I met a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Roo, with a Weimaraner’s face. This meeting occurred in my pharmacy. After Roo departed, my pharmacist juggled three pill containers for a couple of seconds before one of them dropped. “It’s easier with balls,” he said.
But before Roo and the juggle, I was walking south on West End when I caught up to a father and his son, no more than 7 years old, having a lively conversation. As I passed them, I heard the boy ask a question about France. The father said, “Well, it was ’55 and the French were in power there.”
I realized they were talking about Vietnam. The boy said, “But how did they beat such a huge army?” The father replied, “They were very resilient.” He repeated that a few times, adding some details.
It was clear to me this conversation had begun before I passed them on 72nd Street, and had begun with Ukraine.