HALF Obsessed

 

It was a beautiful Spring morning when I came upon 6 ½ Avenue between 6^th and 7^th Avenues. I became fascinated by this sign denoting both a creativeness and sense of humor not usually found in the halls of the N.Y.C. Department of Street and Road Signage, a lighthearted reflection of a recent less serious time in our city’s history.

I sat down on a bench to observe this unique intersection. It was an innovative creation which divided the extremely long block in half for people wishing to cross the street in a safe manner without taking the long excursion to either Avenue. On the north side of this crosswalk an interior mall had been created through the building with shops and eateries along the way, existing on the next street.

I opened my bag acquired at a nearby bakery removing my coffee with Half & Half and a black and white cookie encased in glazed Royal icing meticulously divided in half along the diameter of the pastry. I looked up at the large, standing old-fashioned clock before me which was just turning twelve noon, the dividing line between morning and afternoon. It was March 20^th, the dividing line between Winter and Spring. The coffee had a strong flavor like drinking liquid Hazelnuts.

Coming towards each other from opposite directions were two men. The man traveling west was dressed in older worn clothes and he appeared to be downtrodden as if his opportunities were setting, however there was a spring in his step and a smile on his face. Under his right arm was half a loaf of bread in a clear bag. The man moving east had similar clothes but they were new and in much better condition and it appeared that his opportunities were rising. He had a clear bag of bread under each arm that appeared to be fresh, as condensation had formed on the top of each bag suggesting bread recently taken out of the oven that had been hastily bagged before cooling. His face, however was sad and careworn with large bulbous tears streaming down his cheeks. As the two men approached the crosswalk in front of me, I could hear the poorly dressed man singing to himself, “It is a beautiful day and I have this lovely bread to bring home to my family!”

He continued on about this recent good fortune. As he could now clearly see the face of the well-groomed man, he asked him to explain his state of despair.

“Why are you crying?” asked the poor man.

“Because I don’t know if I have enough bread,” said the Two Loaf Man.

“Do you have a large family to feed when you get home? Inquired the Half Loaf Man.

“No, I live alone with no family, I’m a bachelor” said The Two Loaf Man.

“Well then your thinking is half-baked,” said the less fortunate soul. “If you don’t mind me saying so. I have a wife, four children and extended family waiting at home for this bread to eat, and I am thrilled to have it to bring home to them. You are crying with a loaf under each arm! You should be thankful of how lucky you are!”

The Two Loaf Man stopped crying and wiped the tears from his eyes with a handkerchief. He paused silently for a minute.

“Thank You,” he said handing one loaf to The Half Loaf Man who will henceforth be known to the reader as the One and A Half Loaf Man.

The One and A Half Loaf Man thanked him with great appreciation, then they wished each other a great day and after an elbow bump continued on their separate ways. After all the day was only half over and the sun would not be setting for quite some time.

 

Jim

4/2021