"A New York Treasure" --Village Voice

New York Minute

Yesterday morning on the A Train, I gave up my seat for a Sox fan on crutches. I got to work early to cancel all my credit cards and order a new driver’s license for my new wallet. It was annoying but over in twenty minutes.

Quitting time was fast approaching, but I still had piles of vacation work to catch up on. I had made my peace with the Yankees, Rivera, the Red Sox and their nation as I worked. I got a call from home. They found the wallet. Almost everything in it is now useless, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t relieved. I hate to be careless, though I know I am prone to lapses too often.

I jumped down to the 1 Train to go Uptown, put on my music and opened my book in something resembling a good mood. I got bumped from behind as I waited for the train. It was a strong shove, enough to move my feet but not enough to knock me off balance. I looked up. It was the same Sox fan on crutches. So hard to navigate those platforms on crutches.

He apologized needlessly and started to move down the platform but then recognized me from the morning and stopped as I pulled out my earphones. I had an idea to tell him he had starred in a New York Minute, but decided that the minor thrill wouldn’t be worth the voluminous exposition.

We boarded a rush-hour 1 Train and some other guy saw his crutches and hopped up for him. We looked at each other and he laughed out loud.

P.S. The wallet was in the oven.

8 comments

1 ms october   ~  Aug 9, 2011 10:11 am

yea crutches are a major pain.

haha that's crazy - how did your wallet end up in the oven?

2 Jon DeRosa   ~  Aug 9, 2011 10:23 am

[1] My first thought was "kids." Which scared me because they have thus far respected the warnings about the oven and have never messed with my stuff like that.

But after Sherlocking it for a few seconds I figured it out. On Sunday night, my wife made steak in the oven. She took the metal cookie sheets out of the oven and placed them on the counter. When the steak was done, she put the cookie sheets back in the oven.

What no one realized was that she put the metal sheets down directly on top of my wallet, which has a flat magnetic clasp on the front. the wallet stuck to the bottom of the sheet and stayed that way until last evening when my mom needed to use the stove to cook the kids dinner.

3 Ben   ~  Aug 9, 2011 10:33 am

2. First let me say that that is some ass kicking detective work.

Second. what a pleaure reading your entries. I remember when you first started contributing and your pieces were much headier. Now, you still get the nuances, but it just flows like... I dunno. I'm not the writer.... it flows like good writing!

4 ms october   ~  Aug 9, 2011 10:39 am

[2] that is some great detective work. an interesting way for a wallet to end up in the oven, but at least you figured out how.

5 Alex Belth   ~  Aug 9, 2011 10:50 am

3) Agreed. J, you rock, bro.

6 Jon DeRosa   ~  Aug 9, 2011 10:57 am

[3] Thanks Ben. As much as I wish I could improve my writing just by trying harder, there's no substitute for volume. I have a long, long way to go to be good at it, and listening to Alex tell me how long a way he thinks he has to go always puts that journey in stark relief. But it has been an honor and a pleasure to contribute here with you guys.

7 Jon DeRosa   ~  Aug 9, 2011 11:13 am

[3] And I know you consider it a hobby, but you're a good writer yourself.

8 Marek   ~  Aug 9, 2011 7:01 pm

Great story.

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"This ain't football. We do this every day."
--Earl Weaver