It didn’t look like this in 1967.
When Robert Redford walked Barefoot in the Park, he wasn’t drunkenly meandering along a fluffy lawn bordered by sun-kissed tulips. There were no white daffodils, no ferns at the foot of fir trees.
No, his Washington Square was barren and dry, the dirt dusty and glass-covered. Needles were surely everywhere. You shudder to think of the medical interventions they needed to make, assuming Redford was really barefoot in the park. Knowing that he did his own stunts, why wouldn’t he take his shoes and socks off?
I had no idea when I woke up this morning that I would end up in Washington Square with bagpipes playing and a fountain spraying in the wind. Birds chirped and dogs barked. I found my bliss.
The morning didn’t start well. Waking up from a nightmare I went to make coffee and wondered why we had left the window open -- it was freezing. And then I saw it; the back door open and the seedlings I had planted knocked over and the kitchen floor covered with soil. The next twenty minutes were spent cleaning up and wondering how many of these little ones had survived.
But I had another more important goal. I had to get my second vaccination (and get to work on time). Armed with my Tylenol and paperwork, I managed to get my act together and head out the door. And it was all downhill from there.
The good folks at Walgreens took me early, I found myself with an hour to spare, I walked across the Village, and downed my Tylenol in the Waverly Coffee shop. The sun was shining. Could it be possible? Was I going to have my second breakfast in Washington Square?
There was hope in the air. I thought about our new president, who I like to refer to as “Joe.” He said, way back in the dark winter, that we’d be able to get vaccinated at our local pharmacy. I held out for that one. And here I was, fully vaccinated by May 1st.
And my dad? I held out for the program that vaccinated home-bound elders in their apartments so I wouldn’t have to drag him to the Bronx in the snow. It took a while to get the appointment but when I did, they came, and were in and out in 20 minutes. Unbelievable.
Thanks, Joe.