Le Pensuer

When a shiny minivan pulls up next to me on 186th street, I think at first that the car is just parking. It is, but it turns out Gershon S. is the driver and, after spotting me through the windshield, starts honking like a madman. We chat for a while and he tells me about his new upstart business, Hudson Heights Restoration.

Zehava K. walks by and I join up with her. She wants to hear all about Matt's wedding in Israel, which I attended in May. I spot Lisa K. on Overlook while talking to Zehava, and we also pass Rabbi B. He waves. When we reach the platform, Uri M. walks by and says hello.

Zehava looks ponderous and I want her to assume the position of Le Penseur, to photograph for my blog, but she doesn't agree. On the train, she grabs a seat but I stand, preferring that to squeezing between two fairly large people on the bench across from her. At 59th, we both get off and wave goodbye.

Walking towards Park, I see my old girlfriend Debbie R. but by the time I recognize her, it's too late to say hello. As quickly as the fleeting summer nights so many, many years ago, she has disappeared into her office building.

Flirtation

I'm late. Not because I needed the extra sleep, but because I've become utterly addicted to the new Mario game for the Wii. Outside, the sky is sunny but the ground is wet. Last night's rain has left leaves all over the place, many of them stuck to the parked windshields of unsuspecting drivers.

In the station, I say hi to Newspaper Guy and realize that in close to a decade I can't recall ever seeing him without sunglasses. He waves and I continue towards the platform. Tzivia H. is here with her husband, buying a metrocard. Once downstairs, I see Debbie R. We both give a quick hello and I head towards my spot.

The train arrives quickly and I get on board. Adina S. and Sarah M. are here and I join them. They want to go on a trip around the world, six weeks long with a different destination each week. Sarah invites me along but I'd want to go to Antarctica, it's number one on my list, and that might be too cold for her. Adina spends most of the time saying her morning prayers, but when she finishes we all talk about flirtation - the rights, the wrongs, the hows, and the whos. They both accuse me of being a monumental flirt. I take the comment in stride, especially when the ladies request lessons. It's a sure way to keep me smiling the rest of the ride.