It was one of these days where everything seemed to be going wrong. After a grueling winter we had enjoyed a brief spat of good weather until today, when it was extremely hot and humid and clothes hang immitigably to my body.
An unpleasant man who usually sits on the steps next to my building was more unpleasant than usual. He asks passersby for money and when they don’t give it to him he yells and curses at them. He is, by all regards, a bad addition to our otherwise wonderful neighborhood.
I had been feeling down for several weeks with some vague pain and other unusual symptoms. Earlier, I had gone for another visit to a doctor carrying the results of some tests. I was obviously concerned that I could have some very serious health condition.
I traveled uptown to see a doctor at a place with which I am not familiar. I took the wrong turn and was late for my appointment. While waiting to see the doctor I had difficulty breathing, something generally provoked by my allergy to pollen. The problem is usually resolved by taking my anti-allergy medication, which I usually carry with me; usually, that is, except for today.
After carefully reviewing the tests, and after a thorough physical examination, the doctor told me that I had a kidney problem, although not life-threatening. It is the kind of news I prefer to be spared of.
On my way home I witnessed a horrible traffic accident. A man on a bicycle was coming on a big avenue at full speed when he had a collision with a car that unwisely was crossing the avenue on a yellow/red light. As a Brazilian traffic code states, “When crossing on a yellow light do anything you want, but do it quickly.”
This is precisely what the driver at the car didn’t do, since he was crossing the light going at a very slow speed. I was a bit distracted but still I heard the tremendous noise of the thump of the cyclist against the car and saw him flying over it and falling on the street on the other side of the car. With some difficulty the cyclist got up, and started rubbing his legs and arms, which probably hurt a lot after the collision.
“What were you thinking, man, what were you thinking?” he repeatedly asked the car driver. “This is a $20,000 bike, man, this is a very expensive bike,” he said, not even complaining about how painful the collision had been for him. I felt very sorry for him, his bike destroyed and who knows what happened to his body.
I was wondering what else could go wrong. I started crossing the avenue when I saw coming from the opposite side a most beautiful young woman. She was tall, had very long legs, an attractive face with full lips and a small, perfectly shaped nose. She was dressed in white, a summer skirt loose on her body. She looked like a young Marylyn Monroe.
As she started to cross the avenue there was a sudden, strong wind coming in front of her. Her dress gave way and the skirt jumped all over her face. Her legs were indeed beautiful, and reminded me of the iconic Marylyn Monroe photograph when her skirt is lifted by a breeze coming from a vent placed underneath her.
Perhaps the only advantage of being an older man is that young women will never misinterpret a remark done in good will. As she was passing me by I told her, “You have a beautiful body.” As if reading my mind she answered with a smile, “But I am no Marylyn, you know….” Her quick and good humored riposte changed my mood for the rest of the day.
Dr. Cesar Chelala is a New York writer.
This is a nice story showing that everything can happen in a big city – even when you have been at the doctors.