METROPOLITAN DIARY

Handy Hose
Dear Diary:

It was a hot, sticky July morning. I had just ridden a Citi Bike across Central Park to the East Side for an appointment with my chiropractor.

I docked the bike and began walking up Second Avenue thinking about how dirty my hands were and where I might wash them before getting my usual egg sandwich.

Just ahead, I noticed a building handyman washing down the sidewalk. I decided to approach him.

“Good morning,” I said in a cheery voice. “Would you mind washing off my hands with your power hose?”

His expression widened into a huge grin.

“Why of course,” he said.

He motioned me over to a nearby hedge so that he could rinse my hands off out of the way of the sidewalk.

I held my hands out over the hedge, palms up, and he sprayed them both with a cool blast of water. I thanked him profusely, and he
smiled again.

I think we made each other’s day.

— Carol Mills

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/13/nyregion/metropolitan-diary.html