Caught without an umbrella on the streets of NYC? There’s hope…
From the NYT’s Metropolitan Diary:
Dear Diary:
My husband, who is the ultimate recycler, collects the sad, misshapen and rejected umbrellas that are often found lying in the trash bins around our West Village neighborhood.
Knowing of my aversion to collections of clutter, he hustles them past me to his study and spends quite a bit of time repairing them.
The next time it rains, he carries several repaired umbrellas into our neighborhood and approaches anyone who appears to be bedraggled, drenched or just plain miserable. He says, “You look as if you could use an umbrella.”
After their initial expressions of shock, their faces change to smiles of gratitude as he hands the refurbished umbrellas to them. “Have a great day,” he says, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Ricki Fier
(Via Marvelous Kiddo.)
What a sweet tale! I found myself with two umbrellas on a recent bucketing Friday night and gave one of them to a sodden girl who needed one desperately. She beamed. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Then I left my other umbrella on the bus and got soaked on my way home.
