West Side Rag
  • TOP NEWS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • CONTACT
West Side Rag
No Result
View All Result

Get WSR FREE in your inbox

Search the site

No Result
View All Result

Get WSR FREE in your inbox

AVAILABLE NOW!


HERE

UWS Encounters: Superhuman Strength, Alfred Molina’s Favorite Tea, and Meowing on the Bus

October 26, 2019 | 9:24 AM
in COLUMNS
8
79th Street and Broadway.

“Get Out of the Way”

Mom visited last week from Ohio. I rented a four-wheeled electric scooter for her. She’s 84, but still drives a car. I figured handling this rig would be no big deal.

We headed to Bergdorf’s…by bus. No problem driving onto the bus, but making the three-point turn to move the scooter into place proved difficult. After a few minutes of trying (it felt like hours), fellow passengers demanded the back door be opened and exited to walk. The line to get on the bus grew exponentially. Then, the man behind us, using a walker of his own, hollered “get out of the way,” threw his walker to the floor, and with the strength of a 25-year-old, picked up the scooter and moved it into place. The passengers remaining were all smiles. The man blessed us and moved on with his day.

— Jane Podolsky

“English Breakfast or Irish Breakfast?”

A couple of years ago, food shopping with my husband at Whole Foods on West 97th: We were temporarily renting an apartment in the building, while awaiting completion of rehabilitation from catastrophic water damage in our co-op. We were standing in front of the tea section, gazing at the vast selection and feeling lost and out-of-sorts. I mumbled to myself, “Irish breakfast or English breakfast?” And from our left, Alfred Molina, that great English actor, heard me and handed me a package of PG English Breakfast tea bags and said “These are the best English breakfast tea bags, we use them at home too!” I absolutely adore Alfred Molina, and I smiled very wide (my husband said I looked like a starstruck teenager) and said, “Thank you! We will take your word for it!” He wished us a good day and walked away.

— Johanna Blakely

“Meow”

I was riding the M104 down Broadway at 6pm with a very tired toddler who was demanding cookies. And of course I had no cookies. Nothing I tried would distract her and her cries and demands were starting to escalate much to the kind chagrin of everyone else on the crowded bus. At the next stop an elderly man got on, stooped over and pushing his walker. He sat down not far from us and upon hearing her cries, looked up and promptly started to “meow” like a cat. Stunned, my toddler immediately stopped crying. And began laughing. And then meowing. Which lasted until the next stop where we got off without another tear and a big thank you for the kindness of strangers.

— Caroline Seklir

UWS Encounters is a weekly column written by WSR readers. Send your stories of interesting interactions on the Upper West Side to westsiderag.com — no more than 150 words, real names required. if we publish your work, you’ll get a byline and a West Side Rag mug. You’ll be the envy of the neighborhood!

By the way, we’ve yet to receive a story from a male reader. Who will be first?

Share this article:
Subscribe
Notify of
guest

guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

8 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
LL
LL
3 years ago

These all made me so happy.

When I was 7 and my aunt was visiting from Israel, she took me to Zabar’s and we walked in and….ran into a professor of hers from Tel Aviv University. He remembered my aunt.

0
Reply
Bill
Bill
3 years ago

Great stories—thank you, WSR!

0
Reply
Larry Lox
Larry Lox
3 years ago

Great idea renting the scoot scoot! Jane – Would you mind sharing where you rented?

0
Reply
Kitty
Kitty
3 years ago

Thanks! A kind reading to start the day….

0
Reply
Chris
Chris
3 years ago

Indeed. I was also turned on to PG Tips by an Englishman.

0
Reply
Peggy Salwen
Peggy Salwen
3 years ago

Meowing sounds like fun. Also I have noticed that reading to young children on the bus and subway helps keep them calm and happy.

0
Reply
Trudi Pearl
Trudi Pearl
3 years ago

How shall I go about acquiring an UWS mug?

0
Reply
Carol Tannenhauser
Carol Tannenhauser
3 years ago
Reply to  Trudi Pearl

For now, send in an UWS Encounter!

0
Reply

YOU MIGHT LIKE...

Openings and Closings: Broadway Restaurant; Sherry Herring; Spark; PingPod; Sales & Design Gallery
COLUMNS

Openings and Closings: Broadway Restaurant; Sherry Herring; Spark; PingPod; Sales & Design Gallery

June 7, 2023 | 9:43 AM
Here’s the Dish: Lokal Mediterranean Kitchen’s Tzatziki and Pink Queen Dips
COLUMNS

Here’s the Dish: Lokal Mediterranean Kitchen’s Tzatziki and Pink Queen Dips

June 6, 2023 | 11:07 AM
Previous Post

Early Voting Has Begun; Here are the UWS Sites

Next Post

Three Dramatic Crimes Show 20th Precinct ‘Does Not Currently Have Adequate Resources,’ Assemblymember Says

this week's events image

Explore Your Favorite Subject

20th precinct 24th precinct american museum of natural history animals art bicycling bulletin central park closings columns community board 7 coronavirus crash crime dogs events fdny fire food gale brewer helen rosenthal history homelessness jcc lincoln center monday bulletin morning bulletin nypd openings openings and closings pedestrian safety photography photos politics public schools pupper west side real estate restaurants riverside park silver stars fitness snow sponsored subway upper west side uws

CITY NEWS

The City
Brick Underground
City Limits
Eater
Gothamist
NY Daily News
NY Post
NY Times

LOCAL RESOURCES

Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group
Central Park Conservancy
CB7
Community Education Council 3
Assembly District 67
The New York Historical Society
Riverside Park
West End Preservation

UWS Blogs

Bloomingdale History Central Park Blogger
North River Notes

Next Post
Talking Karma, Redemption and Reinvention with 20th Precinct ‘Treasure’ Yvonne Boyce

Three Dramatic Crimes Show 20th Precinct ‘Does Not Currently Have Adequate Resources,’ Assemblymember Says

Fallen Leaves Create Evocative Still-Lifes in Riverside Park

Fallen Leaves Create Evocative Still-Lifes in Riverside Park

Morning Bulletin: Helicopter Ban Proposed, City Inundated With Delivery Trucks, Fairway on Sale

Morning Bulletin: Helicopter Ban Proposed, City Inundated With Delivery Trucks, Fairway on Sale

  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US
  • NEWSLETTER
  • WSR MERCH!
  • ADVERTISE
  • EVENTS
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • TERMS OF USE
  • SITE MAP
Site design by RLDGROUP

© 2023 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • TOP NEWS
  • THIS WEEK’S EVENTS
  • OPEN/CLOSED
  • FOOD
  • SCHOOLS
  • OUTDOORS
  • REAL ESTATE
  • ART & CULTURE
  • POLITICS
  • COLUMNS
  • CRIME
  • HISTORY
  • ABSURDITY
  • CONTACT US
  • WSR SHOP

© 2023 West Side Rag | All rights reserved.