During a solitary Sunday walk through Central Park on the day before my birthday, I heard a saxophone playing “Happy Birthday” off in the distance where someone was celebrating their own birthday with a picnic.
Amused by the coincidence, and struck by an impulse to share the moment, I turned to a pleasant-looking couple walking along behind me who, tennis rackets in hand, appeared to be on their way from the park’s public courts.
“Pardon me,” I said, “but I just have to share this. Tomorrow is my birthday, and I’m pretending that song is for me.”
The woman smiled broadly.
“Tomorrow is my birthday, too,” she said, “and I’m doing the same thing!”
— Eric Mathern
New York Today is published weekdays around 6 a.m. You can also find it at nytoday.com.
