Monday, September 30, 2013

Refreshing Street Encounter

I've interacted with a lot of strangers in New York with unpleasant results. Happily, I capped off September with a rather nice one.

On the way home from work today, I stopped by the library to drop off a few books that were nearing their due date. As I was leaving, I held the door open for an old lady wearing cheerful (if rather heavily applied) blush and a very pretty knitted hat that appeared to be handmade. She smiled and thanked me for holding the door and I complimented her on the had and asked if she'd made it. She laughed and thanked me, and said that it was indeed handmade but that her friend had made it. 

"I can't knit,: she laughed, "I can't do anything!" 

"Oh I'm sure you would figure it out!" I replied. "I knit, and if I can do it, anybody can." 

"Now what about crocheting?" she asked me. "Is this knitting or crocheting?" She bent her head down a bit so I could examine that hat more closely, and I told her that it looked like knitting to me. "Now," she said, "there's a girl at work says that she can't crochet because she's left-handed." 

"Yes I think that makes it harder because almost all of the instructions are for righties."

Her expression turned very serious then, but there was a twinkle in her eye. She put her hand on my arm, and said matter-of-factly, "Let me tell you, life is full of problems." Then she burst into giggles and so did I. I told her to have a good night, and she wished me the same, and we went our separate ways.

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