I had to take the subway

I had to take the subway to the 116th street stop, by Columbia University, to St. Luke’s Hospital to have my stitches out. Columbia is still very new to me, so I enjoyed walking all around the campus, thinking of Federico Garcia Lorca and Edmond White. I headed down to Riverside Park. I think Riverside Park is lovelier up their, it’s wider, and descends in many tiers. As I walked down a long stone staircase to lush green lawns and majestic trees, I walked a path, and then spotted another path up above. I walked up and strolled for a while and found a lovely bench all by itself in the opening of trees. I remember before walking up I saw five young Spanish boys, chasing one another over a silver razor scooter with lime green wheels. As I was sitting reading “The Farewell Symphony” one boy came up the path on the scooter. The other four were chasing him, trying to take the scooter from him. Finally, after some tugging, they just came to the bench and surrounded me. I started asking them questions about the scooter; they are a new item out on the market now. I then asked them about a good Spanish restaurant in the area. Two of them told me of a couple, one of them on 125th St., Floridita, and Elvalle, on 135th St, and Broadway. We talked for about a half-hour, while they kept spitting, and in between they are talking and taking turns riding the scooter down and up the lower path. The oldest one is seventeen and said he signed up for the navy. They all had nice faces, but the one I found most attractive, had coffee-color skin, with chestnut curls, and Caravaggio black nails. At one point, the one I found attractive said to me, “What are you reading?” I turned the cover and said, “The Farewell Symphony”, “I never saw anyone reading it on a bench or in the subway (Edmond White 239).” Then off they went. Before leaving, all four shook my hand, and said, “nice talking to you; nice meeting you.” My favorite one was riding the scooter on the lower path, which they ran to, chasing and grabbing one another.