear Diary:
I was on a bus going up Madison Avenue on a very slow weekday afternoon. We were averaging about a block per red light, and I had nothing to do but study the other passengers.
One thing that caught my eye was the back of the head of a woman sitting several seats in front of me. She had an elaborate upswept hairdo with a fancy tortoiseshell comb holding it in place.
I eventually summoned the nerve to approach her. I told her how pretty her comb was and asked where I could buy one.
Turning around, she said in a thick accent that she had gotten it in Argentina. After apologizing for bothering her, I returned to my seat.
A half-hour later, she passed me on her way to the exit door at the back of the bus.
Reaching up to her head, she whipped out the comb, and her long, auburn locks flowed down to her shoulders.
She dropped the comb in my lap, wished me a happy day and disappeared from my sight forever.
— Jill Newman Iversen
