Dear Diary:
I was strolling along the Central Park bridle path near the reservoir on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The cherry trees were in full bloom, and the path was crowded with people of all kinds.
Two folk singers who appeared to be in their early 20s were strumming guitars and singing a song of emerging love. They said they had composed it themselves as a reflection of their own relationship.
A gust of wind shook the trees and sent blossoms showering down on the crowd. Children, shouting gleefully, tried to catch the tiny petals.
Amid all the movement and excitement, I noticed an older couple, possibly in their early 90s. The man, wrinkled and thin, was pushing the woman, who seemed even more fragile, in a wheelchair.
I looked at them and smiled. Catching my eye, the man gestured toward the surrounding scene, and then he pointed to the woman.
“This is what makes her happy,” he said.
— Wendy Katkin
Martin Rutte
