spring flowers

It's disconcerting to be turning back the clocks with so much snow still on the ground and weekend temperatures in the teens. But yes, spring is on the way, 

And with spring, comes color, warmth and flowers.

A few years after I moved to New York, I was meeting some friends for dinner.  I was working then  and running late.

I wanted to take a cab to meet my fiends, and realized I had no money.  I stopped by a Citibank ATM at 54th and Lexington. My card must have demagnetized because it didn't work.  My frustration was not contained, and was noticed by the one other person at the ATM machines. "Do you need some money?" he asked. At first, I thought it was a lead-in to something else.  I politely declined.  But then I started thinking how nice it would be to not have to take a city bus.  This was before there were credit card machines in cabs, and when you could go far for under $10, including tip.

I changed my mind and said, "Okay, if you could give me $10, I promise I'll send you a check tomorrow." He ignored my request and handed me a $20.  I was stunned.   I knew that I'd pay him back immediately, but he didn't know this about me.  His kindness was purely altruistic.  I asked for his name and address and he gave it to me.  Suzuki McGregor. I still remember the strange name — part Japanese, part Scottish.

That night I wrote Suzuki a nice thank-you, and enclosed a check.

A few years later I get a letter.  It was from Suzuki.  In it, he told me that he was recently cleaning out his office and came upon my check from years before.  He returned the check with a note, "Buy yourself some spring flowers."

People who think New Yorkers aren't nice just don't know the right ones.