I was heading up Sixth Avenue and stopped to buy a new watch cap from a street vendor. As I pulled it on an old man approached me. His blue eyes burned and his hair was white as snow. I noticed that his wool gloves were unraveling and his left hand was bandaged.
—Give me the money you have in your pocket, he said.
Either I am being tested, I thought, or I have wandered into the opening of a modern fairy tale. I had a twenty and three singles, which I placed in his hand.
—Good, he said after a moment, and then returned the twenty.
I thanked him and continued on, more buoyant than before.
~ Patti Smith, M Train
Notes:
- Image: GeorgianCollege.ca
- Related Patti Smith Post: I believe in movement. I believe in that lighthearted balloon, the World.