Sheryl and I were walking on W. 66th, and just about to turn onto West End, when we saw a small, somewhat frail, older woman (late 70s), laden with grocery bags, fall in the slushy post-snow conditions... in the middle of W. 66th. We helped her to her feet, and she said she was unhurt. Still, she seemed a bit shaken, so we took her bags, each offered her an arm, and walked her home. The woman - whose name we learned was Dell - remarked that it was sad how she fell in the snow, considering that she used to be a skiier. She said she still had her skis, and was considering trying them once more. Sheryl and I encouraged her to go for it, no doubt thinking, "Good for her - at her age, trying to stay active..."
We walked along Freedom Place, which Dell informed us, was named for Goodman, of Cheney, Schwerner, and Goodman (killed in Mississippi during Freedom Summer, the subject of "Mississippi Burning") but Trump Place had not put up the memorial plaque for him they'd promised. She said she might have a word with them about this, which I (somewhat condescendingly) thought kind of an amusing image. But as we approached her home, it became clear she actually lives at Trump Place, as part of the 20% of low-income apartments the building was required to provide.
We left Dell inside an entrance and were about to depart when she reached into her pocketbook, saying she wanted to give us something. Expecting money and an awkward moment of refusal, we were pretty surprised when she instead said, "I co-own a store that sells..." Flowers? Fabrics? Objets d'art? "...sexuality products for couples." She produced from her bag a business card, reading, "Eve's Garden - We grow pleasurable things for women." (www.evesgarden.com)
When they say no good deed goes unpunished, I didn't realize they meant with a freshly purchased leather whip.
