So New York

From: THE CIRCULAR FILE AT THE METROPOLITAN DIARY

Dear Diary:

I was on the crosstown bus the other morning when a mother, attempting to soothe the fidgety baby in her lap, started softly singing "The Wheels on the Bus." That, of course, is the children's song in which "the wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round," followed by other verses in which, for example, "the wipers on the bus go swish, swish, swish."

Hardly after the mother started into the second verse, a smartly dressed elderly gentleman joined in to sing "the doors on the bus go open and shut." Soon, a half-dozen of us in the back of the M86 were serenading the now-delighted baby, our impromptu chorus reflecting the human panorama of New York City in all its glorious diversity.

Before we could launch into the next stanza, a woman of a certain age leaned toward the mother, holding up her hand to get our attention for what she had to say. "Shut up!" she shrieked. "It's bad enough I have to go to chemotherapy today. Do I have to listen to you assholes, too?"

There was an awkward silence. Then the whole bus burst into applause.

-- Declan O'Toole


[Listening to: Slow Like Honey - Fiona Apple - Tidal]