2020 saw huge increases in homicides and shootings in New York City.
Metropolitan Diary: Morning routine |
In 1975, I spent three months working on a construction project connected to the Roosevelt Island Tramway. |
Most mornings, I would drive from the construction site at East 59th Street and Second Avenue to Roosevelt Island via the Queensboro Bridge. |
I got into the habit of stopping along the way at a takeout place across from the Con Edison plant in Queens. Every day was the same: I ordered coffee and two corn muffins from an earnest young man who didn’t speak much English. |
And every day, with a half-dozen Con Ed workers lined up behind me, the young man would take a corn muffin off the rack very deliberately, hold it carefully on its edge and slowly slice it in half. |
After buttering each half diligently, he would put the halves back together, ensuring that they were perfectly aligned, and wrap the muffin in wax paper as if it were a prized birthday gift. Without rushing, he would repeat the entire process with the second muffin. |
After following this routine for several weeks, I wasn’t very hungry one day and ordered just one corn muffin with my coffee. |
The young man looked distressed. I glanced over his shoulder and saw two perfectly wrapped items on the shelf behind him. |
“No,” I said, “make that two corn muffins.” |
Every morning after that, my muffins were always waiting for me. |
New York Today is published weekdays around 6 a.m. You can also find it at nytoday.com. |
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