Helium
August 6, 2003
I saw the most beautiful sight in the final steps of my walk home from the Upper West Side tonight. A lavender helium baloon was floating just off the sidewalk, dipping and swaying in the stormy summer air.
Like so many moments tonight — the smiling dog walker, the swaying couple, the backlit Lincoln Center fountain, baby Ethan’s smile — it gave me pause, made me smile, and appreciate my good fortune. And then I walked on.
Home now, AC and fan on high, titanium implants throbbing in my head (was chewing gum a bad idea?), 29 minutes now into a new day, I don’t have much left to give. Instead, I offer these 101 Things. And I offer to all, a good day.
