A health and fitness blog: With an occasional food item

Friday, March 27, 2009

Dunkin' Donuts

Touching.
(The contributor writes: This is a true story; it took place in Sheepshead Bay, a section of downtown Brooklyn, this winter.)

In Dunkin’ Donuts this morning,
an old lady wearing a tattered watch cap
started speaking to no one in particular.
“I can’t sleep at night.
I have pains in my chest all the time.
My leg hurts and my children do not love me.”
People waiting in line
hid in their cellphones, looked away
or stared straight ahead.
“I don’t know what to do.
I don’t know where to turn.
My husband died two years ago on the 27th.”
Everyone pretended she wasn’t there.
The girls behind the counter took the next customers.
The line inched forward.
At a side table, a beautiful young lady with matching purple scarf and hat
looked at the old woman and said, simply,
“Honey, please sit down with me,
and tell me your story.”

It’s possible, you see,
for one person to save the world.

--contributed by Mel Glenn, Brooklyn, N.Y. (from the NYTimes Metropolitan Diary.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I happened upon your blog. Noticed you mentioned that Sheepshead Bay is in Downtown Brooklyn. Actually, it is further South, near the water on the other end of Brooklyn--sort of South East. You can check out our website to see more.
Ray at SheepsheadBites (dot com)

Unknown said...

I love that "anonymous" happened upon your blog. You may have read Paddy's friend's blog (Gaelstat.com) where he lists several hilarious ways people found his.
I happened to read the NYT that day, and also loved the story you posted. I enjoy reading the section where it appeared (Metropolitan Diary??) Can't remember which day it is there.
If you read The New Yorker, see the style issue. Yes, I know, it's remarkable I read any of it! Anyway, the one story that interested me was a piece about Cunningham (who does those Sunday Style section photo layouts. He is a fascinating character.
Didn't mean to make this so long. Thanks for checking with me today.