This week's Metropolitan Diary in the Times was a cornucopia of encounters. The coffee-counting barista, the phone booth romance, the one wanting neither to be 'wanted nor watched over', the wild haircut offer: I recognize them all. The one that I've been turning over in my mind, however, is that of the man and the old woman. I was reminded of the meeting of the rich young man with Jesus. Asked to give up his money and become a disciple, the young man similarly turned away in sadness. I ask myself if I would have given my phone number. The risk of uninvited contact! The danger of demands! The trash-picker seems to see through the narrator, as does the narrator himself. The whole story is a sharp little parable that points its finger at me as much as any.
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