Walking Around The StuyTown Loop Until I See Someone I Know

Today, after work wrapped up, I was in the mood for some fresh air. Because I live so close to StuyTown, I decided that I’d head there for a walk. StuyTown is a residential neighborhood famous for an iconic interview conducted there between Andrew Greene and TikTok Star Max Zavidow. 

In the center of StuyTown is a lovely green space with a quiet path around it. Because I didn’t have any other ideas on what to write about today, I decided that I’d walk on the path until I saw someone that I recognized.

Lovely!

After three laps without seeing a familiar face, I started to get nervous. The jazz band serenading the peaceful neighborhood quickly started sounding repetitive. The two men playing chess on the south side of the loop didn’t appear to be making any progress at all in their game. I was getting scared that nightfall would come and I still wouldn’t have seen anyone I knew. 

During lap five, I tipped the jazz band $1 in an attempt to get on the universe’s good side. I also wanted to see if I recognized any of them, which, unfortunately, I did not. 

During lap six, I tried to calculate how many people I am capable of recognizing in the entire world. By recognize, by the way, I mean being able to identify at least their first name and have some idea about their last name. I set the number at 1,200. Finding one of them, I thought, would be like finding a needle in a haystack. 

During lap seven, I finally saw someone I knew. Sam Berkowitz. Sam and I went to Summer Trails Day Camp together from the ages of 7-13, give or take. He went to my rival high school, but that never got in the way of the friendship that we formed at camp. 

I was so preoccupied by whatever I was doing on my phone and so happy to be done with the challenge that Sam had already passed me before I could thank him for freeing me from the loop. 

So if Sam is reading this, somehow, thank you! And it was good to see you.