Politics
‘I Walked Right Into a Tree Branch, an Arm Extended Over the Sidewalk’
A block comes to life on a summer day, a Staten Island bird feeder and more reader tales of New York City in this week’s Metropolitan Diary.
Summer Quiet
Dear Diary:
My favorite street in the neighborhood has been under construction all year. I still walk it to get to my pottery studio, which is all the way down. A block from the East River.
I went early this morning and walked back to my apartment before work. Looking down at my phone, getting a jump on some emails, I walked right into a tree branch, an arm extended over the sidewalk.
It doused me in cold water. (I guess it rained last night.) It was like an older brother teaching a lesson: “Look up.”
A little family in bathing suits must’ve gone for a swim before 9 a.m. Kids waddling up the stoop. A few stoops down, a babysitter waits patiently at the bottom of the stairs for a little boy with a pool noodle.
It is summer now. I notice how quiet it is. Even the construction is quiet. Just the rhythmic sound of a shovel in dirt.
A red church door opens, and a man in a baseball cap comes out holding a cup of coffee. He breathes in the day. So do I. Dewy sidewalk and summer leaves. Three pigeons lazily walk in an accidental row.