“Encounters in the age of COVID-19!”
Shopping at Fairway Market last night, I saw an unmistakable half-face. Like everyone else, Richard Kind had a mask on in the produce aisle, but there was something about his eyes (and sneakers) that made me do a double take. I kept my social distance at the store, but sent him a Twitter message when I got home, telling him that I love watching him on Curb Your Enthusiasm. He graciously responded and confirmed my sighting. Encounters in the age of COVID-19!
—Brian Gatens
Thanks to Brian. That’s exactly what we’re looking for: “Encounters in the age of COVID-19.” (We’d like more of them!) What are they like inside the apartments, on the screens, and outside on the streets of the Upper West Side, in this plateau period of The Great Pandemic of 2020? We’re going on six weeks of quasi-quarantining. In that time, you’ve probably run the gamut of emotions, had some epiphanies, laughs, lows, and, even, in-person encounters with other masked and gloved individuals.
Share them in our UWS Encounters column, posted every Saturday. Under normal circumstances, you’d get a WSR mug if your submission was published, however, the mugs are currently inaccessible, so we’ll have to give you an IOU.
Send your submissions to westsiderag@gmail.com — Subject: Encounters. Please keep them under 200 words and use your real name.
To remember what life was like pre-COVID-19, read our earlier Encounters columns here.
Richard Kind and his family lived in my building for years, then moved elsewhere in the neighborhood. He’s not only a terrific actor but a really nice person. I’m not surprised that he graciously confirmed that you’d seen him in Fairway.
His very small part in the movie Stargate is great. On Curb as LD’s cousin, he is perfection. I see him frequently walking about with his wife and kids.
Great guy, dog lover.
I saw him once in Central Park a few years ago.
He was also hysterical on Saturday Night Seder!
Used to see him all the time at Crunch Gym on 83rd. Spoke briefly but he mostly kept to himself.
Yeah used to see him there too!
I only met him once when I visited the set of Spin City, where my cousin worked as Prop Master. Richard stood in the aisle and cracked jokes.
How cool is it that he responded. Every celeb I’ve met while living on the UWS (I used to work at Loves on 72 street ) was friendly.
I sat next to him at 5 Napkin Burger once! He was having dinner with his daughter.