Rail Bird
Dear Diary:
I was new to birding after starting a daily routine of waking up early. I was able to attend bird walks in the morning, and other birders taught me how to keep track of birds and receive rare-bird alerts.
As I left work on a Monday afternoon, I got an alert about a rare bird at Grace Plaza in Midtown. It was a sora, a small, chicken-like rail bird that is common elsewhere in North America but rarely seen in Manhattan.
Rails are my favorite types of birds, so I knew I had to get there. I didn’t have my binoculars, but I hopped on a bus in hopes of catching a glimpse and checking the sora off my list.
Once I arrived, I saw some birders with cameras and other gear gathered around a raised bush surrounded by benches.
Grace Plaza is less a park than an elevated sitting area for tired tourists and passers-by, so the sight of such a large group there did attract attention.
An hour passed, and no bird movements were detected. A few birders began to leave.
I had to leave soon too, so I decided to peer over a bench into a small clearing near the bush, and there it was: a sora.
I pulled out my phone and got a very blurry video. The remaining birders gathered around me to get a glimpse of the sora themselves.
When I left, I had a feeling of utter happiness brought on by thinking about how such a small creature can bring joy to an unlikely corner of the city.
— Shelly Xiong
Watch the Closing Doors
Dear Diary:
I fell in love with the metro steam I fell in love with cafe au laits at 9 I fell in love with 10th & 6th I fell in love with Perry Street All of it I fell in love with exterior subways after dark I fell in love with the 39th Ave-Dutch Kills station I fell in love with the saxophone player on the sleepy Village corner I fell in love with Brooklyn’s midnight rush hour Do you think New York loves me too?
— Kaleb Dufrene
On Display
Dear Diary:
In 1965, as a promotion for the film “Fantastic Voyage,” Raquel Welch appeared in a Midtown store window to have her portrait painted by Salvador Dalí. I was working in Manhattan and able to scoot over for the event.
A small group had gathered by the time I arrived, and I was able to stand directly in front of the window, which was empty except for a canvas on an easel.
Soon, Ms. Welch entered the window in a bathrobe, then threw it off to reveal a skimpy bikini. Dalí appeared and glanced at her. He dabbed a brush in yellow paint to match her bikini. Did he carefully draw her face and body?
No. He hurled the yellow paint at the canvas to create what appeared to be random splotches. There was no discernible resemblance to Ms. Welch or anything else, animate or inanimate.
When he was finished, he walked off. Ms. Welch appeared to be shocked when she saw her “portrait.” She stood there until her “Fantastic Voyage” co-star, Stephen Boyd, walked into the window, helped her on with her robe and led her away.
— Allan Yashin
Good Burger
Dear Diary:
In the early 1980s, I traveled to New York to visit a friend who lived on the Upper West Side. She wasn’t home from work when I got there, so I took my bag and went to a restaurant a few blocks away.
The bartender gave me a roll of quarters for the jukebox. After learning I was from out of town, he offered to take me to get the best hamburger in the city. He told me to get on a specific subway car at a specific time the next day.
I followed his instructions, met him there and had a meal that, I must admit, was quite good. I don’t remember his name or the restaurant’s, but have always considered New York a friendly place since then.
— Marian Koral
His Shot
Dear Diary:
I had been called for jury duty. The judge asked the group I was in whether any of us had essential medical procedures or other unavoidable conflicts coming up.
A few people raised their hands: an old man getting eye surgery; a woman getting a hip replacement. Then a tall young man raised his hand.
“It’s not medical, but I’m a musical theater actor,” he said. “I have my final callback for ‘Hamilton’ on Thursday, and I’d really like to be there.”
He was excused.
— Daniella Berman
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