THE SWEETEST THING

I came upon a young man today at around 6 pm, quite close to my home on Fort Tryon Park.  He was a little under his car and I thought in my granny way, "Oh no! Car troubles? Maybe I can help that nice young man."

And then I saw that he had a mat.  And I thought in my Judgina Navritilova way, "Very well prepared.  Good on you, young man."

And then I saw that his shoes were off.  And I thought in my Tizzy way, "What the what?"

The "what" was he was praying--a Muslim praying.

Engaging in the Maghrib prayer...a little early which is allowed if there are some time issues.  Which there would be if you're driving through the city looking for a safe place to pray.  

Or he could be from another tradition. From what I understand, if he's Sunni, he's there for a loooooong time.

No matter...it was lovely and it was peaceful and I was honored he felt my little Russian, Jewish, Dominican, canine hood felt safe.

I almost went to fetch him water.  I did mainline 4 seasons of "Homeland" in 2 1/2 weeks.  I know how this is done.

And then I saw a bottle by his side.

JN repeated, "Very well prepared.  Good on you, young man."


PS Now I know where east is.