Friday, May 15, 2020

I sit outside the Heart of the City, drinking a coffee granita. I’m surprised to see buses go past. I had heard that, as in previous weeks, they would not be running on Fridays. The report was wrong. Or out of date. Or confused. So it goes with so much of the news. The sidewalks are less busy than last week. The novelty of shopping again has worn off. It’s also getting hot. It’s not bad now, about ninety degrees Fahrenheit, but it’ll be hotter in the next few days. I get my usual challah at the bakery and falafel at the shawarma joint. At the store for nuts and berries, I get a kilogram of Colombian coffee, coarsely ground for cold brew. That’s more than the dispenser contains. The worker hops up and places one sandaled foot on the ledge below the coffee and the other on the counter across from it. He gradually rises to standing, a meter or so above the ground. He’s more agile than I would have thought. He reaches up to the top shelf, near the ceiling, and pulls several large bags of coffee out from behind a display. He puts most on the shelf below it. He places the remaining bag next to the grinder. Bending over, he puts his hands on the ledge and the counter, in front of his feet. He slides his feet inward, over the empty space between them, balancing on his hands. He lowers himself to the ground and proceeds to grind the coffee. I am impressed. I also buy some organic peanut butter. I keep hoping that I’ll find the good stuff somewhere. I get some hummus to go from my usual place on the square. They remember how I like it, and include all the added elements in separate containers. When I headed downtown, the Give-and-Take box held a large pile of men’s shoes. When I pass it on my way home, they’re gone. A bag of stuffed toys is in their place. Pikachu sits alone on the bench, looking off into the distance. I get home and put most of the groceries away. I sit down at my desk and fall asleep for several hours. When I wake up, the falafel is still on the kitchen table. I think of eating it, but it’s been out for a long time. It spent some of that time in the heat outdoors. I throw it away. I don’t want to take any chances. I tell myself that I helped a friendly business by buying it. But I would have liked to have eaten it, too.