On Sunday, I went for a run along the Hudson River. The City has constructed a bike/walk/run path all along the River. It is really terrific.
Sunday was hot, hot, HOT in the City. So, City dwellers actually had a fair reason to be scantily-clad (as opposed to other days when there is no good reason to flash so much flesh). And runners were especially scantily clad.
I, on the other hand, wore knee-length, tight-fitting shorts under the usual running shorts. If my legs didn’t do a jello impression when I ran, I would have just used the short running shorts. But I am 46 and, at a certain age, more clothes are way more attractive. So, athletic gear goes into my “more is better” category. Compared to others, I was dressed like a nun.
I am not a runner for the sake of running. I run so that I can fit into my clothes. I run outside sometimes so that my skin doesn’t have that pallor sported by Woody Allen. Clearly, I will take any opportunity to stop. By the time ran to the 79th Street Boat Basin, I was tired, bored of running, and wondering about do-it-yourself liposuction with a vacuum. So, I stopped. Running that is. I didn’t stop thinking about the DIY liposuction.
While I was heaving and coughing and making a mental note to Google liposuction, I noted two couples walking along the water. The women had on hose and skirts and little jackets and the men were in ties and pin-stripe suits. This was not the orthodox Jewish look and even orthodox Jews try to look a little casual on Sundays (as if just wearing a baseball cap will make a person forget the long beard, black coat, long hair locks and prayer garment fringes).
These were not the usual Sunday Church-goers. The pin-stripes and the pantyhose indicated they were a special type of Church-goers. Of course, I had to investigate further and walked over to them as they looked out onto the Hudson River. As a cover, I coughed and heaved a little more.
Before they moved away from me because I sounded like I had a dread disease AND I was sweating profusely, I saw that they had name tags (so convenient for me). These were the kind that a hotel concierge has; ones that are used daily. No throw-away types. These people DO what their name tags say and what they do required TWO lines of print:
BELIEVERS IN THE
LORD JESUS CHRIST
Well, all right, then. No other name necessary, I guess. JC will cover it.
I walked away a little overwhelmed. (And, wished I had a Dyke March t-shirt.) Maybe I should have asked whether they were in town to catch some theater. Maybe they were taking in a little theater while walking along the River. Life IS a carnival. And maybe they were someone else’s street theater, too.