Lasting impressions

The unique characters I meet at Smorgasburg

An old cross-eyed woman in a purple tie-dye t-shirt with an even older dog approached my booth last weekend. She exclaimed, “I hope these pops don’t make me explode!” She then proceeded to buy a cherry sumac pop as her dog fell asleep and refused to move. An hour later, she came back to the booth to let me know that she didn’t in fact explode.

A small boy asked me if he could take some stickers. “Take as many as you want!” I said. He grabbed a handful and ran away. A few minutes later, he came back with stickers on his shirt and both his shoes. “Look!” he said, then ran away. Half an hour later, he found me near the pizza stand and asked me “Do you make the stickers?” I nodded. He asked, “Can you make me 50 stickers?” I laughed and said, “Yes, come back next weekend.” He smiled and then ran away once more.

I saw an old high school friend I hadn’t seen in 8 years. Enough said.

I saw the woman I met in the park last Summer while selling pops in Central Park. We had had a long conversation about race, gender, and friends that I’ll never forget. Her energetic exterior is one I recognized, and she walked away with a pina colada pop since she had “already tried the chili pineapple tamarind last Summer!”

That couple that only carries around $2 bills.

Popsicle being devoured like corn

Newsletter published bi-weekly on Saturdays at 11:10am.