5 days ago
‘A Man and a Woman in Front of Me Were Hurrying in the Same Direction'
Sidewalk Stomp
Dear Diary:
It was a hot July day, and I was walking up Lincoln Place in Park Slope toward Prospect Park to enjoy some shade.
A man and a woman in front of me were hurrying in the same direction. She was wearing an ivory jumpsuit with a flowing chiffon scarf and high-heeled sandals. He was in beige linen pants and a white shirt.
Perhaps they were late to their own wedding? I imagined their guests waiting for them at the Picnic House. In any case, the heat wasn't slowing them down.
Following behind, much more slowly and in sneakers, I admired how the woman could walk with such speed in her heels.
Suddenly she stopped. A blister? A turned ankle?
No.
She darted to her right and stomped on the sidewalk before quickly resuming her pace.
As I passed the spot, I looked down at the sidewalk to see a squashed lanternfly. One is never too late, or too well dressed, to do a small good deed.
— Dorothy Barnhouse
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