‘Like Many New Yorkers, I'm Quietly Curious About My Neighbors'

New York Times

2 days ago

Her System
Dear Diary:
I live in an old, ramshackle building in Brooklyn Heights, and, like many New Yorkers, I'm quietly curious about my neighbors.
There's the man upstairs who is learning to play the bass, practicing the same four chords over and over late into the night. There's the young guy who stands outside with one of those toys — the ball on a string you try to catch in a little cup. What is that called?
But the neighbor I notice the most is an older woman I will call June. She is small and elegant and mostly keeps to herself. But every so often, I'll find her standing in the doorway, smoking a cigarette, and we'll talk.
June has lived in the building for nearly 30 years. She uses a walker, and even with it, her steps are slow and careful. You get the sense that coming downstairs for a cigarette is no small task.
So she's devised a system: In her mailbox downstairs, she keeps everything she needs — packs of Camel Lights, a small lighter and two stiff coupons that she wedges into the door frame to keep the front doors from locking.
That way, she doesn't have to carry anything, not even her keys.
'Too much trouble otherwise,' she explained to me once.
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