Metropolitan Diary
Intriguing Sight
Dear Diary:
I was strolling down MacDougal Street just after the most severe part of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. I was glad to see that people were out and about, with some sitting on chairs and benches.
Among the most intriguing of these was a woman with a white cockatoo perched on her shoulder.
I approached her and asked whether I could talk to her bird.
“He never learned to speak,” she said, “but sure, say hello.”
“Hello, hello,” I said.
The parrot responded by barking, a real yip like a small dog.
“Oh yeah,” the woman said. “We used to live with a Yorkie.”
— Judith Miller
All in the Lip
Dear Diary:
It was years ago, and my wife and I were on our honeymoon. We hailed a cab near Central Park. I heard a trumpet blaring from the radio.
“Nice music,” I said.
“Harry James,” the cabby said. “He’s the best. I play a little trumpet, and I can tell you that it’s the lip that counts, and nobody has a lip like Harry James.”
“How about that,” I said. “I’m from the town in Texas where Harry grew up, and I actually took trumpet lessons from his father, Everette James, when I was a kid. I’m a fan of Harry’s too.”
We had the usual “it’s a small world” conversation and discussed some of the great Harry James hits.
After arriving at our destination, we paid the fare and began to get out of the cab.
“Wait,” the driver said. “One more thing.”
I thought we might have left something behind.
“You’ve got to tell me,” he said. “Did he say it was all in the lip?”
— Robert Plummer
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/nyregion/metropolitan-diary.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
