On an August evening I walked east on Houston Street towards Whole Foods. A tropical high had wandered up the Eastern Seaboard and a sweltering heat dome swarmed over the city. I sweat from every pore and my mind was sapped of every thought by this torrid weather. So lost in a haze I strolled past my destination. As I approached Katz's Deli, I thought, "Damn, I walked past Whole Foods."
I stood pole-axed, as if heat-stroked, and pondered, if I should eat a Katz' hot dog. Hot dog buyers don't have to wait in line with the tourists. A hot dog certainly not as healthy a choice as Whole Foods. I spotted a young white bare-chested jogger striding down the busy sidewalk at a pace slightly faster than the surrounding throngs. A lean body honed from running. I had been a middle-distance runner in high school sixty years ago. I still was capable of outrunning most of my compatriots. We were all in our 70s.
The young man. Fit. His chest shaven. Sweaty. Earphones. Head down. His hooded eyes straight ahead. His path vectored to where I stood and he clearly had no intention of altering his course. The young man stopped before me inches from my chest. I stood my ground and took off my sunglasses. His eyes clear. Not a druggie.
An impasse and I asked, "Which way are you going?"
"Straight ahead." He wanted me to step aside.
"I'm not moving." Not a chance. I was equally obdurate, yet the young man posed no threat.
Oedipus had slain his father over the right of way in the Greek myths. Most nations' motorists drive vehicles on the right. In warrior castes yielding the left displayed no threat. Not so the English. Their knights rode on left, their sword in the right hand with menace at the ready. It was too hot for a continued confrontation.
I pointed right. We both slid pass each other, then I recognized him. Not personally, but that I also don't give way on the sidewalk to pedestrians blinded by their cell phone. I normally stop in their path. They are startled to find me before them. I knew this jogger. He was me. A younger version. A thirtyish doppelganger. I called to him.
He turned around ready to accelerate the confrontation. I introduced myself.
"Do you do that often? Because I do."
His surprised expression revealed that he does it all the time. Same as me.
"What's your name?"
"Edward."
I motioned for Edward to step out of the bustling foot traffic to the nearest building and we discussed our reasons for confronting mindless strollers with the phones in their hands.
"It never comes to blows, maybe because they know they are in the wrong, or am I seeking to be a 'Karen' policing the public right of way."
The two of us were in accord. He explained that he was caring for his failing mother in Harlem. We were both half-Irish. I offered him a hot dog. He was a vegan. Edward ran an online business selling legit skate wear from China.
In the early 2000s I operated the # 1 website for F1 Racing gear on the internet. F1-shopping.net. I spoke about having crossed over in 2022 from a fatal illness and eternity. We both had lives apart from people. We were both of us 'us' and recognized the each other in each other and parted with a hug. A good guy and I look forward to the next time our mirror images should cross paths.
ps I skipped the hot dog. Maybe next time.
From Goggle AI
F1-shopping.net was a popular third-party online retailer from the mid-2000s that sold replica motorsport and AMG team jackets, but it quietly shut down years ago as official licensing clamped down and Formula 1 centralized its ecommerce__the thieves__
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